Weird behavior

[Becca]

Ok, I have 3 Lake Malawi Cichlids (approximately 2 1/2 inches in length a piece) in a 30-Gallon while I'm shopping for a 55 - but that's another story.

I noticed the orange one (which you can see a picture of here: http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=40888) kinda has this weird ritual...not sure what it's caused by... (normal behavior, breeding, illness, etc...) but here's the scoop:

First off, I'm not sure if it's a boy/girl, so don't take the pronouns seriously. She opens her mouth - quite wide, actually - wider than I'd think her mouth could open..then closes it. Then, within a few seconds, generally she turns away, but when she does so, she turns over and kinda rubs her left side along the bottom of the rocks then zooms off. She doesn't repeat it. That's it. She's done. In the past 24 hours, I've seen her do this 3 times.

None of the fish I've ever kept in this tank have ever done that before. None of the fish that I currently have (except for her) do this. There aren't any spots on her, and well, water params (I know some of you will ask) I'll have to post in the morning. I need a new test kit.

Just curious if some of you have seen this before and what it turned out to be.

 

[Snuff]

I don't know what exactly it is, but I'm pretty sure it's harmless. My mbuna do it quite a bit also.

 

[Becca]

Whew. First thing that came to mind was Ich - but since I didn't see any white dots on any of the fish, or any marks / fungus for that matter, it threw me off. I'll keep an eye on her to make sure she's still cool.

While I'm out tomorrow, I think I might pick up a book on Cichlids so I can start referring to these fish by what they are instead of what color they are.

 

[Snuff]

Check out your other thread, I already told you what they are.