is it okay if enough space for fish?

Question

is it okay to not hav a air pump if ur fish has plenty of spacein its tank?
wat kind of chemical that they sell at the store clears chlorine in tap water?

Answer 1

You don't need an air pump, depending. If you have a Hang off the Back filter, then your water will have constant moving contact with air (oxygen), and if your filter is high enough from your water, you will see the bubbles pour into the water from the filter flow. If you're seeing that, you don't need an additional air pump.
Also, if you have a 'long' tank as opposed to a 'tall' tank, then you have more surface area for the water to do a gas exchange and get air, and you probably don't need an air pump.
Do not get an airpump if you have a betta, they hate fast water current and an air pump will really stir up the water.
Other than that, fish will usually benefit from having an air pump.

Also, do NOT use an undergravel filter. I've used both, under gravel and hang off the back, and an undergravel is gross. People think that with a UG filter, they don't need to clean the water. Wrong. The food and fish waste just collects into the gravel and rots. Oh, it biodegrades eventually, but your fish and your feeding produces way more waste than any undergravel filter can deal with. It's like if you threw all your food waste into your back yard every day. Yeah, it would biodegrade eventually, but not before you threw plenty more food on it.

Use Prime, Amquel or Stress Coat to dechlorinate the water. At your petstore there will be a whole section of bottles marked "dechlorinator," and any kind will do but the ones I just mentioned are my prefered brands.

Oh... goldfish need 20 gallons each, not 10. Fancy goldfish, that is. Any other goldfish need a 300gallon tank or a pond, because they grow to 18-24" and a HUGE waste producers.
Common pleccos need at least 40 additional gallons to themselves, and should never be kept in tanks smaller than 100 gallons. Get a bristle-nosed pleco if you want one, they only reach 4-5" and will be fine in a 20gal+ tank.

Answer 2

Air pumps are a useful tool to disturb the surface, but they aren't a necessity - the necessity is having the water moving at the surface to promote oxygen introduction into the water.

It's a personal opinion, but I find the sound of air-pumps annoying and for many years have avoided them altogether by using the filter to accompish the same thing - hanging filters autimatically do it because the water is poured in from above, canister filters can have their outputs pointed upwards to accomplish the task.

People might feel strongly about the way they do things, but theres's always more then one way to skin the cat.

Answer 3

Air pumps in my own humbled are a neccessity for any aquarium keeping just about anything in it which is supposed to be alive.

Fish dont breathe water, they breathe oxygen. This oxygen must be constantly replenished in the water supply in order for your fish to thrive. By simply adding an airpump with an airstone to your tank setup, you can extend the life of your fish, assist its immune system, allow it a more comfortable life and give it some fun at times.

As the air bubbles reach the surface small amounts of air diffuse into the water. The vast majority of the air which your pump will pump into your aquarium will not stay in the water, but float to the top and return to the atmosphere. Moreso than this your tank requires at least a mild current to maintain an adequate supply of oxygen to the water. Most powerfilters will accomplish this, moving the water at the surface, increasing the surface area of the tank, allowing more air to diffuse into the water.

However some fish also enjoy currents more than others. For example I breed Zebra Danios as feeder fish for my Central American Cichlids. I use this type of fish because it is so hardy and will avoid making my cichlids sick in comparison to goldfish from the petstore. Point of all this is that I must turn on a 40 gallon air pump in a 10 gallon aquarium at maximum (full open valve) to produce current adequate to have these fish spawn reliably. In this situation an air pump is much more than necessity.

Other things are able to be hooked up to your air pump also other than ridiculous decorations like the treasure chest that plops open every 30 seconds releasing a large bubble (which notably will not be as efficiently absorbed into the water as the same volume of gas in 200+ spheres compared to 1 large one.). Things like sponge filters use the power of the air to pull water through the sponge, and honestly I think they're some of the best kind of filters around, despite their primitive design.

I can honestly say, no... fish will not die from not having an air pump, but the bennifit by having one in their tank is exponential.

Answer 4

Hi,

YOU MUST HAVE AN AIR PUMP!

Your fish get oxygen by passing the water over their gills through a process called osmosis. Then they create carbon dioxide as a by-product.

Chlorine is TOXIC and will kill your fish, so buy the stuff.

The general rule of thumb is 1 gallon of water per fish if you chage the fish once a week.

If you have Gold fish, Tetras or one of those TOUGH GUYS you can pretty much do the minimum.

If you have TROPICALS, Angels, Discus or the like they are almost more trouble than Kids. I raised Angels from eggs and it was NUTS!

If you have a bowl buy an air pump and put a sandstone on the end to create bubbles (maybe $10 total). The bubbles are nice to watch too.

If you have a 30 gallon tank THAT is a whole different issue and gets EXPENSIVE.

You can either use a side filter but you have to clean it weekly. You can use a bottom filter that is biological but more effective. Then you have to worry about the water pH because it it gets too acid you will wake up in the morning with floating fish. Different fish like different pH levels and you have to keep that in mind when you are populating your tank.

I killed six Discus because the pH of the water changed and I missed it.

Be careful with fish because they can become addictive; don't have them anymore because I just don't have the time.

Good luck and I hope that this helps,
Jacques

Answer 5

Just commenting on the above.. I'm not sure about other fish but Goldfish need about ten gallons of water to themselves. and Air pumps are always helpful. Although mine and my little cousin's tanks don't have one and our fish are doing fine..

Answer 6

Air pumps I always thought were for undergravel filters and decor that moves but I could be wrong about that one.

The best treatment you can buy for your tap water that I have found was Aqua Safe. It's a great product.

Answer 7

Depends on he fish bettas yes some others no.

Chloine tablets are good one clears 2 gallons full of chlorine.