my fish scratch against rocks seldomly

[quinconte]

Hi folks, my fish scratch against rocks sometimes, some of them, some clowns, a yellow tang, I have two cardinals, they never do it. No spots on the skin, no strange behavior that I could notice. I asked about it and I was told: "well, fish always scratch" my question is, given the fact that they look pretty healthy and that they do it very sporadically, I've been watching them some times, for an hour and they haven't don it, could it be not necessarily hill related, and like the guy said " well, they always scratch"?
Thanks!

 

[btldreef]

Sometimes they just do it because they can. But, often it's due to an irritant such as a parasite. The most common cause for scratching is marine ich. Just a word of caution with ich: just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there.
Did you quarantine your fish?

 

[siptang]

ICH
Keep your eye on the fish, this could potentially wipe out your tank if you don't act carefully and FAST.
Signs of ich,
scratching on rocks or on the sand be.
small white dots appearing on fish.
labored breathing.

 

[quinconte]

No I didn't, first timer, I'm in the second week of Hypo following the instructions of the folks in the forum. It is my display tank but I have only fish for now. I have set up my QT for the next time.
Thanks!

 

[beth]

If this is occasionally happening, and you see no signs of parasites, or other diseases, then its nothing. Same as humans who need a back scratcher occasionally.
To be sure there is no issue, take a close look at your fish daily, a couple a times a day using a magnifying glass. This is really something that would be a good practice to do anyway. If you see absolutely nothing over the next two weeks, then you there should be nothing to concern yourself with.

 

[florida joe]

Quote:
The most common cause for scratching is marine ich.
will all do respect the most common couse of scratching is an itch or to dislodge food