griffrat

So, the wife was watching the tank a few days ago and noticed some interesting behavior. A few cherry barbs were "bouncing" off of rocks and seemed to be rubbing up against things. Also, none of the other tank mates (in profile) have exhibited any of this behavior when I watch the tank. but the wife says that the rainbow shark does it sometimes.

The wife had read about infections that caused the cherries to bounce and rub against terrain and such. So I called the decent FLFS and asked about it they recommended Melafix and I started a treatment regime for them.

Thing is that they look "normal". No spots or cloudy eyes. Just every once in awhile a couple of them will do this bouncing? Is this just a strange behavior or is this a sign of a deeper problem?

Thanks!!

Butterfly

Have you checked your water parameters? sometimes an elevated Nitrates level will cause a little irritation and they will rub against the decor, gravel, plants. This is called flashing.
When I was keeping large Clown Loaches in the 75g right before water change time they would start doing that. So I started doing two water changes each week for them since they are so messy.
Maybe you just need to do a slightly larger change per week or two small ones each week what ever works best.
Carol

griffrat

I started to do larger and more frequent water changes, and added some more plants. It seems to have done the trick...Although, my water parameters hadn't really changed or spiked between checks (I was checking once a week). So, I figure that the plants and the changes can't really hurt....

Butterfly

Yep an extra water change is never a bad first line of defense when you notice a problem or think you have a problem. Live plants are a plus to any tank. Your fishes love you!!!!
Carol