Some of my fishes are breathing hard? = (?

Question

I haven't done anything out of the ordinary. Just a water change, but i've done water changes every week without affecting any fishes. Yes, I've added conditioner, and I let the water go to room temperature. My molly and one of my female guppy are moving their gills really fast. The neon tetra, swordtail, and the other female guppies are fine. The only thing that has changed is the addtion of a new plant called the Baby Tears. I've added tons of plants in the past before, so I know it's not the plant. I don't see any reason for the pH to change because there is nothing in the tank to change the pH. Did I miss something?

I have a fully functional filter. Ammonia is 0. The tank is cycled. Nitrite is 0. Nitrate should not be at the dangerous level because I have tons of plants, and just did a water change.

The bioload has not changed for 3 weeks. All the fishes were fine before. Why would low oxygen level all of a sudden be a problem now?
:(

Come to think of there, there is a little bit of aggression between the female guppies. I figured it was normal because two of them are pregnant. The kinda chase each other around really fast, and that's about it.

I brought the plant from a nice, clean shop.
The guppy is pregnant, but the molly is not pregnant. Thanks for all the info though. I'll keep observing.

Answer 1

Typically, difficulty breathing is associated with ammonia poisoning, but since you ran the test for that, and results are 0, then that is out. PH would not factor into this either. Adding the new plant, where did the plant come from? Outside or pet store or other? It's possible there maybe something on the plant causing some levels of stress. The only other thing I can think, if all your other parameters are steady, and there wasn't a massive shift in temp, do you use an air stone or does your filter provide enough surface break to form bubbles for oxygenation? One last thing to keep in mind, your mollie and guppy are both live bearers, and it's maybe accociated with them becomming inpregnated. Really a shot in the dark though, seems everything else is fine.

JV

Answer 2

Have you checked the temperature of the water? This may seem obvious, but over the summer (especially this one, depending on where you're from), the warmer air temps may be causing the water temperature to increase, and higher water temperature means less dissolved oxygen in the water for the fish.

Also, if you haven't changed the water as much recently because you have pregnant fish, increased wastes may lower the pH somewhat. And if you have pregnant fish, you've also had a shift in the bioload from the (currently unborn) fry. Even if you haven't "added" new fish, the ones you currently own still grow (albeit at a much slower rate) as adults.

I would say the addition of the plant was coincidental (unless you also added yet unseen baby snails), but a number of other possibilities may still exist.

Answer 3

A plant should not make your fish breathe hard. It is probably something to do with your water. You definetley need to monitor the water yourself. This is because the water supply people play with the tap water. Next time their report comes in the mail actually read whats in your water, you will be amazed! Get the testing strips and keep a mental note.
The only thing you can really do now is just to watch the fish. Watch for gasping at the surface [add more oxygen], watch for new aggressions among the fish, stress, and disease. At this point the best thing you can do is spend some time watching them and addressing their needs.

Answer 4

80 degrees is pretty warm for Neons, they prefer a range of 69 -79F. Warm water holds less oxygen, so the fish need to breath harder to survive. Different fish come from different areas in the "tropics", they aren't all happy at 80F, and some are happier with lower temps in the 70-75 range. Everything else about the tank seems OK, so try dropping the temp a few degrees and see if that helps. Ian

Answer 5

Just do a quick test to make sure the pH and ammonia levels are where they should be. Your local water system may have adjusted your water, so even though you treated as before, it may be somewhat different than what you're accustomed to using. If you find that you do have ammonia, add a fresh charcoal filter if you use a Whisper type filter, increase aeration, and add an ammonia remover (actually a chlorine/ammonia remover so it can break the chloramine bond and allow the gases to escape).

Answer 6

Sounds as simple as a lack of oxygen in the water. Do you have a filter that moves the water well? Do you test the ammonia levels?

Answer 7

You only change a fifth of the water each week. Do you have one of those airbubble things, they oxiginate the water. Perhaps you need a stronger one as you keep adding more fish.Get rid of the new plant.

Answer 8

You may want to increase the oxygen level. This can be done simply by putting a bubble wand at the back of the tank, snd hooking it to an air pump.

Answer 9

It actually sounds like they're pregnant and are short before birth


hope that helps
good luck


EB