I have noticed that some of my cichlids have been acting weird, such as them almost looking like they are 'scratching' themselves on the sand. They turn sideways and rub themselves along the sand. They do this multiple times a day, but this does not occur to all of the fish. Just wondering if anyone else has had this experience and knows anything about it. Thanks.
Cichlids acting weird
- Thread starter hydro4892
- Start date
Its called "flashing" they are scratching. They MIGHT have some kind of parasite. Could be anything. Do you have a UV sterilizer in your tank and do you have any PRAZIPRO parasite med? I suggest the UV for permanent use. Its not a cure all, but it does help in keeping your tank parasite free. The prazipro kills many, almost all, aquarium parasites. Most fish stores have it. The main ingredient is something like praziquantel (The most important ingredient)
or theyre just showing themselves...dominance, mating, territory issues. If you see no physical spots, dots, or goofy gill things, they could just be beaving like cichlids.
This sounds like the starting of Protozoan disease it's a single cell parasite that causes problems in aquariums if conditions are favorable. A good way to know for sure at a early stage is to scrap a sample of mucus from the side of the fish, then look at it under a microscope at 40x power. if there is an active protozoan infection, you will see many moving single-celled creatures on the side. For treatment use malachite green or formalin, or a mixure of both.hydro4892;4315254; said: