Albino Tiger Barb?

Question

Why is my barb keep rubbing itself against flat surfaces, i mean there is nothing on it as far as i can see

help?

Answer 1

Seems like an onset of Ich ..

Check your water quality as 9 times out of 10, the fish can
do fine with a few Ichthyophthirius in the water, but when they are stressed by anything, like questionable water quality, it makes it much easier for the little buggers to set up shop in your fish.

Do a 50% water change, just to be safe and add 3 tsp of aquarium salt per gallon to your tank. This reduces the osmotic stress on the fish caused by the invading organisms.

Pick up an ich medication of your choice at the local fish
mart. Most of the ones that are sold are more or less effective. My personal favorite is a malachite green/formaldehyde combination sold under the brand
name "Quick Cure". ("RidIch" has the same ingredients.)

Raise the temperature in the tank above 85 degrees for 5-7
days. The tomites do very poorly at these temperatures, and it also speeds up the life cycle so more organisms are vulnerable to killing at any time.

Answer 2

Flashing (rubbing against objects in a tank) usually is a sign of a parasite problem. Just because it's a parasite, doesn't automatically make Ich the cause. Since your fish is a light color, try shining a bright light (like a flashlight) on it and see if you can see any raised areas or a gold-rust colored iridescence. This would be a sign of velvet. Velvet often starts under the gills where it would be harder to see.

On a darker colored fish, velvet shows up like a white powdery coating and you may not be able to see it that well on an albino, but you might notice the iridescence or see a few spots on the fins. Velvet would be treated by using a medication with malachite green and/or formalin. Both of these are carcinogens, so be careful when using them. The parasite causing velvet has a photosynthetic pigment (what gives the iridescence), so you should keep all tank lights off during the treatment (at least 14 days).

See the links below for more info on the treatment:

Answer 3

this could be the beginning of Ich... you can't always see it in early stages. try getting something like Maracyn at your local petstore. It is a week long treatment, make sure you continue the treatment the full time! it also wouldn't hurt to raise your temperature in your tank to about 85 to speed the cycle of the bacteria/fungus causing it, and add a little bit of salt to help kill it. about 1 tbsp per 5 gallons of water. Make sure you dissolve it in water from the tank first, because it wont dissolve if you just dump it straight in the tank as well. good luck!

Answer 4

A lot of my fish do that. They could have parasites or the beginning of ick. Just keep an eye on them or ask the people at the pet store what they think might be wrong.