Chili Rasbora Flicking

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Hi, I noticed this behaviour in my tank and was wondering if this is something I should be concerned about. (I have a 5.5 with some chilis and a colony of shrimp and snails.) Occasionally one of the rasboras (not sure if it's always the same one) does this "flicking motion". (This was a less "extreme" occurrence, sometimes it can be much more pronounced.) I'd also be interested in knowing if I could add some more rasboras without wondering if this will spread to them. Thank you! 

 

 

Edited February 18, 2022 by FlyingFishKeeper

[Zenzo]

On 2/17/2022 at 6:33 PM, FlyingFishKeeper said:

Hi, I noticed this behaviour in my tank and was wondering if this is something I should be concerned about. (I have a 5.5 with some chilis and a colony of shrimp and snails.) Occasionally one of the rasboras (not sure if it's always the same one) does this "flicking motion". (This was a less "extreme" occurrence, sometimes it can be much more pronounced.) I'd also be interested in knowing if I could add some more rasboras without wondering if this will spread to them. Thank you! 

https://youtu.be/u1dgQVSZNPI

The link that you shared doesn't seem to be working.

If they are flashing/flicking, it may be due to something that is irritating their skin/scales. Sometimes it can be external parasites. Other times, a change in pH. Sorry...just trying to guess from the description since the video doesn't work.

I would start by testing the pH. 

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Ack, apologies, hit the wrong settings on YouTube, it should hopefully be working now? My parameters are 0 ammonia, or nitrite, barely readable nitrate (the tank is cycled however), 300+ ppm hardness, around 40 KH, I'm guessing somewhere around 6.6 for pH (between 6.4 and 6.8 on the chart), and 0 chlorine with a temp of around 76º (Sorry again, forgot to get the parameters posted)

Edited February 18, 2022 by FlyingFishKeeper

[Torrey]

I have watched it twice, now.

The flicking looks a lot like the rapid darting some fish do, especially if thete are microfauna in the tank they could be predating on.

What I find more alarming is he seems to be hiding under the heater and not hanging out with the rest of the chilis...

The coloring doesn't seem to be as vibrant as the rest, either. 

I'm also on an old phone, with less than ideal screen size, so I might be missing cues.

I didn't see any flashing (indicating an irritant in the tank), it was more reminiscent of a neurological twitch?

Sorry I can't help more.

[FlyingFishKeeper]

Ah, okay, thank you! I think the color might be a bit drab, and they aren’t schooling since I don’t have a large enough school (why I was wondering if it’d be a problem to add more fish). I’ve heard about some parasites affecting fishes nervous system, but can’t find much on that so I was wondering if anyone thought it was that. Thanks!

[Minanora]

Does not appear to be illness, imo. It looks more like hunting behavior. Either that or fear.

I have recently started keeping chili's as well. I've had 7 in a 2.6 gallon quarantine for the last 3 weeks. They seem to feel pretty safe in there. They greet me, explore a bit, then watch me work, then go explore again and then come back to where I am. On rare occasion I see hunting behavior similar to what yours did, but only after I feed live bbs. My plan is to put them in my 5.5 gallon shrimp tank soon, I wonder if that space will change their behavior.