Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / December 2003

Your fish is blind.

It could be trying to escape an aggressor.  I once had a yellow lab
that set up residence behind a filter tube for several weeks, in a
vertical position, as a way of making itself effectively invisible
to an aggressor.

It might help if you told us what type of African cichlid it is.  
The term "African cichlid" is something of a pet peeve of mine.  I
really wish it would be banished from the aquarist's lexicon; there
is very little that all cichlids from Africa share in common, so it
is not a very helpful term.  Most people also confusingly use it to
refer to Malawi cichlids, or rift lake cichlids, which are merely a
subset of the cichlids in Africa.

Meph

I believe it's hiding, like some other posters.  Maybe you don't see the
aggression from another fish.  It may be happening at night.

I have a Pseudo Socolofi Albino that does this for weeks at a time.  Then,
he's fine for a few weeks.  Then, after an incident of aggression with
another fish, he starts this again.  It must not be too painful because he's
growing fine, eating fine, and, he's been acting like this for almost two
years!  :)  I used to worry about it.  Now I don't.  :)

-Frank