Fish sitting at top of tank, tail down face up. No oxygen?

by **rmcardle8032** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:48 pm

Seems like fish are gasping for oxygen. About half hang at top of tank.

Any suggestions? Completed all water tests, results very good. Complete water changes every two weeks. Use carbon, ceramic cubes and filter pads in fluval 5xfilter..

75 gallon tank with 24 fish 1 inch to 1.5 inches so I don't think I'm overstocked.

Appreciate any suggestions. Right now considering an air pump with bubble stone to generate water movement at top of tank...

by **adehaan86** » Fri Feb 20, 2009 10:14 pm

Unsure just like you , but I would stop CO2 if you got it or slow it. Run more oxygen. He could just be a fish on the way down the toilet . How the rest reacting, if there good probably just that fish with issues. Maybe put in different tank with LOTS of oxygen so if he has a disease it won't spread or if it dies ammonia won't hurt the other fish. Just a idea.

by **Burgerking7679** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:06 am

I'd suggest doing more frequent water changes. It adds oxygen to the water quite nicely. You could also point the return from the filter or point powerheads towards the water surface(disrupting the surface also adds oxygen to the water.

It is an african cichlid, so it could just find the top of the tank as a safe haven from other fish possibly harrassing it, but it could also be bloat. I think one of my yellow labs got bloat so I seperated him with a breeder box and put him next to the filter return so he gets plenty of nice flow. If it has a fat belly its bloat, if its lost color or has evident damage done I's suggest he's getting the crap kicked out of him.

If you have a hospital tank, I'd suggest using it. You can control your fishes progress a lot easier, and give it peace and rest. Make sure you're feeding protein rich food, not meaty food as its bad for the herbivorous malawi cichlids.

by **a1k8t31524** » Sat Feb 21, 2009 3:57 am

when you say complete water changes are you meaning you change all of your water?
and also are your fish hanging out in the corner of the tank or just the top what are your water test readings and what type of fish do you have?

by **tomargir** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:21 pm

The clinical picture of ammonia poisoning resembles the signs of acute lack of oxygen. But i will go with your sayings that water parameters are fine. Overstocked aquariums can suffer from both problems (ammonia/oxygen) so i advise you to check for both. Keep in mind that the higher the pH the greater the quantity of free (harmful) ammonia and the greater the temperature, the less dissolved oxygen.

ALSO. Even if there is enough oxygen in the water, parasitic gill infections, blood infections or ammonia/nitrite poisoning can hinder the uptake of oxygen. Lack of oxygen can be treated immediately with adding (pure) hydrogen peroxide to the water or with additional aeration/water movement.

by **cedricandcandy** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:49 pm

Matey; everything can be perfect; but if the fish are at the top of the tank gasping for air then the only reason is lack of oxygen....

Is there anything blocking the air/water flow from your filter?

An airstone possibly could help but you must remember that the air bubbles from an airstone do not oxygenate the water. The oxygenation happens when the air bubbles pop on the surface.

So a normal filter should provide enough oxygen providing the flow from the filter is not inhibited in any way.

by **cedricandcandy** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:52 pm

Sorry but I also just noticed you said "complete water changed every 2 weeks" - what do you mean? Do you change all the water out?

by **tomargir** » Thu Mar 05, 2009 6:44 pm

I don't want to repeat myself and become boring, but stating that "the only reason is lack of oxygen" is not totally correct. This is the most possible reason, however, as i mentioned above there could be other reasons beyond the lack of oxygen.
If you increase the aeration and fish are still gasping for air, you should look beyond lack of oxygen for the causes.

Fish sitting at top of tank, tail down face up. No oxygen?

8 posts