Fish gasping for air

This is a recent thing. I removed the gold severum and put him in a friends hospital tank today. The only new fish is the bolivian ram. The tank has been setup for about 5 weeks and completely cycled. I used an apI brand ich treatment. I have not noticed any red around the gills. I will do a 50 percent water change and add an airstone.
Thanks for the advice, I will update tomorrow.
 

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This is a recent thing. I removed the gold severum and put him in a friends hospital tank today. The only new fish is the bolivian ram. The tank has been setup for about 5 weeks and completely cycled. I used an apI brand ich treatment. I have not noticed any red around the gills. I will do a 50 percent water change and add an airstone.
Thanks for the advice, I will update tomorrow.
No problem, yes- I don't think it is a water problem either, I was thinking more along the lines of gill flukes. Which, would call for a treatment of Prazi.
 

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After changing water and letting the fish settle back in I notice that the angelfish has returned to a normal breathing pattern but the ram continues to gasp. He is now rubbing his gills along the gravel. Does this indicate gill flukes? if so how do I go about treating that?
Thanks
 
You should be able to purchase PrazI at a local fish store. Or, if you are not in an area that has a fish store you can purchase it through Amazon. It is a mild medication and won't hurt your beneficial bacteria. Here is a link for more info.
 
I went ahead and ordered that through amazon. It will be here in a couple days. Thank you everyone for the help.
 
HI all, I did a 50 percent water change, added an airstone, and then treated the aquarium with Prazi. My fish are still gasping and rubbing their gills. I dosed the tank on wednesday. What should my next step be?
Thanks for all the help.
 

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Have you retested the water for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates? Are you positive that you are not going through a mini-cycle, are not experiencing rising ammonia? Any contaminates that might be getting in water?
Do you notice any changes in the gills over the last few days? Redness? Inflammation?
If sure you are not having a water quality issue and they are not better by tomorrow I would get Tetra Lifeguard all in one treatment- they may be getting a secondary infection from a gill infestation and this will take care of both.
 
Hello all, I’ve been googling this for hours and can’t find a good answer. I hope you can help. I don’t want to waste anyone’s time so I’ll try to be as concise as possible.

Problem: The fish in my tank (3 Guppies, 3 Dalmatian Mollies) seem to be gasping for air at the top of the tank. I thought it might be due to a high level of Nitrites, but my water parameters seem to be within acceptable levels. Read further for more information.


Water Parameters: I am using the Sera liquid test (not strips) kit for the following measurements. I tested the water this afternoon and got the following measurements.

Ph: 7.5
Ammonia: 0.0 ppm (mg/L)
Nitrites: 0.0 ppm (mg/L)
Nitrates: 0 ppm (mg/L)
Water Temperature: 26.9 C/80.4 (mg/L)

Some photos demo sting these numbers




Tank information: The tank is about 3 weeks old. The fish were added about 5 days ago. We got the tank, set it up with the filter, heater, gravel, live plants, etc and then added some starter bacteria to the water. We let it “cycle” to develop healthy bacteria colonies for about 2 weeks. Tank is 60L or 15 gallons. There are 3 mollies, 3 guppies ans 2 nerite snails in the tank.

I’m an absolute beginner here and have just been googling my way through every step of the process. I’m now so worried about the fish because they seem to be gasping for air at the surface and I’ve checked the pump is working and circulating water well. The heat seems to be at a normal temperature (I’m using a digital thermometer). The nitrites and ammonia are at reasonable levels. I’ve been feeding them about 2x per day with a small pinch of flakes in the am (maybe about 1 flake per fish. Not so much as I’ve read their stomachs are bout the size of their eyes. Idk if that’s true. They eat probably 90% of the food in the first 60 seconds). And 1/4 block of frozen food in the evening. Plants are all doing quite well and growing quickly.

What am I doing wrong? How can I help my fishies?!

Thanks so much for any help you can offer.
 
Warmer tanks like yours can not contain as much oxygen as cooler tanks. If your heater is adjustable try turning it down two degrees fahrenheit and seeing if that makes a difference if not my guppies are always at the top when I'm around because they think I will feed them and they are always hungry.
 
