Damsel piping??

[JessKaye]

Hi team, fairly new the the reef world so thanks in advance for the help! My yellow tail damsel has been intermittently doing this strange behaviour of actively swimming at the top of the water, maybe piping (?) and also jumping out of the water. In between he has hours of acting normally - swimming at the lower half of the tank, eating normally etc. I’ve moved the wavemaker to point to the surface in case it was aeration and that hasn’t changed it. The other fish appear normal. I was wondering if I should do a freshwater dip to look for flukes? Any other ideas? Thanks so much! Video was taken after lights out so looks a bit funny but I think still captures what he’s doing.

 

[JessKaye]

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

The piping behavior can be a learned behavior, calked a stereotypy (think tiger pacing in a zoo). In other cases, the fish are chasing air bubbles, searching for food.

However, in your case, the damsel is REALLY pale. How long have you had this fish? Can you post a video of the tank from the side through the glass?

 

[vetteguy53081]

Need brighter lighting and a video showing the fish clearer

 

[Decamicron Labs Verified Sponsor]

I'm also concerned about that blue light there. Is that a UV sterilizer?

 

[rayadog]

Hopefully they are just pale looking in the dark and nipping for food. Following along