Why Do Fish "flick"?

[addy_010]

just wondering why fish flick against objects in the tank every now and again? i ust did a google and people have said it can be white spot if done often (which it isn't, sometimes only notcie is 12 times in a week from all the fish) but is actually normal but didn't explain why.

so can anyone explain why a fish will flick themself against something?

 

[Bignose]

Well, at its simplest, fish get itches just like you or me, and they scratch it.

However, it should be a pretty rare event. 12 times a week is a lot. Think about how little time you actually spend sitting there watching the tank. An hour a day? An hour a day of full undivided attention? You are probably missing the other 90% of the time the fish are doing that, and really should investigate why the fish are flicking.

Ich is the first obvious culprit, but some careful observation could determine if it is that or not.

But, high nitrites, high nitrates, other parasites like velvet, or gill flukes, etc. can all be reasons why the fish are flicking. All of these need to be explored.

 

[addy_010]

ahh silly typo, i meant from counting the total that all the 15ish fish flick i count one to two so not that often, not i count 12 from each fish lol. so its justthem itching then?

 

[dthoffsett]

If you have African Cichlids flicking is a normal behavior usually denoting breeding or declaration of territory.

 

[Bignose]

ahh silly typo, i meant from counting the total that all the 15ish fish flick i count one to two so not that often, not i count 12 from each fish lol. so its justthem itching then?

Don't just dismiss it as simply itching, however without investigating all the possibilities. In terms of itching, I mean I catch one of my fish scratching against a surface one time about once every month or two months. If they are scratching more often than that, something is probably irritating them, and you should investigate what.

From A-Z of Tropical Fidh Diseases and Health Problems by Burgess, Bailey, and Exell

Scratching is most commonly the result of contamination of the aquarium water with dissolved toxins: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate.

It may also be due to the presence of suspended matter (i.e. did you wash out your gravel before use?)

Less commonly it is a sign of ectoparasite attack: skin slime disease, flukes, ichthyophthirius, piscinoodinium, argulus

The entry under flashing is similar.

The point is that if they are doing it a fair amount, then there is something causing it. And you should investigate all of these before you rule them out. As an example, when I first started keeping fish, mine would scratch and flash a lot. I thought it was ich first but a long series of ich treatments didn't change their behavior. Then I tried a gill fluke medicine -- cured it right up. There are lots of things that can cause this behavior, make sure you investigate them all before dismissing it as "just itchy."