Fish Constantly At Surface Since This Afternoon

[neon_platy]

Ok my PH level is 7.2, ammonia appeared again so i put in ammonia clear or something like that htis morning, this afternoon, took another reading, and there is no ammonia...now all of a sudden all my fish except cory and cae are at the surface constantly breathing...does that mean no oxygen?? Is there something I should/can do to get oxygen in the water if that's the prob??

 

[Kairi]

I don't know if the ammonia clear takes oxygen out of the water or not, but do you have an airstone you can put in there to help add some more oxygen to the water?

 

[karlp]

I guess lots of people will deal with this sort of thing in different ways.

Fish hanging at the surface indicates lack of oxygen in the water or the fish are near asphyxiation.

Get an airstone in there straight away and I would probably do a big water change as well (say 50%) to be safe.

 

[neon_platy]

I guess lots of people will deal with this sort of thing in different ways.

Fish hanging at the surface indicates lack of oxygen in the water or the fish are near asphyxiation.

Get an airstone in there straight away and I would probably do a big water change as well (say 50%) to be safe.

Thanks for the airstone idea, i called the lfs when i didn't see a post right away and they didn't mention that but said do a water change.

Thank you!

Brian

 

[Rooster]

I don't know if the ammonia clear takes oxygen out of the water or not, but do you have an airstone you can put in there to help add some more oxygen to the water?

Sorry... but lets put this old wives tale to bed an airstone will NOT add oxygen to water !
Its water movement that enables extra gas exchange at the water surface... ie the more water movement there is, the more oxygen will be absorbed into the water (along with other gasses, but O2 is the one we are interested in !)

So, having said that, running an internal filter so as the outlet just breaks the water surface, or using a spraybar to "jet" water onto the surface will be far more efficient than air bubbles !

As the fish are already telling you theres a problem, this is a problem that "happened" a while ago !
Get out your test kit, and test for:
1. Ammonia
2.Nitrite
3.Nitrate
and lastly, temperature.... too high a temp will cause this too.

Do this before and after a water change and let us know how you get on... good luck !

 

[monkeyman]

Sorry... but lets put this old wives tale to bed an airstone will NOT add oxygen to water !
Its water movement that enables extra gas exchange at the water surface... ie the more water movement there is, the more oxygen will be absorbed into the water (along with other gasses, but O2 is the one we are interested in !)

My thoughts exactly! Actual oxygen absorbed into the water is minimal, its when the bubbles break the surfave that things happen

 

[neon_platy]

Sorry... but lets put this old wives tale to bed an airstone will NOT add oxygen to water !
Its water movement that enables extra gas exchange at the water surface... ie the more water movement there is, the more oxygen will be absorbed into the water (along with other gasses, but O2 is the one we are interested in !)

My thoughts exactly! Actual oxygen absorbed into the water is minimal, its when the bubbles break the surfave that things happen

THanks for the help to everyone! I got the air pump/stone since they were still at the surface and it worked but now that i know what else could be causing lack of oxygen ill know that since the temp was a little higher after the change but that couldn't be the cause as the temp over last few days was a degree or two lower than what the temp had been in previous week.

Thanks again!

 

[wheelyfeet]

THanks for the help to everyone! I got the air pump/stone since they were still at the surface and it worked but now that i know what else could be causing lack of oxygen ill know that since the temp was a little higher after the change but that couldn't be the cause as the temp over last few days was a degree or two lower than what the temp had been in previous week.

Thanks again!

Brian,
You probably won't read this now that the emergency is over. But here are some ways to prevent future emergencies such as this.

First off, do a 25% water change weekly. (I happen to like this schedule. There are other recommendations out there, the important thing is to pick one and stick with it.) Not only do water changes remove toxins, they provide the tank with fresh oxygenated water. On a regular schedule, rinse your mechanical filtration media in dechlorinated tepid water to remove solids but retain bacteria culture. When you do water changes, gently vacuum the crud out of your gravel. Occasionally clean your filter assemblies.

If you don't do water changes, your water will become more and more full of other things besides H2O. This probably explains why your water suddenly went so bad after you added the ammonia clearing product. You added one more thing to already heavily soluted water. Try to use water changes to deal with water problems rather than adding products. Ammonia levels rise because there is something organic decomposing. Could be: left over food, dead fish or snail, fish waste, decomposing plants. It is best to remove problems, not treat them.

To help with oxygenation: Healthy plants, filter flow that breaks the surface of the water, airstone to disturb surface of water. Allow a little space between surface of water and tank lid if your lid is a glass one. However, none of these things will help much if fresh water isn't regularly supplied.

During your current situation, test your water daily and do water changes as needed to keep the parameters acceptable. You can change more than 50%. Of course, ammonia and nitrites should be zero, but nitrates should be very low as well. Vacuum your gravel, check your filter for blockage, dead things, etc. Decrease or eliminate feedings until your nitrites and ammonia levels are zero for a few days.