Peacock eel keeps attacking his own tail

[Icel]

I have a little peacock eel in a 10 gallon. (If he outgrows it, I'll get him a bigger tank) He's the only fish in the whole tank.

I've seen fire eels and other spiny eels in stores and those have followed my finger with their eyes and heads... even swimming to the side of the tank it's at. But my peacock eel seems to always be in a trance, he never notices any fingers or hands moving around. He stays very still (outside of the substrate) for about 15 minutes or so, before twitching his head a little and continuing to swim around like nothing's wrong. I'm guessing that's his personality? .. Could there be something wrong with him?

Whenever he's in his trunk and makes a turn inside there, he notices his tail and lunges after it, swimming around in furious little circles for several seconds until he gives up I suppose. It was quite amusing to me until i noticed that his tail had a sort of cut. I assume he did it himself, because I had never noticed that before.

Is there something wrong with him and is there a way to stop him from doing that? Or does he just have psychological problems?

 

[MonsterMinis]

could be a few things, what type of substrate are you using? whats your usual maitenence routine? I've had some fearless peacocks in the past, so the behavior of hanging out and cruising around shouldn't bother you. They are however sensitive to water quality. and that can cause odd behavior as it irritates them. What are the water periameters at? and as you said he's in a 10 atm..I'de suggest a 20gal Long or 29 Gal opposed to a 20H when you do upgrade. and that size should be large enough for him/her full grown. of course the sooner the better. But the 10 should be fine atm. what are you feeding him? and with the red mark, I'de suggest a round of melafix/anti-bacterial treatment. Make sure your water perameters are in the green zone first. and if you do use melafix follow the directions closely, and increase surface aggitation if possible. and how long have you had him?

I doubt it's a neurological problem but it can happen.