Scratching/flashing question

hvacman250

New member
I know I am going to sound crazy, but is it possible for a fish to scratch/flash for no reason?

I have a Hippo Tang in QT that has always been a bit neurotic since the day I got him about 8 months ago (He came out of the display to treat for Ich/fallow tank). He has been in QT for almost 9 weeks. 4 weeks of copper, 3x tank transfer, 2x PraziPro, 10 days of ParaGuard, 1 dose of Furan 2.

He looks absolutely perfect. He has never had a white dot on him (Ich) that I have seen. He scratched some the first wek or two so I assumed he had Ich although he didtn show it. He went 4-5 weeks without scratching(that I noticed). In the last week he has started again. This week was supposed to be his last week before releasing after 10 weeks of fallow.

Now I'm paranoid.

He always seems to "scratch" behind his eyes. He always does it on the same 3" PVC elbow (there are 6 pcs of pipe in the tank).

Advice?
 
I had a lunare Wrasse that did the same thing, went through 8 weeks of quarantine with cupramine and Prazi, never a spot on him but scratched here and there?
 
I have a yellow tang that also scratches, no ick, fat and healthy looking. I have often wondered myself but, if its not broken, I try not to fix it.
 
I wouldn't be too worried about it.

It's probably some debris trapped in the fishes scales, or a dead scale that the fish is struggling to dislodge.

That's why I feel cleaner shrimp are useful. They don't eliminate parasites, they are the toothpick of the sea. Imagine something is stuck in your teeth and you have no hands. You'd be swishing water around in your mouth and trying to dislodge the piece with your tongue. Those two things might work, but damn a toothpick would be nice.
 
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I think fish are often left with some sores & scaring, especially in the gills, after ich/flukes. I'd sure watch him a while, though.
 
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