what are fish doing when they come to the surface and appear to suck in air?

Question

i understand that fish do not breathe the same way as we do so what is the purpose of this process at the top of the water? thanx in advance

Answer 1

Hi Devil No. 1, you do not say what type of fish you have but generally it depends on how much they are doing it & how often each session lasts. My streamlined Goldfish occasionally do this for a few seconds, sometimes 2 or 3 of them group together & do it, possibly some kind of bonding/group activity. They just like bubbling air through their gills-then they'll do a formation dive for the bottom & spend the next hour foraging & digging up plants.

If however they are doing it a lot or all the time as if they appear stuck to the surface this is a classic sign of poor water conditions, either not enough air dissolved in the water or the NO2 or ammonia are above zero. In either event you will need to correct the problem in the first instance by turning your filter up/adding an airstone or in the second by doing a large partial water change.

Answer 2

What i really don't get on this Q, is that all the people who said that it's lack of oxygen got thumbed down, that's very interesting
Since that is the absolut truth right here

I have 5 tanks up an running, and the only fish that go to the surface are the bettas, and not even they do it on a regular basis, because my tanks are all very well oxygenated and are clean, which means well established

The only time they go up is at feeding time, other than that, all of them swim around happily everywhere but on top of the tank

Especially on goldfish you can exactly tell if your water is poorly oxygenated

But here is a site that explains pretty much the purpose of a swimbladder in a fish
http://www.scienceisart.com/B_SwimBladder/SwimBladder.html
http://papa.essortment.com/howdofishbrea_rlyl.htm



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB

Answer 3

Some species are capable of breathing air directly from the atmosphere (bettas, gourami, paradise fish), so they may always do this. I'm going to assume that you have another type of fish, and that you are using a filter or airstone to add dissolved oxygen and circulate it throughout the tank.

More ofthen than not, this indicates a buildup of ammonia or nitrite in the water, especially if the tank is newly set up (less than 2 months old) or if you've used an antibiotic in the tank within the last 2 months. Both ammonia and nitrite irritate the gills of your fish, and interfere with the ability of the fish to absorb dissolved oxygen from the water, even though tour tank may be well-oxygenated from your filter, airstones, etc. So in an attempt to get a higher amount of oxygen into their systems, the fish gasp at the surface (this behavior even has a name, piping). You can remedy the situation by doing a 25%-50% water change. If you test your water for ammonia and nitrite, you want to keep the levels below 0.5 ppm at all times - over 1.0 can be fatal to your fish (although the tolerance level can differ between species). Even lesser amounts can be fatal if the fish are exposed for a long time. That's why it's best to know what the levels of these are in the tank, and to do at least 25% water changes on a weekly basis. Also, if the problem is nitrite, the addition of a little non-iodized salt can help -add at a rate of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water.

In time, bacteria will build up in the tank that will convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate, which is safer for the fish, but still can be toxic in higher amounts (40+ppm).

See these links for more info:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/ammoniapoison.htm
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/nitritepoison.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm


ADDITION: The oxygen concentration in water is greatest at the SURFACE, since it's at the water/air interface where the exchange of oxygen and CO2 happens. It's only through circulating the water (using a filter, powerhead, or airstone)that it reaches concentrations equal to (but not surpassing) that at the surface in other parts of the tank. The only possible exception would occur if you have a lot of plants with high CO2 and lighting so they produce oxygen through photosynthesis, and this would only occur when the lights are on - once they go off, the oxygen level at the bottom of the tank would drop.

Another reason the levels would be lower at the bottom of the tank is biological oxygen demand - the use of oxygen by bacteria and other organisms in the gravel at the bottom of the tank, and the decomposition (oxidation) of wastes and uneaten food that settles into the gravel at the bottom: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/water/oxygen.shtml

Answer 4

I'm not going to say she's wrong, but another answerer stated that the fish needed air to push the oxygen through their gills. In all my years of dealing with fish, that's a new one on me! Why I can't say for certain, and it's true the fish may be looking for food, the mostly likely reason is a lack of oxygen in the water.

Oxygen is most concentrated at the bottom of the tank, but fish are not smart enough to figure that out; hence, they go to the surface and gasp. The number one thing to look for is water temperature. The higher the temperature, the lower the oxygen concentration. Sometimes it might be a malfunctioning heater, which is way too common with the products out there now. If that's not it, and if your temperaure is at 78 degrees and your fish can safely live in a 72-78 dergree tank, gradually lower the temp to 72 over a day's time and see if they quit going to the top for air. If that doesn't work, you must do whatever it takes to get water surface movement.That might be a recirculating filter, an airstone(s), if using powerheards on an UG by pointing the outlet valve upwards and turning on the aerator if there is one........anything to make the water ripple and increase the exchange of gases. If that doesn't work, you have way too many fish that are depleting the available O2 supply, but that is very doubtful.

Check through those suggestions and see if that won't take care of business. Good luck and don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions!

NOTE: Most people think that the addition of airstones on the bottom of a tank puts O2 into the water. That couldn't be any more untrue. The bubbles created merely ripple the water, allowing for the exchange of gases as explained above.

Answer 5

One reason why they do this is because of lack of oxygen in the water. Placing a good number of live plants in the tank may make this come to a halt, or simply just getting those bubbler hoses for your tank. Water contains oxygen in it, and fish actually do need more oxygen in their water, so by adding the bubbler/plants, your fish may stop going to the top and sucking for air.

Answer 6

Depends on the fish. Betta do that to breath, they normally take breaths from the top of the tank and will die if they can't get to the top to breath. Goldfish do that when they are suffocating to death -- there is not enough O2 in the water due to lack of filter or too small of a tank due to ignorance.

Answer 7

Sounds like your tank isn't oxygenated sufficiently. Add an aerator, that should fix the prob. Also, take a water sample in to be tested, might be an ammonia binding issue.

Answer 8

Im not sure about the process but I do know they do this because there is not enough oxygen in the water. Get an airpump. When they suck in air they can get swim bladder and it's not good.

-Happy Thanks Giving!

Answer 9

They are eating the bugs at the top of the water. They do need air however they need oxygenated water to flow through there gills to get the oxygen..

Answer 10

exactly that,gasping for air.Water is lacking sufficient oxygen.(regardless off filter,this is not the only thing that deals to oxygenating the water.