Weird Blue Tang behavior

[rydr119]

So I have this blue hippo tang its about 3.5" long (Its been with me since it was the size of a quarter) and its in my 65. I know they get big and they need bigger tanks then my 65. I am upgrading to a 183 within then next few weeks. Waiting for the tank delivery.
Anyway to my question. It does this strange behavior sometimes. It will swim down to a spot between the glass and a rock and kinda of scratch its side on the rock. Its only ever the right side. It scratches enough sometimes it gets a little raw. Never blood or anything just white where its been rubbed. What would cause this weird behavior. This fish doesn't have Ich, I have never seen ich on it and its a different kind of scratching then ich scratching. No new tank mates, Could it be the supplements I add? or an allergy? or is this fish just weird?
Thanks Gina

 

[myerst2]

That is not a weird behavior at all. That is a sure sign of a parasites. It may not be ich but some other parasite. Ich is generally the cause of constant rubbing on rocks. Many ich parasites live within the gill plates and therefore not visible. I would remove the fish immediatly to quarantine and start Hyposalinity. After that I would try and closely examine the fish as best as possible to see what is bothering the fish. Hippos don't take well to copper and you shouldn't start treating for ich unless you know that is the problem. Because treating the fish for ich when it is something else can cause far more damage than not even treating at all. Post some macro pics of the fish if you can. That will help to identify the problem hopefully. Regards, Tim

 

[Spooky208]

What is your salinity at? If its high fish will start doing the same thing but usually on both sides!

 

[snorvich]

That is interesting. I did not know that. What salinity is too high?

 

[rydr119]

Well I tried to get a pic but the rub marks aren't there right now. I notice this fish does this right after I add my supplements. I am gonna try to get a video of the fish doing it.