my jack dempsey

Question
i have a jack dempsey and he is about 6 inches big. i have had him for a long time now. but recently  at random times of the day or night he with swim into the bottom of the tank and thrash his head and his body into the stones below. nd it often seems like he actullay "knocks himself silly" he is making me worried that he will hurt him self.  i was wondering if anyone could tell me why he is doing this?


my email is  
dont hesitate to email me if you have any idea as to why he is doing this.

thank you

Answer
Hello Alley,
I'm sorry to hear about your fish. I think he'll be fine though.

Cichlids do this for 3 reasons. The first reason is to find food. Scraping and bumping the ground dislodge microscopic foods for them to eat.

The second is digging. This is one of the ways they dig around in the gravel. I know it may seem odd and unlikely, but it's true.

The third and most probably reason is because of microscopic parasites. these are quite common. Look at your fish very  closely and tell me is you see and spots, blotches, scrapes, dots, threads, etc.