I'm afraid 2 weeks isn't usually enough time for a tank to cycle unless you are using filter media from a previous tank. Also, if your tank was cycled, there should always be some nitrates unless your tank is heavily stocked with fast growing plants (which, by the looks of things, it isn't)
 
Warmer tanks like yours can not contain as much oxygen as cooler tanks. If your heater is adjustable try turning it down two degrees fahrenheit and seeing if that makes a difference if not my guppies are always at the top when I'm around because they think I will feed them and they are always hungry.

Thank you. I’ve also read that warm water can’t contain as much oxygen but I wasn’t sure exactly what qualified as warmer. I will try turning the heat down a bit.
 

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Thank you. I’ve also read that warm water can’t contain as much oxygen but I wasn’t sure exactly what qualified as warmer. I will try turning the heat down a bit.

No don't. A sudden change in temperature isn't good for fish, especially if you're are stressed as they seem to be. 26/7º is fine for guppies.
 
I'm afraid 2 weeks isn't usually enough time for a tank to cycle unless you are using filter media from a previous tank. Also, if your tank was cycled, there should always be some nitrates unless your tank is heavily stocked with fast growing plants (which, by the looks of things, it isn't)

Unfortunately I didn’t know that 2 weeks wasn’t enough when I got the fish. I was sort of relying on the pet store advice until I realized how much information was really required. Is there anything I can do for the moment to help them?

No don't. A sudden change in temperature isn't good for fish, especially if you're are stressed as they seem to be. 26/7º is fine for guppies.

Should I try gradually decreasing the temperature then? Maybe half a degree per day or something?
 
Unfortunately I didn’t know that 2 weeks wasn’t enough when I got the fish. I was sort of relying on the pet store advice until I realized how much information was really required. Is there anything I can do for the moment to help them?

Ah it's ok, we've all made that mistake before, but per store advice is usually not very accurate unless you go to a small individual seller with experience of their own.

You are now doing a fish-in-cycle. My advice is to check your parameters daily, do a daily 25% water change or more depending on your parameters and to add more bacteria booster whenever your parameters aren't good.

Should I try gradually decreasing the temperature then? Maybe half a degree per day or something?

If you want a slightly colder temperature then I would suggest maybe 1º A day until about 25 or 24º (Both are good temperatures for guppies also)

Colder temperatures will slow down your guppies movement a little but will help the tank average slightly more
 
Ah it's ok, we've all made that mistake before, but per store advice is usually not very accurate unless you go to a small individual seller with experience of their own.

You are now doing a fish-in-cycle. My advice is to check your parameters daily, do a daily 25% water change or more depending on your parameters and to add more bacteria booster whenever your parameters aren't good.

I’ve tested the water today and got acceptable parameters. Should I still do a water change?

If you want a slightly colder temperature then I would suggest maybe 1º A day until about 25 or 24º (Both are good temperatures for guppies also)

Colder temperatures will slow down your guppies movement a little but will help the tank average slightly more

Great. I’ll decrease the temp a little bit then. Thank you
 
Regardless of temperature it looks like the surface of the water has zero movement. Surface agitation facilitates gas exchange aka oxygen going into the water. I would suggest fixing that otherwise even adjusting the temperature alone may not fix the low oxygen issue.

Edited to add: by fixing that I mean adding an air pump or adjusting the filter in some way.
 
Regardless of temperature it looks like the surface of the water has zero movement. Surface agitation facilitates gas exchange aka oxygen going into the water. I would suggest fixing that otherwise even adjusting the temperature alone may not fix the low oxygen issue.

Hi, thanks for the input. The surface of the water actually has a fairly strong current. I can attach a short video if that would help. I’m using a pump suitable for up to an 80 l tank.

HI Segi, here’s a video. Do I need more circulation? Less?



Regardless of temperature it looks like the surface of the water has zero movement. Surface agitation facilitates gas exchange aka oxygen going into the water. I would suggest fixing that otherwise even adjusting the temperature alone may not fix the low oxygen issue.

Edited to add: by fixing that I mean adding an air pump or adjusting the filter in some way.

Hi, thanks for the input. The surface of the water actually has a fairly strong current. I can attach a short video if that would help. I’m using a pump suitable for up to an 80 l tank.
 
What I suggest is turning your temperature down to 76 or even 74 (turn it down by 2 degrees every 12 hours) to oxygenate your water more. Warmer water means less oxygen.

Then, buy yourself an air pump and an airstone (they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes) and throw that in. It will help oxygenate your water and it should help solve your problem.


EDIT
Also, maybe add more cycling agent to confirm that your tank has indeed cycled.
 
If the ammonia and nitrite are 0, then don't bother, but else then you need to do a water change with warm conditioner water.

Add some beneficial bacteria regardless

I will definitely do this. Right now.

What I suggest is turning your temperature down to 76 (turn it down by 2 degrees every 12 hours) to oxygenate your water more. Warmer hotter means less oxygen.

Then, buy yourself an air pump and an airstone (they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes) and throw that in. It will help oxygenate your water and it should help solve your problem.


EDIT
Also, maybe add more cycling agent to confirm that your tank has indeed cycled.


This may be a really stupid question, but do I not already have an air pump? I thought that was what’s circulating the water in the tank. There is a little “spout” which sticks up out of the water. I thought it was to take in air. Is this what you’re talking about or something else?
 
This may be a really stupid question, but do I not already have an air pump? I thought that was what’s circulating the water in the tank. There is a little “spout” which sticks up out of the water. I thought it was to take in air. Is this what you’re talking about or something else?

No that's something else entirely! You can search for "aquarium air pump" on Amazon to see what we are talking about
 

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No that's something else entirely! You can search for "aquarium air pump" on Amazon to see what we are talking about

OK then! I just bought one of those. Does it matter where it the tank it goes? For example, can I place it near the filter or not?
 
OK then! I just bought one of those. Does it matter where it the tank it goes? For example, can I place it near the filter or not?

The air stone I presume you are talking about.

I would place it as far away from the filter as possible because then you get the best air flow around the whole tank
 
The air stone I presume you are talking about.

I would place it as far away from the filter as possible because then you get the best air flow around the whole tank

Fabulous. Thank you. I will get that into the tank as soon as possible.
 
Did you order an air stone with your pump? Not exactly necessary but definitely much more appealing.



You can also get them shaped like starfish, shells, etc. I have a blue one shaped like a shell.

By the way, the fish you have can deal with fairly cool water, so at 76 or 74 you will be A-okay.
 
HI everyone, quick update.

I lowered the temperature in the tank slightly to about 79 F, added an air pump, and included some API stress coat during the last water change.

The fish seem to be swimming around the tank and no longer gasping for air at the surface. So success there.

One of my guppies died last night though. I am pretty sure the mollies killed it. It was by far the smallest fish in the tank and now that he’s gone, they’re destroying the tail of the next guppy. I’m not sure what to do about it. I’m thinking about bringing the mollies back to the store and getting a few more guppies. The mollies seem quite aggressive.

 
Tank

What is the water volume of the tank? 5 gallons, the 10 gallon tank is cycling.
How long has the tank been running? Not quite sure. But it is sorta cycled, I will be putting the fish in the 10 gallon soon. I added a cycled filter cartridge to the filter in the 10g.
Does it have a filter? No
Does it have a heater? Yes
What is the water temperature? Thermometer broke, my other tank doesn't have a heater and it's at 80- 82 F, so somewhere around there.
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) Female betta, 3 platies, 2 swordtails, 1 female guppy, and 2 snails. I had an oto in the tank, but I put him in the ten gallon, and he is much happier there.

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? 1 or 2 times a week, I changed about 45% 2 days ago, then tested it and it was fine.
How much of the water do you change? 25%ish
What do you use to treat your water? Start Right, AquaSafe Plus, and Ammonia Neutralizer. I'm planning on getting SafeStart for the 10 gallon.
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? I vacuum the substrate and water.

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes, I think so
What do you use to test the water?API 5 in 1 test strips
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.

Ammonia:Unknown, I have to buy an ammonia test kit, I found out after I bought it that there was no ammonia test
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
pH: 6.5- 7.0

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 1 or 2 times a day
How much do you feed your fish?A large pinch, it takes them all less then a minute to demolish it, so I give them a little extra, and 1 platy is pregnant, so I make sure she has enough to eat.
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Tetra Tropical Fish Flakes
Do you feed frozen or freeze-dried foods? I sometimes give them frozen Brine Shrimp or Bloodworms

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had these fish? Guppy and snails: several months; Betta, 2 platies, 1 swordtails, and oto: 1 wk and 3 days; 1 platy and 1 swordtail: 3 days.
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? 4- 5 days ago
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? The fish are swimming at the top gasping.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Sorta, I have the Start Right, it says if you have sick fish add double the amount, so I added just a little extra.
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? No, they all seemed healthy
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? They only swim at the top gasping, they eat and swim normal, except that they swim at the top. They seemed a bit better today.

Explain your emergency situation in detail.
They swim at the top and gasp, their gills seem to be moving pretty fast. Do they need a bubbler in the tank? Cause I have one, if I need to use, the 10 gallon tank has air in it from the filter.
 

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Sounds like ammonia poisoning. Also, did you quarantine your new fish? Are you planning on moving everyone over to the 10 gallon?
 
No. I didn't quarantine the new fish, but they came from the same tanks the other fish I got a week before them came from, if that helps. I don't have a quarantine tank, I have only had my fish come with a disease once, and those were male guppies, I had like 7 guppies, now I have 1, if you get my meaning, she is just fine, now, cause I got her to a different tank soon enough for her not to get the disease. Yeah, I'm thinking of moving them today, if I do a partial water change and then test the water.

I will add some ammonia neutralizer to the tank, right now.

The nitrites are in the caution zone, I forget exactly what they were, I know they were below 3 ppm. I think it was like 0.5 or 1 ppm or something like that.
 
So right now you are likely not having them in a cycled tank.
Ammonia tests are the most important tests for you to have, aside from nitrate, especially when cycling.
Nitrite is still important, but ammonia is much more toxic and harmful.

You are using 3 water conditioners, and they all have different compounds and all likely lie about some of the boasting benefits, such as double dosing when your fish is sick.

Adding extra dechlorinator, whether it has aloe in it or not, will not save your fishes life.
It will not extra improve the quality of your water by dosing one condition twice and two others once.

I would stick with only one conditioner.
Choose the cheapest/your favorite, and stop using all the others.
Or, you could chose prime.
It's far more concentrated, a larger bottle, and it neutralizes ALL of those chemicals, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
So it does the job of all 3 of your conditioners, but with only one bottle of treatment necessary instead of a buttload of chemicals.

I agree, it is likely ammonia poisoning.
Your 5 gallon is heavily over stocked, and it will even be considered over stocked when going to a 10 gallon.
We had a heavily planted 10 gallon, and with two adult platies and a betta we couldn't fit much more in there withiut the bioload being really affected.

Not to mention bettas are highly aggressive towards guppies, which I assume honestly had part of the reason to do with why some of them died.
I would also like to note, taking a fish out of sick water that 6 other fish died from, doesn't necessarily mean that you got the fish out healthy before it got sick.
Humans and fish can be carriers of disease, so usually when 1 out of 7 shows no symptoms, that one could be a carrier of disease instead of just a miraculously healthy fish.
It's like having a cold but no stuffy nose, then you spend time with friends and they get a stuffy nose.

Keep the betta in the 5 gallon, and when moving up, move the platies and guppies.

The general number of fish for a 10 gallon that isn't heavily planted is anywhere from 3-6 fish depending on size.
But you don't have micro rasboras, so 6 is a terrible number.
Most people won't even put a single platy in a 5 gallon, let alone a pair of them in a 10 gallon.
I personally think 3 platies with any other fish is absolute max for a olanted 10 gallon.
And to give you an idea of sort of how planted your tank might need to be in order to keep up woth the nitrate load... Otherwise you'll have nitrates up the butt and have no way to remove them but by doing water changes multiple times a week.
My 10 gallon only had 3 fish and 2 crayfish and we still had to do weekly changes to keep nitrates below 50ish but enough so the plants could feed.

But yeah.
Do a water change now before adding your conditioner, and then figure out which brand you want to use solo, because there's not much reason to use 3-5 different chemicals on your tank every time you do maintenance, make sure you get an ammonia test, and in the future look into getting a liquid test kit.
It gives you over 800 tests for just 20 bucks, rather than 8 tests for 5 bucks! Lol


If you have nitrites you need to do a 50% water change right now.
Not doing so could have your whole tank dead in the morning.
Dont take all the nitrite out, this tank is still cycling and needs food to continue to cycle, so do a 50-60% change and then restest.
Your nitrites should be between 0 and .25, no higher than that.
I had to do 20 gallon changes on my 55 gallon when it was cycling.. Gotta protect the fish.
Let us know your testing after that.
 

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The nitrites are in the caution zone, I forget exactly what they were, I know they were below 3 ppm. I think it was like 0.5 or 1 ppm or something like that.
This was supposed to be for the 10 gallon tank, I moved them all to the 10g, I did 35% water change, all the other water parameters were fine.

There was no betta when the guppies died, and my betta fish is a sweetheart, she doesn't pick on any of the fish.

You are using 3 water conditioners, and they all have different compounds and all likely lie about some of the boasting benefits, such as double dosing when your fish is sick.

Adding extra dechlorinator, whether it has aloe in it or not, will not save your fishes life.
It will not extra improve the quality of your water by dosing one condition twice and two others once.

I would stick with only one conditioner.
Choose the cheapest/your favorite, and stop using all the others.
Or, you could chose prime.
It's far more concentrated, a larger bottle, and it neutralizes ALL of those chemicals, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
So it does the job of all 3 of your conditioners, but with only one bottle of treatment necessary instead of a buttload of chemicals.
Okay, I will pick one. Can I use all of them togeth till they're empty, then get just one of those or prime?

Not to mention bettas are highly aggressive towards guppies, which I assume honestly had part of the reason to do with why some of them died.

I would also like to note, taking a fish out of sick water that 6 other fish died from, doesn't necessarily mean that you got the fish out healthy before it got sick.
Humans and fish can be carriers of disease, so usually when 1 out of 7 shows no symptoms, that one could be a carrier of disease instead of just a miraculously healthy fish.
It's like having a cold but no stuffy nose, then you spend time with friends and they get a stuffy nose.
My guppy has been in a clean tank for a few months with no sign of sickness. And the betta I had then was in a separate tank cause he hates other fish.

Keep the betta in the 5 gallon, and when moving up, move the platies and guppies.
Do I still need to keep the betta in the 5g, cause she likes the 10 gallon with other fish more.

Almost all the water parameters are okay. They all in the caution or ideal zone, not danger. I will get another 10g, to put half the fish in there.
 
Almost all the water parameters are okay. They all in the caution or ideal zone, not danger. I will get another 10g, to put half the fish in there.

Do you live near a petco? If your plan is to get another 10 gallon, you might want to take advantage of the dollar per gallon sales.
I'm not sure if they are still going on, but you could just get a 20 gallon long tank, and put all of your fish in that, and they would be very happy!!!
I didn't know the betta you had was a female, or when the other guppies had died, so that makes sense.

Can you give numbers for caution? I don't know what that means.

Moving your fish around a lot in an uncycled tank can make things worse, so it would've been better to keep them in the 5 gallon and wait for the 10 gallon to be done, but you already did it, so don't move any more fish today!
I thought you meant that the 5 gallon had 3 nitrite.
What is the number for the nitrite now?

I wouldn't use all 3 of your dechlorinators at once, but maybe use one bottle at a time until they're all gone. Then choose one, or get prime.

If you get another tank, and do get a 20 gallon, then you could keep the guppy in your 10 gallon tank, and put everyone else in the 20 gallon, including your female betta fish.
If you want to have 3 tanks running, this means you can get more fish later in the future, and use the 5 gallon as your new quarantine tank!

Since your platy might have babies, a 20 gallon is a good idea because they can have a lot of babies!
You would want to get a sponge filter, and an air pump, because a regular filter can suck up the babies.
It's only a few dollars more than a 10 gallon tank, and it offers a lot more space.
There's also a trick about buying sand for a tank. If you go to a hardware store, or a place like a walmart, you can buy pool filter sand, or regular white silica sand. This is a big bag of sand for only about 10 dollars, and it's a lot cheaper than buying something labeled as aquarium substrate.
 
I live 1/2 hour from petco and I'm 13, so I don't think I can go to Petco. I live really close to Pet Supplies Plus though, they have really cheap tanks. But my leopard gecko will be going into a bigger cage soon, so I can use his 10 gallon when he has a better cage, cause my parents aren't that excited about me getting another tank.
 
15 gallon tank
Running for over a year now
Filtered and heated, temp at 76
2 mollies and 3 cory cats

Water changed once a week, usually around 25%
Treated with Seachem prime
Gravel vac once a month

Cycled tank
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15
pH: 7.3

Fish fed a variety of flakes but has mostly been eating cory pellets recently

HI folks! I made a post like this a few days ago but I didn’t add enough information and I didn’t get many responses. I’ve had a problem with what I thought for a long time was swim bladder disease. All of the platies and mollies I got from my LFS would go wobbly, bendy-backed, emaciated, and constipated, and die, no matter how many peas I tried to feed them. Recently, I realized that this could be internal parasites and treated my tank with a dose of API general cure. I thought this would take care of everything, but now one of my mollies is exhibiting similar symptoms. He spends a lot of time at the surface seemingly gasping for air, his top fin is sometimes droopy, his poop has clear spots in it, and every now and then I’ll catch him swimming kind of wobbly or just sitting at the bottom of the tank in a way he hasn’t before. I know this isn’t SBD as I’m very careful not to over feed. What’s up with my buddy? I’ve already platies and mollies die one by one due to this mystery illness and I really don’t know how to get rid of it.
 

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Hi there, new to posting because I can usually find answers in previous threads but this has me confused as to why. I always thought it was a result to low oxygen which I doubt with the airstone and agitation from filter. The parameters are good from my knowledge.
pH 7.4
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
No redness on gills, only one of the 2 is acting this way. Any ideas?
 
Could you have possibly done a water change and forgotten to dechlorinate?
 
Could you have possibly done a water change and forgotten to dechlorinate?
I don't believe so, water change was a few days ago.. But his buddy seems fine, so probably not that.

No clamped fins, no other signs of distress. I am honestly baffled. I could say hos buddy looks a little bloated, though hard to tell because of how they look.
 
It
Goldfish normally breathe air from the surface on occasion. How big of a tank is it?
It is around 55l give or take with substrate and plants.
 
It

It is around 55l give or take with substrate and plants.
So there should be plenty of oxygen in the water for them, maybe it just wants to breathe air from the surface?
 
First, Goldfishes need a LOT of space. Were talking usually a minimum if 55 GALLON for one adult goldfish depending on size and species. Your little guy might be suffocating due to a lack of space which in turns turn the oxygen level down even tho you have a bubbler

Parameters seems really good tho! Keep up the good work

You little dudes just need much more space
 
First, Goldfishes need a LOT of space. Were talking usually a minimum if 55 GALLON for one adult goldfish depending on size and species. Your little guy might be suffocating due to a lack of space which in turns turn the oxygen level down even tho you have a bubbler

Parameters seems really good tho! Keep up the good work

You little dudes just need much more space
They have a 130l tank ready when they grow (I am Australian I'm sorry I don't know gallons very well..) I want to establish the plant growth before they eat it all haha, they are just babies currently about 4cm, it is rectangular in shape so alot if surface area. Though I appreciate and understand the concern for size, I am quite cautious with over stocking. I could move them earlier if you believe that is really the problem.. the last thing i want is to hurt them.
 
So there should be plenty of oxygen in the water for them, maybe it just wants to breathe air from the surface?
I just don't know anymore I spend far too much time worrying over my fishy friends.
 

Random Great Topic!

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