Rubber lip pleco above the water line

[Cherrys]

What would cause a new rubber lip to be above the water line? I checked the water parameters and they are perfect (0 Ammon/Nitrite & 5-10 nitrates). I will double check again in the morning, but I would expect detection of ammonia/nitrites if that were the cause of the fish's behavior.

I bought this pleco roughly 6 hours ago. It was hiding in a cave until about an hour ago when I found it with it's nose out of the water. Tank is 55 gal (208L) 48"x13"x21" medium planted with java fern, anubias, vallisneria, water lettuce, and water wisteria.

A few of the new long finned leopard danios are gasping at the surface as well (also bought with the pleco).

Tankmates include 13 cherry barbs (acting normal), 10 leopard danios (half gasping, half swimming normally) and the pleco.

I moved one of the filters to cause more water agitation to see if that will help at all in the mean time. I know rubber lips need a current, but I thought there was plenty before.

 

[FroFro]

Gasping for air? I'd think it'd be a lack of oxygen in the water. I suggest getting an aquarium air pump and air stone/bubbler wand to help oxygenate the water. Usually gasping indicates that ammonia and nitrites are at toxic levels. A water change is in order, at least 50%, maybe even larger. Make sure the water is conditioned before you place it in and the same temperature as the tank water to prevent temperature shock.

What is your tank cleaning routine? Do you siphon waste from the bottom every water change? How often do you do water changes and at what quantity?

What kind of water testing kit do you use? If its the strips I've read those can be very inaccurate.

 

[Sgooosh]

maybe stress and o2 lack. get an air pump or wait it out.

 

[Cherrys]

Maybe not gasping, but definitely sitting at the surface. I always use the API master test kit.

I did a water change two days ago and parameters were perfect when I checked today. If something has changed in the morning I'll change it again, but if not a water change will not change anything.

Yes I gravel vac with every change and change about 30% of the water every week. I'll be upping the percentage now that I have a full tank.

Hopefully it's simply stress. It did arrive at the pet store late yesterday afternoon. Could be too much change for the little guy. I would have preferred to wait until the weekend, but they would have been gone by then unfortunately.

The others that were at the surface seem to be swimming more now so hopefully moving the filter for more water agitation was all I needed.

 

[FroFro]

Maybe not gasping, but definitely sitting at the surface. I always use the API master test kit.

I did a water change two days ago and parameters were perfect when I checked today. If something has changed in the morning I'll change it again, but if not a water change will not change anything.

Yes I gravel vac with every change and change about 30% of the water every week. I'll be upping the percentage now that I have a full tank.

Hopefully it's simply stress. It did arrive at the pet store late yesterday afternoon. Could be too much change for the little guy. I would have preferred to wait until the weekend, but they would have been gone by then unfortunately.

The others that were at the surface seem to be swimming more now so hopefully moving the filter for more water agitation was all I needed.

Was it a big box pet store like petco and petsmart? They use different water and most of their fish come from fish farms with very hard water. The change could be stressing them, not to mention big box pet store tanks all share a filtration system. This makes them giant soup pots of goodness knows what parasites/bacteria/ and over all nasty that spread to the other fish. Did you quarantine them before introduction?

I'm lucky enough to have a local pet store nearby that have seperate tanks for each fish species (though I'm pretty sure their stock is a mix of local breeders and orders from fish farms) so any sick tanks are seperated and marked not for sale while undergoing treatment.

But yes, increased oxygen from an air pump/stone combo would help them breath easier.

 

[FroFro]

Yes I gravel vac with every change and change about 30% of the water every week. I'll be upping the percentage now that I have a full tank.

Thats a good idea, I have a 65 gallon main tank and I do water changes of 30%-40% twice a week. I also spoil my fish with treats though, so this requires some aggressive regular cleaning

 

[Cherrys]

It was a Petsmart. Not my favorite place but the Petco is 20mins further and it's already quite a drive. Unfortunately no local stores around here.

We have really hard water so that shouldn't be a problem. I also made sure to not let the bag water get into the tank so whatever they were swimming in hopefully is a non issue now.

He's moving around a bit more, but is still up by the surface. I believe he's fully in the water now though. Fingers crossed that is a good sign.

 

[FroFro]

It was a Petsmart. Not my favorite place but the Petco is 20mins further and it's already quite a drive. Unfortunately no local stores around here.

We have really hard water so that shouldn't be a problem. I also made sure to not let the bag water get into the tank so whatever they were swimming in hopefully is a non issue now.

He's moving around a bit more, but is still up by the surface. I believe he's fully in the water now though. Fingers crossed that is a good sign.

Well the thing about the hard water is every area can vary in alkalinity from a little to a lot. Many fish at the big stores don't often show signs of sickness or stress induced illness until later. I've bought fish that will appear perfectly healthy and then they die within hours or are covered in ick or worse the next day. The stress from the shipping, being tossed into subpar tanks with bright light, confined spaces, and people passing constantly makes it worse. I'm not a vet, but I think this plays a factor in comprimising their immune system and makes them suceptible to more illness/disease. Being in the soup pot like I mention earlier is just a "bonus". I've not bought livestock from petsmart in over two years, but even when I used to those buds got put in quarantine and treated with medication.

I hope he improves, I still suggest the air pump/stone combo. Keep us posted

 

[Colin_T]

It could be pH or GH shock, low oxygen levels or the fish is simply exploring. As the others have mentioned, increase aeration/ surface turbulence and see how it goes.

I would not do a water change today or for a few days because if it is pH or GH shock, a water change could make it worse.

Increase aeration and see how they do over the next 24 hours.

 

[Cherrys]

I didn't even think about pH. Probably not worth testing since I don't know the store pH. I'll be sure to wait a few days before changing any water just incase.

He seems to be doing better now. Back at the bottom of the tank stuck to the glass near some plants.

Any idea why only some of the fish would have had a problem with the amount of aeration? Seems like increasing the agitation is working. Or they were just stressed and needed more time to settle in.

 

[Colin_T]

probably stressed and need time to adjust to the new tank and water conditions.