29 Gallon Tank Old yellow lab acted weird this morning; was it 'normal'?

Wondering if anyone can give insight on my guy's behavior. Warren G is a 12 yr old yellow lab cichlid. He has a cataract in one eye that's been there for about 2 yrs now. This morning, he completely flipped out when I came to turn on his light which is the same routine that he's had for the past 12 yrs. The poor guy spazzed out at the surface to the point where he splashed water out of the tank and onto the wall. He swam around breathing a tad harder than usual, but has been fine all day and ate normally. He's never acted like this - does this sound concerning or am I overreacting? Also, he lives alone!

 

Do you think it was an act of aggression? Maybe you scared him? I, not 100% :/

 

Congratulations for keeping Warren G alive for so many years.
There's really no way to determine if Warren's over reaction was due to old age or some unidentified illness.
As long as he's eating and otherwise acting normally. Probably no worries.

 

Well it's been a week and he's been perfectly fine!

 

Yayyyy! I'm glad!

 

Wow 12 years is a long time. A lot of respect is deserved to you. And I'm happy he's doing good.