make sure the surface of your water has lots of ripples on it. It's the breaks in the surface that oxygenate the water, not bubbles going through it. If the canister has a spray bar, raise it a little or drop the tank level. Sounds to me like they're not getting enough O2.
a question about my tank
- Thread starter cornbread_5
- Start date
You NEED to do a water test to understand what is going on in your aquarium. "Crystal clear water" is a sales pitch for overpriced bottled water, not an accurate statement of what is in your aquarium. Things that can cause labored breathing include:
High levels of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, low pH, I assume a high pH can do it although I have never seen it, stress, and low levels of dissolved O2. How do you fix it? It depends on what the problem is. You NEED to test the water. Counting ripples on the surface will only waste your time. You NEED to test the water. In case you didn't catch it, you NEED to test the water. Any advice you get before you tell your water parameters is worth less than the fish urine in your crystal clear water.
High levels of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate, low pH, I assume a high pH can do it although I have never seen it, stress, and low levels of dissolved O2. How do you fix it? It depends on what the problem is. You NEED to test the water. Counting ripples on the surface will only waste your time. You NEED to test the water. In case you didn't catch it, you NEED to test the water. Any advice you get before you tell your water parameters is worth less than the fish urine in your crystal clear water.
rjmtx;1488933; said:
Dramatic hyperbole, friend. I exaggerated. However, he has a big canister and a bubbler. There is aeration going on. If the surface is filmed over by protein or other gunk, there is a problem, but I doubt that he is lacking aeration right now. My point is/was/will always be that he NEEDS to test his water, and we need to refrain from giving advice on how to fix the problem until we know what the problem is.
