View Full Version : Crosshatch Trigger Swimming Tight Circles Around Powerhead
Hey guys,
Noticed some strange behavior from our 3.5" female Crosshatch Trigger today.
She is swimming tight circles around a powerhead on the right of the tank.
Eats fine, no loss in color, no signs of disease, not scratching etc...
Could be a stereotypy... Maybe bored...
Shouldn't feel cramped in a 10 foot tank...
Any ideas?
Going to try to feed in a different area of the tank first, since that's the side she's favoring...
Thanks :)
Betta132
01/11/2015, 11:46 PM
Is there something interesting on the powerhead?
Are any of the others showing any problems breathing?
Is there something interesting on the powerhead?
Are any of the others showing any problems breathing?
Nothing I can see. Just swimming laps...
Everyone else is 100% "normal".
Kyuss
01/12/2015, 01:38 AM
I've never had a crosshatch, but every trigger I've had has done this in some form including the niger trigger I currently have. If he's eating otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about it. Triggers are quite quirky fish and yeah could be as simple as trying to appease the food gods to rain down more food lol - growing triggers can never seem to get enough of that either.
I've never had a crosshatch, but every trigger I've had has done this in some form including the niger trigger I currently have. If he's eating otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about it. Triggers are quite quirky fish and yeah could be as simple as trying to appease the food gods to rain down more food lol - growing triggers can never seem to get enough of that either.
Thanks Kris,
Well at least if it seems like normal behavior that's ok.
This morning I did their first feeding on the far left hand side of the tank. Going to try to vary things up a bit. Maybe your food god remark is true haha
Also adding 6 more fish into the display after two more weeks of QT. Maybe a bit more activity in the tank will help her break her boredom.
If that all still doesn't work, maybe I'll add a Gyre wavemaker on the side of the tank she hangs out and swims circles in...
indyjaco
01/12/2015, 10:36 AM
Not a Trigger, but my Hippo did that for extended periods in my old tank.
Not a Trigger, but my Hippo did that for extended periods in my old tank.
Did the behavior break, or just did it until you broke down the tank?
Dr Colliebreath
01/12/2015, 06:50 PM
My semilarvatus, saddleback and raccoon butterflyfish all so the same around a Vortech MP40. Sometimes one, sometimes two, and sometimes all three at a time. None of the other handful of fish do it. They only swim around the MP40 on the left end of the tank and never swim around the one on the other side.
There is nothing wrong and I just think it is their way of amusing themselves. It has been going on for more than a year. Sometimes one or more don't do it for a while, and then they resume.
Betta132
01/12/2015, 07:46 PM
Whatever's going on, I doubt it's a concern. Triggers are odd fish.
SteelMastiff
01/12/2015, 11:54 PM
My Niger has been doing this for years, others join in occasionally, nothing to worry about...
indyjaco
01/13/2015, 08:51 AM
Did the behavior break, or just did it until you broke down the tank?
He never stopped while I had him. I'm not sure if he does it in his new home. He was also the same fish that would grab/bite snails and give them a ride across the tank until he dropped them.
Thanks everyone :)
I'm always a little over concerned when it comes to fish. Was about to order a gyre pump just to switching flow up for one fish haha
Besides her behavior, everything seems fine with her :)
Kyuss
01/13/2015, 02:30 PM
Probably won't be the last thing she does that puzzles you. They come up with all sorts of strange ways to entertain themselves.
Probably won't be the last thing she does that puzzles you. They come up with all sorts of strange ways to entertain themselves.
I've heard of moving rocks...
When we went on vacation I made little PVC caps that had nori on them for the tangs that my parents could just drop in.
My parents said that they would play tough of war with the PVC for over an hour each day...
Kyuss
01/13/2015, 04:38 PM
I had a huma trigger that had a piece of broken off rock about the size of a superball. He would pick it up in his mouth and have to swim vertically because it was so heavy, then he'd place it somewhere and go on to move as much of the substrate from one spot in the tank to next to the rock. He always made sure not to bury it.
Haha that's funny :)
I hope our don't get into playing with rocks...
<--- Acrylic tank...
syrinx
01/13/2015, 10:45 PM
I had a humma with a pet rock also! If I would move it a few inches over, he would move it back as soon as I took my hand out of the water. After a few times of doing it, he would actually try to take it out of my fingers and play tug o war. Anytime someone calls or asks about triggers behavior, I always say- "its normal".
I had a humma with a pet rock also! If I would move it a few inches over, he would move it back as soon as I took my hand out of the water. After a few times of doing it, he would actually try to take it out of my fingers and play tug o war. Anytime someone calls or asks about triggers behavior, I always say- "its normal".
Hahaha
Ok I guess pretty much everything is normal with these fish then ;)
segg05
06/13/2015, 06:53 PM
I know this is an old thread but my Niger trigger does the same thing. He seems super happy. Eats like a pig. I thought he was just a weirdo!
I know this is an old thread but my Niger trigger does the same thing. He seems super happy. Eats like a pig. I thought he was just a weirdo!
They sort of stopped doing it.
Sometimes if I upset them with cleaning the glass where they hang out, one might start doing it again for a bit...
humaguy
06/16/2015, 08:22 AM
they will often do that when bored or neurotic....try adding some hermits to keep them occupied...that will also allow them to act like the predators they are...
they will often do that when bored or neurotic....try adding some hermits to keep them occupied...that will also allow them to act like the predators they are...
They don't really show any interest in crabs or snails right now...
Maybe since they're young?
They're more interested in waiting for me to feed them :uhoh3:
Sapelo
08/27/2015, 08:55 AM
I too know this is an old thread but just had to chime in....
We recently moved our Niger from a 90 gallon to a 300. I thought I was going to be a hero. With all of that new swim space, I was certain I was about to create the happiest fish in the world.
Instead, the trigger has adopted a powerhead. He spends all day every day swimming around the powerhead over and over and over.
He will stop to eat, he will even play with the nori clip, but he always returns to the powerhead.
In the 90, he used to make runs up and down the length of the tank.
Sigh. Fish are odd!
LOL...
I moved the powerhead they swam around and now they seem a bit lost :P
We have all of our Jebaos wired up to the APEX now.
I rotate through about 12 programs during the day, and in the "reef crest" modes I notice the Triggers swimming a lot over the length of the tank.
vBulletin® v3.8.4, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.