# Behavior?



## Petzl88 (Feb 5, 2003)

My red belly will occasionally dart up against a plant or the heater, rub the side of his face, and then dart off. He does this all in a split second and I was wondering if anyone knew why he's doing this? Is something wrong in my tank?


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## SnowCichlid. (Jan 10, 2003)

This usually means that it is stressed out and it is having a "freakOUT" so to say ... give us some more details ... If he is doing this constantly but doesnt do it so quickly then he may have some kind of infection and is trying to scratch it off
...more info is required please


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## Petzl88 (Feb 5, 2003)

SnowCichlid, Thanks for the reply. He's a 4 inch red belly and he's been in my 30 gallon for a week now. He is extremely shy and I can tell that he is getting more used to his enviornment now. For the first 3 or 4 days he spent all of his time hiding behind his favorite plant, which I call his "spot." I didn't see him come out of his spot until the fifth day, and when he did, he would quickly swim around the tank for a minute or two, and then go back to his spot. If he sees any movement in the room, he goes to his spot. He's eaten a few feeder goldfish but won't venture out of his spot to eat any shrimp or beefheart yet. Every time that I see him venture out of his spot, which is once a night while the lights are off in the room, he swims calmly and gracefully around his tank, and then all of the sudden will dart very quickly up against the heater or a plant and rub his face, and then head back to his spot. I was just curious as to why he does this little act. What do you think?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

My reds do that too, in fact, most piranha keepers will say their fish do that. Most of the time it's just because they have an itch, and this is their way of scratching.
But when he does it very frequently, there may be something wrong with the tank water. If not, don't worry about it.

On a sidenote: I'd get a couple of extra reds to make him snap out of his shyness. In the wild, reds are shoaling fish, and the more 'buddies' they have, the bolder they get. Solitary pygo's most of the time are very boring...
If you decide to get more, get at least two more (two reds will continue fighting until one dies, three or more can distribute the agression more evenly), and make sure they're no more than 1-1,5" smaller or larger. You will need to upgrade your tank in the near future as well, if you decide to get some more reds.


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

check your ammonia and nitrates in your water, if they are fine it is most likely just an itch, watch for signs of infections and parasites though


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## fishman2 (Nov 27, 2002)

If the fish is doing that to the heater, could it be its attracted to the red light? or simply just scratching itself because of a parasite? Reds do that for any reason and the list could be long as to why it does it.


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## JEARBEAR (Jan 30, 2003)

Sir Nathan XXI said:


> check your ammonia and nitrates in your water, if they are fine it is most likely just an itch, watch for signs of infections and parasites though


This cariba I had used to do that, But at the time my tank was not cycled, When my tank got cycled I did not see him do it again.


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## SnowCichlid. (Jan 10, 2003)

JEARBEAR said:


> This cariba I had used to do that, But at the time my tank was not cycled, When my tank got cycled I did not see him do it again.


oh and since you said it was only in the tank for a week, was teh tank cycled before the P was introduced? This may answer your question. I would check your water conditions, and also would check for the next while the consistancy of these water parameters.
HOPE THINGS WORK OUT


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## Petzl88 (Feb 5, 2003)

Yea, the tank was cycled before he was introduced. It was a community tank for a few months, then my piranha was added. He actually seems to be doing a little better now. He's eating more and getting used to his home more too. It is great, because he is actually swimming around now! I guess he just had to get more used to his home. Thanks for the tips guys. This website is awesome. I am thankful to be a part of it. :rockin:


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