I have 10 danios, 3 marble mollies and 3 ballon mollies - all of them were doing really well.. until one of the blasted Danios had babies...! We now have 20 babies swimming about too..! It now seems that ALL of the fish are staying at the top of the tank - they are not gasping for air, but they are not going to the bottom of the tank at all. The babies are also at the top of the tank... they all seem OK - all eating and still swimming about... is it because of the babies? I am taking the babies out today - my aquatic shop is taking them. The bottom of the tank is littered with food and faeces - I am getting a suckermouth to deal with this, just don't want to get a new fish in the tank until I know what's wrong..! Any ideas?
2007-05-08 23:23:34 · 4 answers · asked by Shazza 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
I have today bought a gravel vac, and some tap safe for my water change - will do this and hopefully all will be well. I was then going to buy a bristlenose catfish - just one, my pet shop said one would be OK in my size tank. Thanks for all your advise!
2007-05-09 04:10:51 · update #1
The fish are sitting at the surface most likely due to a slight increase in the ammonia levels caused by all of the accumulated waste you mention. Cleaning the gravel with a gravel siphon and changing about 25% of the water will correct this problem.
As others have pointed out, getting a sucker mouth of any type will not solve the problem for you, it will only make the problem worse and potentially cause new problems as well.
Avoid adding a Chinese Algae eater to any tank, they don't eat algae well, don't eat fish waste and will get large and agrressive. Unless you have a very large tank avoid the common pleco as well. They get far too large for the typical home aquarium.
MM
2007-05-09 03:09:10 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You need a gravel vacuum to clean out the bottom of the tank,no fish will eat other fishes waste you must clean that up your self and if there is uneaten food on the bottom you are over feeding.If the type of suckermouth you are planning to get is a pleco I would recommend against it unless you have a very large tank because they get big.
2007-05-09 00:45:00 · answer #2 · answered by Jackp1ne 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How sure are you that they're not gasping for air? If their mouth is constantly faced towards the surface you may not have much surface agitation. Is the surface of your water completely still or at least almost still to a halt? If it is then your problem is surface agitation. If you have a powerfilter, lower your water level by 2-3 inches, that'll create enough agitation at the surface to bring in oxygen into the water. You can always by a air pump and bubble wand/air stone, but in my opinion, they're too tacky and they clutter up the tank. Good luck!
2007-05-09 00:41:04 · answer #3 · answered by jesterx626 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normally its abad to get a fish to solve y our problems. Instead of getting a suckermouth(the ones being sold as these are normally cae, very aggressive) get a gravel vac. Give the gravel in your tank a good clenaing with it. You are probably overstocked. What size is your tank?
2007-05-08 23:30:32 · answer #4 · answered by Skittles 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