Behaviour?

[bigfatfish]

When I move my decorations around, one of my GSPs feels the need to 'flash' his body against things. I was wondering if this is some sort of territorial behaviour? I have had them for about 4 months now & he has done it each time I have a change around - it lasts a couple of days maybe. Its exactly the sort of flicking I would expect from ich, but only the one GSP does it & there is definitely no ich present.

[RTR]

Is the rearrangement done after a water change?

If not, how deep is the substrate?

[bigfatfish]

Is the rearrangement done after a water change?

If not, how deep is the substrate?

I usually do it at the same time as a water change, although sometimes I just have a general move about with no water change. The substrate is plain gravel & varies in depth form 1" at the front to 2" at the back.

[RTR]

I would suspect an issue with the water changes rather than the physical arrangement or re-arrangement, as your gravel is not too deep. Do you full-depth vacuum it routinely? If not, it can still be the source of the irritant(s). Flashing without contagious disease is generally a response to irritants in the water, or too great a change in the water profile - which acts as an irritant.

HTH

[bigfatfish]

I vacuum at every water change. I thought I was pretty meticulous about getting the new water to "match" that of the current tank. Temp/SG - not sure what else I could do to improve the quality? Only one of the GSPs has ever done it - more sensitive perhaps?

[RTR]

All our fish are individuals, just as all of us are. It is highly likely that the symptomatic fish is more sensitive, maybe much more sensitve, than the other one. That can even happen with schooling fish.

If you are being that careful with the routine upkeep, I would just keep an eye on the involved fish and be sure it is unlikely to damage itself on the decor (roughness or sharp edges). Periodic changes are generally good for puffers - it does promote exploration and close scanning - which is a valuable activity for them. GSPs are active hunters - they have different body shape and activity levels from the lurking predators - we do need to keep their activity levels up.

[bigfatfish]

Thanks for your advice RTR.
These two are very active & are constantly exploring (& as you say, scanning). I feel sure I am doing things correctly & in every other way he seems healthy & his colours are glowing (especially when hunting!) I think I can do no more than just watch & see if anything develops.