I am sure fish get ichy like any other animal ... But I have never seen him do it.

twice my piranha has rubbed himself against the peice of wood in the tank.

Water stats Perfect.
Temp Perfect.
Feed
water changes done.
no sign of disease.

Is this common? Ichy? Territorial marking of some sort?

it may just have an itch... but, i don't know if fish do get itches.
its more likely to be something to do with its slime coat building up in certain areas of the fishes body.
saying that, it may be little parasites (sort of nits to humans sorta thing).
i'd try some ich treatment for the full course just be sure, it shouldn't do more harm than good.
if the problem persists, try some anti-parasite treatment. shouldn't, again, do more harm than good

actually, it can do a bit of harm. if there really is nothing wrong with the fish, treating a healthy fish might cause resistant bacterial strains and make it more difficult to treat the fish when it really gets sick. i don't know why, but it's just something i've read.

I heard that treatments are hard on the fish and also lower oxygen levels.

The fish seems 100% fine ... I have only ever seen him do it twice BUT felt I should understand why (when reading an article about fish reactions when they die.)

I was just making sure everything is ok.

Just being a good pet owner ha ha

Also to note the fish is on his own with no tank mates and the current tank he is in was started from scratch (long story) so I am not sure how ich would be in the tank.

This post has been edited by piranha_tim: Jun 22 2008, 03:26 PM

Fish can just get the odd little irritation every now and again. If it's only occasional, I wouldn't worry about it. It's when the flicking gets excessive you have to start investigating as to why.

Medications are rough on the renal system of the fish, and yes, they affect the gills' ability to absrob oxygen from the water Too much medication can alter the blood chemistry of the fish and cause renal failure.