Fish rubs against heater

[bigwavereef]

Hey all have a question,guessing by the title I'm sure you have a guess. I recently got a yellow-tailed damsel he was my first fish to the tank, he's been in there for a week and half no problem looking very good. I don't have a quarantine tank, only a 20 gallon tall. Now no need for the reprimanding on the QT, maybe down the line I'll get that resolved, could always do the DIY temp with a bucket anyway..... So my damsel likes to swim against the heater sometimes. It doesn't happen often only from time to time, and he doesn't do it rapidly just once maybe twice on his side. I know from reading around here people will right away say he has a parasite and is itching, but it doesn't look like that's the case here as it's the only thing he does it on. i just added a clown so I'll watch to see if he has any similiar traits in the next week or so...

Anyone else have this happen before?

[00Warpig00]

Does he rub on his same side every time? Just curious. If he does it could be an indicator that he is itching something.

I know I will not buy a fish that I see rub against anything and I consciously look for this behavior in the LFS... but that's just me.

Nick

[Misled]

I was looking to give you an answer and thinking as I read, then I got to this.

Originally Posted by bigwavereef

i just added a clown so I'll watch to see if he has any similiar traits in the next week or so...

Maybe down the line you'll get to working it out. In the meantime, just keep throwing fish in till then.

Anyone else have this happen before?

No, but I QT.

[jason2459]

Sounds like you are fishing for an answer you want to hear. Sounds like the fish is irritated by something.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

[bigwavereef]

Tanks for the replies all,misled little sarcasm there?! No need to be a dick if so

Warpig, no it's not the same side everytime, I'll watch him when and if he does it again, like I said it's not a constant thing.

[Misled]

Ok, so here's the rub, (pun intended),if, and like I said if, there's ick present in the tank, there's a good chance the clown will end up with it too. Especially because it will be stressed from being in a new tank. There's a good chance the ick cycle will be different than the one the damsel is on. If, and I'm still saying if, this is the case, it just makes it more difficult to get rid of.

By the way, the sarcasm is because we don't have a smiley for that yet, but did I say something you didn't do? Also "you" should edit that word from your post. This is a family board.

[lordofthereef]

Originally Posted by bigwavereef

Tanks for the replies all,misled little sarcasm there?! No need to be a dick if so

Warpig, no it's not the same side everytime, I'll watch him when and if he does it again, like I said it's not a constant thing.

Though he was extremely blunt, he's right. It sounds like you know what a quarantine is, but have dismissed it as not necessary. On top of that you've added more fish. What advice is left to give you?

[dzfish17]

Originally Posted by bigwavereef

Hey all have a question,guessing by the title I'm sure you have a guess. I recently got a yellow-tailed damsel he was my first fish to the tank, he's been in there for a week and half no problem looking very good. I don't have a quarantine tank, only a 20 gallon tall. Now no need for the reprimanding on the QT, maybe down the line I'll get that resolved, could always do the DIY temp with a bucket anyway..... So my damsel likes to swim against the heater sometimes. It doesn't happen often only from time to time, and he doesn't do it rapidly just once maybe twice on his side. I know from reading around here people will right away say he has a parasite and is itching, but it doesn't look like that's the case here as it's the only thing he does it on. i just added a clown so I'll watch to see if he has any similiar traits in the next week or so...

Anyone else have this happen before?

Yes it does happen and Im not sure why. I have 25 healthy, thriving fish but I occasionally see one rub against a rock. Every fish that is in my tank has gone through a cupramine and prazipro treatment. I thought it might be high nitrates but my tank is less then 20 ppm. Another thing that I questioned is proper gas exchange. My tank is tall (46") and fairly narrow (36") with no sump. Ive added two more powerheads for better surface agitation. This may have been the problem... Ive been watching the tank for a few days and havent noticed anything yet. I know you dont want to hear it but a QT tank is a good idea... then you can rule out things like ich or flukes.

[sandwi54]

mild-infection of ich (or some other parasites such as flukes) typically happens mostly in the gills, where they are not visible. continuous scratching (no matter how infrequent) is almost always an indication of parasites (ich or flukes). you will need a QT to treat either of these and leave the DT fallow for 10 weeks. This is definitely not the answer you want to hear, but you've just gotten hit by the bullet, so set up that QT and use it religiously on every new fish, and you'll never have to deal with this again.

[bigwavereef]

Originally Posted by dzfish17

Yes it does happen and I'm not sure why. I have 25 healthy, thriving fish but I occasionally see one rub against a rock. Every fish that is in my tank has gone through a cupramine and prazipro treatment. I thought it might be high nitrates but my tank is less then 20 ppm. Another thing that I questioned is proper gas exchange. My tank is tall (46") and fairly narrow (36") with no sump. Ive added two more powerheads for better surface agitation. This may have been the problem... Ive been watching the tank for a few days and havent noticed anything yet. I know you dont want to hear it but a QT tank is a good idea... then you can rule out things like ich or flukes.

