hi Im new to this

[kimsoph]

can someone tell me is it normal fao all the fish are on the top.... they have been fine until about an hour ago,
we got the tank and set-up yesterday, and all seemed fine till, like I say an hour ago....
thanks in advance

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Its not realy normal if all the fish are on the top although it also depends on what they are, first some questions to get an idea of your situation ;

a. How many gallons is the tank and did you use any dechlorinator/water conditioner on the water you put in it?
b. Doe the tank have a filter, heater and lighting?
c. How many fish do you have and what types?
d. What temp is the tank set at and do you have any test kits for ammonia, nitrate and nitrites?

 

[kimsoph]

hi thanks for getting back to me,
bear with me i'm new and the fish came with tank....
we have a juwel rio 180 tank, i think it holds 190 litres???
we have about 16-18 little fish, 6 neones, they are about the only ones i know, one catish, one sucker thing.... even a 9cm black shrimp
when we added the water last night, we put in some stuff to make the tap water safe... nothing else so far, thay have been great until about an hour ago, suker and catfish are on the sides, so I guess they ok, but all the fish are at the top, as tho they need feeding but they have been fed, unfortuanatly twice, once by me then my daughter....

 

[kimsoph]

sorry, yes they have heater, pump thing all in one, as per jweul systems, temp is at 26-27....

 

[IovaykInD]

Maybe add an air pump to the tank, it might be that they are low in oxygen. Are they gasping for air?

Isaac

 

[kimsoph]

it does look like they are gasping a bit at the top, but they seemed ok all last night....
i thought the juwel system was all in one

 

[kimsoph]

just had another look.... and while they seem to be at the top they not actually got heads or mouths out of water.....

 

[Jamnog]

26 sounds good for the fish you mention. but i htink you might have introduced the fish a little early. "we got the tank and set-up yesterday" normally you need to allow the water to cycle before adding the fish fish can do ok in an uncycled tank sometimes esp the hardyer fish such as neons but the water quality is verry important. if you can boil some water and leave it to cool and slowly introduce that in the place of some of the water thats in the tank it should reduce the cholrine content. if you have allot of plants in the water this also helps and a nice air pump is a good idea. try to keep the light on for less time during the day when the fish are new to the tank. if you can i think it would be a good idea to take some of the water in the tank to the fish shop where you got the fish from and ask them to check it for ph/nitrate/nitrite im not a water chem expert but this can cause the fish to try to gulp air from the surface sometimes. one other thing that people tend to forget is that when fish are transfered to a new tank they try and gulp air to clear their gills (some even try to jump out of the water) anyway listen to what the others have to say and try not to panic too much about the fish sometimes you can do them more harm than good by changing too much as stress is the biggest threat with a new fish straight from the shop. its a difficult thing for a fish to be carried from a shop and put in a totally new place with i had this problem when i first set up a tank.edit : and i would say no matter how much you prepair the water and the situation its a very difficult time adding new fish it normally gets easyer the more setablished the tank gets.

 

[kimsoph]

Thankyou jamnog,
we bought the whole set up from a mate, so we had to put them when we got home really, didn't know what else to do with them.....
we did use some stuff thats helps with tap water to make it safe...
They look ok, just swimming about at the top and not actually gasping for air but a bit I suppose really...
think I may just keep an eye on them till hubby gets home....

 

[kimsoph]

we do have a testing kit, but i wouldn't know where to start

 

[kimsoph]

OK, have turned the light off, and a good few of them came down the tank straight away, they may not have been used to the light on all the time, I don't know...

 

[kimsoph]

OH no, just lost the sucker one and another, RIP......

 

[Jamnog]

ahh sory to hear that umm the testing kit would come with some instructions but i dont think it would save many in the short term. i think the best thing to do is try not to stress them if you put the tap water stuff in then it should be safe enough in terms of clorine and it should have some stuff to calm them down. I would put it down mostly to the move are they lathargic it could be a lack of oxigen to some extent if you have a filter on the side of the tank try and make it so its breaking the water if you have an air pump on an airstone that would help.

 

[Fish_n_Frys]

Hiya,

Go here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...&st=0&p=856149&

I had the exsact same problem...

Missy xxx

Ps: Mail me if u want to go into more details!

 

[kimsoph]

Hi thanks all of you,
am currently changing some of the water, pump seems ok, but will get hubby to check when he gets home about 10 mins now.... have lost a neon now
Missy did read you previous post, sounds good to me, tho is all fairly new