My Virgate Rabbitfish is eating air!

[3_high_low]

Why's he doing that? Theres plenty of O2 in the tank, the other fish are fine, he seems fine. But he swallows air and it comes out his gills. Could he be eating something from the surface? I read that this fish has brackish or even fresh water capability. Maybe that has something to do with this behavior in my very salty reeftank? Anyone out there have one of these guys that behaves like this?

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Siganus&speciesname=virgatus

 

[Project Reef]

Dude, I was at the LFS today and I thought about you!

You are a sweetheart that's why.

LOL just messing...seriously though...I picked up an awesome lil rabbitfish,,sort of looks like the one in that pic but he's ALL yellow..he's pretty sweet.

Anyways....There were a couple of rabbit fish in different tanks, a few of them were sticking their mouths above the water level as if they were wanting oxygen. They looked very healthy though, but it was pretty weird.

But I think you may have something there in regards to it being a brackish water fish, perhaps salinity is too high... ?? who knows.

 

[chicki]

I don't know why, but I know mine does it too! He is fat and healthy and I think he does it just cause he likes to do it. I know he's not lacking oxygen or anything, so ..... ??
Their pretty neat though, hey?

 

[3_high_low]

Dude, I was at the LFS today and I thought about you!

You are a sweetheart that's why.

Cut it out, yer scaring me:lol:

So I'm not the only one with an air eating rabbitfish. But we still don't know why they do it. Oh well I guess it'll remain an unsolved mystery.

 

[GSerg2]

I have seen mine doing this too.

Greg

 

[HBtank]

An old thread but, my new rabbit (virgatus) is obsessed with this.

Anyone else seen this? It is kinda funny, and I swear it enjoys it.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Why don't you put it in a brackish water QT tank for a week or so and see if this persists?

 

[Project Reef]

Mark, we used to be so close. What happened?