Hey thanks man, yeah if not behavioral it could be because of the trates mine are a little below 20ppm still or it could be the proper gas exchange as I have an airpump I could use but that things loud and get's obnoxious so I don't run it, nor do I have a powerhead. I run two hob filters so I figured that might help with the o2, butperhaps it's the aeration.

Lord of the reef, a little presumptuous to assume my view's & standing's on a QT tank.I simply can't afford a QT tank, i'm a college student on a budget,perhaps a hob maybe but that's about it. I merely only mentioned it in the initial post because this forum, as useful as it can be, has the reputation for people being religiously adamant on setting things up a certain way when you can have successful tanks otherwise..i.e RO/DI vs. tap etc/ T

Overkill,My DT is a nano 20 gallon, it's been up for a month and half and I finally got fish in, so there's no way sandwi that I'll be emptying it for 10 weeks off a loose based guess... just cause there may be a loud pop doesn't mean that it was a gunshot, let alone that you've been hit. thanks for the advice though.

Misled, always appreciate a good punn!

Enough with the Qt,you guy's are all so quick to diagnose ick without even seeing the guy,but I do appreciate your help I know the symptoms and haven't seen any other signs like white spot's or heavy gilling...not to mention most of the time ich goes away by istelf. Anyway, any other's experience this fish behavior without problems? That's what I'm really asking here

[Misled]

Just in case, this is a good read.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1985626

[jason2459]

And there it is. You got what you wanted to hear...

[cloak]

Fish rubbing up against a heater or a rock every now & then is nothing to panic about IMO. When it becomes a habit, then somethings wrong. As long as your parameters are within reason and the fish is eating well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. An infected fish should heal up in a happy healthy environment, not the other way around. At least that's been my experience. GL.

[jason2459]

Certainly not saying to panic or saying its a parasite but something is irritating the fish to want to rub up against something. It's not in the nature of fish to do otherwise as it could damage their scales. Sure it could go away but the OP also clearly stated he knows he needs to get a QT but then proceeds to ignore needing a QT and adds more fish. If you don't want to use a QT then just say so. Don't try and skate around the subject and think you are saying what you think other people will believe is acceptable. Don't pretend you want to use one and give an excuse why you don't. Water, $5 dollar plastic bin from wallmart, $15 foam filtered powerhead, and a $15 heater is all that's needed if you really want to setup a QT. College students always claim broke until the weekend comes. Skip a few parties and eat some more noddles. Or just say you don't want to QT.

[cloak]

Are you talking to me? In my opinion were the operative words. (IMO) Don't get it twisted...

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by cloak

Are you talking to me? In my opinion were the operative words. (IMO) Don't get it twisted...

Started as a reply to you then half way through turned into a reply to the OP. I did a poor job breaking that up.

[cloak]

No worries. I hope everything works out for everybody, one way or the other. GL.

[bigwavereef]

Just a random update but the diagnosis of ich and all the qt talk wasn't necessary. All went away. I ended up getting rid of the guy cause he was a bully but the clown was never affected. Thanks for the input guys!

[MrTuskfish]

Originally Posted by bigwavereef

Hey thanks man, yeah if not behavioral it could be because of the trates mine are a little below 20ppm still or it could be the proper gas exchange as I have an airpump I could use but that things loud and get's obnoxious so I don't run it, nor do I have a powerhead. I run two hob filters so I figured that might help with the o2, butperhaps it's the aeration.

Lord of the reef, a little presumptuous to assume my view's & standing's on a QT tank.I simply can't afford a QT tank, i'm a college student on a budget,perhaps a hob maybe but that's about it. I merely only mentioned it in the initial post because this forum, as useful as it can be, has the reputation for people being religiously adamant on setting things up a certain way when you can have successful tanks otherwise..i.e RO/DI vs. tap etc/ T

Overkill,My DT is a nano 20 gallon, it's been up for a month and half and I finally got fish in, so there's no way sandwi that I'll be emptying it for 10 weeks off a loose based guess... just cause there may be a loud pop doesn't mean that it was a gunshot, let alone that you've been hit. thanks for the advice though.

Misled, always appreciate a good punn!

Enough with the Qt,you guy's are all so quick to diagnose ick without even seeing the guy,but I do appreciate your help I know the symptoms and haven't seen any other signs like white spot's or heavy gilling...not to mention most of the time ich goes away by istelf. Anyway, any other's experience this fish behavior without problems? That's what I'm really asking here

I never really got past your paragraph. At what level do nitrates hurt fish? Have a source? ( A little hint: they generally don't)
BTW, do you have any idea how often many of us see this exact scenario.....followed by a full-blown parasite-induced panic?

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by bigwavereef

Just a random update but the diagnosis of ich and all the qt talk wasn't necessary. All went away. I ended up getting rid of the guy cause he was a bully but the clown was never affected. Thanks for the input guys!

FYI, the symptoms generally do go away through the parasite's life cycle. The clowns may be much better at fighting off most of the issues but still does not mean they are parasite free or the tank.