Needing Air?!

[Rorie]

Hey,

So i just got 2 Julii Corys...i hear there is a debate if that is what they are, but they look identical to these http/www.seriouslyfish.com/profile.php?genus=Corydoras&species=julii&id=274

(sorry for posing a different website/forum)

I am worried.... they are bottom feeders, but ever since i got them, they have been swimming up and down as if they are surfacing for air. But, they do not always make it to the top.

I have a 90L Aqua one 620AR tank. It has a wet and dry filter built in. Could it be that there is not enough oxygen in the water? Or are they just playing?

In my tank i have 2 mollys, 2 guppys, 3 glowlight tetras, 3 danios.

Thanks

 

[MewMew42]

the 'juliis' will probably be these link
teh picture you posted of juliis are actually trilineatus

how often are they doing it?

corys are air breathers so they will come up for air at some points, but not constantly

got any water parameters?

 

[Harlequins]

Mewmew is correct,even though the pic says julli they are actually Trilineatus,they are often mis sold has julli's,true julli's are hard to get hold of and they have spots rather than squiggly joined up spots/lines like the tris.
Fab cory though i have 15 of them plus juvi's

If they're just going up and down the sides and not surfacing then they're just playing,but if you see them hanging around the top alot gasping then theres a problem.
Either lack of oxygen or poor water quality...

Has mewmew says they do dive up to the surface every so often,mine might do it once a day if that,and its quite amusing because if one does it,they all follow suit

 

[Rorie]

Cool, thanks for the replies.

They have settled down now, however, i am concerned about the water quality!

Today i did a water change, and for the first time, i changed the carbon in the filter. I followed the instructions and washed it etc. The water has turned foggy now..... It was fine earlier today after i changed it, and up until i introduced the Corys, but over the last couple hours it has turned foggy. I cannot work out what is wrong. I just tested the water and it is all perfect! Advise please!

I will post this question again in the emergency bit in case you guys are off line now.

Rorie

 

[Harlequins]

Carbon don't really do a lot after a week or so,they are best used if you have used meds and use fresh carbon to remove meds out of the water when you've finished,or removing tannins out of the water.

So really you're better off putting floss or media in the hole the carbon has come out of...

Even though you washed the carbon,it could be still the dust coming off it...if stats are zero then i wouldn't thought it was bacteria bloom.
It may be worth taking the carbon back out and do a waterchange and see what happens.

Hopefully someone on emergencies may help out more.

 

[emmettbaby]

My cories did the same thing when I put them in my 10 gallon. They would come up a lot, but stayed near the bottom the rest of the time. Everything said my water was good so I put an air stone and that did the job. Now I maybe see one or two surface a day. It's kind of cute too because the littlest one and the biggest one will swim through the bubbles... The others don't really go near it though

 

[Rorie]

hmm, i think i should maybe get some sort of air pump into the tank then....

I was looking online for some, but i am confused with the options available and what is best to get. Can you give me any opinions or ideas?

Can i just get a pipe and a pump? I have seen so many 'diffusers' and also things like clam shells that pump out air, but i have no idea what i need to buy and what works best

 

[Harlequins]

An airpump thats suitable for the size of your tank,airline pipe,non return valve(these are a must just in case power goes down,the water will get into the pump otherwise) and an airstone,up to you what sort,they do standard ones,or bubble ones,which are round disc shape or novelty ones like the clam shell etc...

The basics are
Airpump
airline tube
airstone
non return valve.

 

[Rorie]

Thanks.

Any recommended brands i should aim for? I read about one pump that got shocking reviews as it was really noisy. I gather the more i pay the more i get, but any good advise?

I gather the air stone is just the thing that allows the air to flow out? Is there any benefit going for one kind or another? I guess some spread the air out as a bar of air while others put it out as a column (if that makes sense?)

 

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

Thanks.

Any recommended brands i should aim for? I read about one pump that got shocking reviews as it was really noisy. I gather the more i pay the more i get, but any good advise?

I gather the air stone is just the thing that allows the air to flow out? Is there any benefit going for one kind or another? I guess some spread the air out as a bar of air while others put it out as a column (if that makes sense?)

Not necessarily true. I have a mid priced one (I dont know the make sorry) and it's reasonable in terms of noise. I had a fairly expensive one and it was noisy. I can't help on that sorry.

The air stone, you are correct just allows the air to come out (i.e. creates the bubbles). I don't think the shape matters - it's aesthetics really. Just pick something you like the look of. I have two long ones together so they make a wall of bubbles.

 

[Rorie]

So i just got a pack from my local shop - it came with a pump (Elite 802) 2 stones, 2 check valves and the tubing.

I do not want both of the stones just now, so i want to stop air coming out of the second outlet. The flyer that came with the pump states i should not physically stop the air coming out.....but nowhere does it tell me how i should stop it!

Any ideas?

 

[Harlequins]

Just connect it up to one of the outlets.it should be fine.

 

[Rorie]

It is supper noisy when the air is coming out the second, non connected pipe. So i cut the pipe and connected half to the outlet not in use, this reduced the noise as the vibrating air is eliminated

 

[mattlee]

you could have just aimed the filter outlet towards the surface aggetating it, this gives a better gas exchange rate which is pretty much what air pumps are sold for. unfortunately they are only any good for decorative purposes.......

 

[Rorie]

Thanks Mattlee,

The pump is below the aquarium, so if i understand what you are saying, that would not work. I only need some extra air to keep the Corrys happy, so do not want a huge amount of air.

I have one outlet connected to a pipe that ends outside the tank. This allows the air to escape to atmosphere with little noise (granted i need at least 4m ish of piping as the couple meters i tried with to start with did not silence the noise enough).

The other end is connected to a flow control (a screw basically) which allows a restricted flow of air to the air stone, and then the execs air also goes out to atmosphere through another length of pipe. If i did not allow the excess to escape, it would damage the pump.

So in effect, i have a totally under utilised pump! 50% of the outputs are not used, and then of the one that is used, a tiny amount of the air is being used. So in effect, i am only using the pump to arround 25% of its ability. Seems silly, but hopefully it wont make the electricity bill sky rocket!

Rorie