Cichlids rubbing in tank

[Rollins4Miles]

I currently noticed some of the larger cichlids in my tank will rub up against objects in the tank, primarily against the sand substrate. Is this perhaps a territorial or possibly a mating action?

Tank specs are listed in my signature. The water parameters are Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 10, Ph 7.8, Water Temp 78 degrees...a minimum of one water change, roughly 25 %, is performed every week.

The tank was treated for Ich roughly 6 weeks ago with no signs of infection thereafter.

Any advice or information in regards to the matter would be greatly appreciated. If there is any further information needed in order to provide reasoning for this then please feel free to ask.

Please refrain from bringing up the issue of having African and American cichlids in the same tank. That is not the issue at hand. Also, the African and American cichlids will be separated in the future. They are all juveniles at the moment.

[Northernguy]

Either your fish have an itch or you never got rid of all of the ich.
I hope they just itchy!
At least thats what it sounds like to me.

[Deleted User]

I've seen some of mine (mbunas) do it. I actually think it might be the water conditioner's slime coat stimulant causing it in some cases. Are they doing it persistently, or only every now and then? I've seen mine do it rarely but seemed more often when I was using Tetra AquaSafe water condition. Having well water, I probably don't need any but did recently switch to Prime.

[190MPH]

Mine have been doing that since day one, no ich. I was told that other than the obvious ich, that they do occasionally have an itch, and that they also do it to show off. I thought about how much they dig in the sand and realized that if I played in the sand that much, I'd be real itchy too:ssmile: ! I'm sure others will chime in.

[hybridguy]

i think its pretty normal behavior, mine do it from time to time. If they are all doing it at the same time then i might get concerned.

[robflanker]

Unless the fish are continually rubbing/flashing or show signs of ich/disease, it's most likely a territorial showing. Mbuna tend to do this quite a bit.

[Rollins4Miles]

Thank you all for your help with this issue. Yes it is only some of the fish on the occasion that do this. Most of the fish have not been seen acting this way. I'm glad to hear that this is normal. I was very nervous for the well-being of my fish as they've become a major part of my life. :fish: