When fish go to the top of the fish tank are they going for air?

Question

why would fish need to get air if they can breathe through their gills?

Answer 1

They either hang out up there because they want to be fed,
or
they're top dwellers
or
they hang up there and gulp for air because the water might not be oxygenated enough



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 2

Well, fish come on top of the tank because they mostly look for food or check if you there's food on top. Another answer is because they just get oxygen if the tank has not enough oxygen in it. The fish will begin gasping at the surface of the water. This surface breathing should not be confused with fish feeding at the surface, or fish that can normally take some air at the surface, such as labyrinth fish. Most fish expect food on top of the tank. But it might gasp for air if it opens its mouth wide open. Sometimes it rises up on top of the tank to blow bubbles. Sometimes it might happen due to any toxic present. To stop that from happening, immediately do a 25-30% water change to dilute any possible toxic presence in the water. But even if they expect for food, make sure you feed them ONLY TWICE A DAY. Otherwise, your fish will be overfed and be fat. And sometimes, that is not good for the sight.

I hope that helped :)

Answer 3

I'm going to assume you are not feeding them and the water parameters are acceptable. Please check your water temp, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites in any case!

Depends on what kind of fish you have. If you have any kind of Anabantid, then they are just gulping air. An Anabantid type fish has a special organ called a labyrinth organ that is basically a primitive lung. These types of fish come from areas where the water has a low oxygen content and they need to supplement the amount of oxygen they are getting from their gills. Bettas and gouramis are anabantids. They have evolved so much into their organ, that their gills have become too inefficient at extracting air from the water. They must have a spot to gulp air in order to breath, even if the oxygen content of the water is perfect. That and old habits are hard to break.

If you have any other kind of fish, however, you are in trouble! They are gasping for air at the surface because they are suffocating in the water. You don't have enough water circulation and oxygen tranfer happening to keep them alive. This could be due to any number of things such as; water temp is too high, not enough surface water circulation, or too many fish.

Please check all these things pronto and don't let your fish suffocate in their own water!

Answer 4

Fish will often hang out at the top because this is where we feed them, so they expect food there.

They may also go up for air if the water is deprived of oxygen - not to actually get air (except for labyrinth fish like bettas) but because oxygen is more plentiful at the top then the bottom, especially if the tank doen't have great water movement.

And of course, some fish are simply top dwellers.

Answer 5

Don't know if you have a new tank, but this link might come in handy (even if your tanks not new). Some fish will swim at the top if the ammonia or nitrate levels are above normal.

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

Answer 6

They are not going for air. They are fish. Where else do they have to go? Ever think about how boring it must be for them?
I think they are just roaming randomly through their space. That's where it ends. If they could keep going up out of the water, I'm sure they would.

Answer 7

no they are looking for something to eat, if the fish tank is in good care they should have plenty off air

Answer 8

mine are usually looking for food tho i have some butterfly that stay at the top almost all the time.

Answer 9

I think they're looking for food on the surface.

Answer 10

They are feeding not breathing.