Fish having trouble breathing, I don't know what's wrong

Lauren

Lauren

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Aug 9, 2003
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The trouble in my 45 started 2 night ago, when I had CO2 overflow into my tank in the middle of the night. Even though the lights were off and the water was clouded with CO2 filled solution, the fish were pretty much okay. Only the angel fish was visibly stressed. I did a water change, turned the light on, and started some bubbles.

Yesterday I checked the CO2 levels, they were at 30ppms, not dangerously high by any means. The light turned off, and suddenly, all of the fish were at the top of the tank. I did a big water change, and added the bubbler again. Everyone was okay. I was showing NO irregularities- no ammonia, no nitrites, etc. This morning, everyone was fine, when I got home from work, everything was fine. When I got back into my room 10 minutes ago, everyone was at the top again, trying to get some air. Added a bubbler, already things are getting better.

what is wrong? I dont' get it. CO2 levels are not high enough to be suffocating, and while I haven't tested it today, it hasn't been running for 2 days and the water isn't even cloudy any more. So that shouldn't be causing the problems. I'm worried about my angel fish, he is the most stressed out of the bunch. I'd think that maybe the debris from the Co2 spill is clogging their gills, but they are only showing symptoms of breathing problems at night. Any ideas?
 
what type of CO2 setup are you using? obviously it's the CO2, try lower the water level in the tank so that your filter makes a little splashing on the return water to disperse the CO2. what is your PH reading? How long have you been using CO2? what types of plants do you have that are in need of CO2? what type of lighting?
 
CO2 is a home made soda bottle one
ph is 6.8 (been constant at that at night for a while)
using CO2 for about a year
check out the link in my sig for plants, yes, I need CO2.
lighting: 130w= 2.8wpg
 
I don't have another place to put them, the quarantine tank is full. Thanks for the help, but I don't need more plants. I've had 45ppm of CO2 in this tank before and the fish haven't reacted this way. Now they are with much less CO2. I think it has to do with the clouding of the tank. It's clear now, though. Any thoughts? Or ideas on when they will get better?

They are off the surface now, the bubbler helps a lot. Thing is, I've never had to use it before.
 
The problem is from the yeast cell/sugar dump from the CO2 bottle. The increased microbial activity in the tank is drawing down the O2 levels. It’s more severe at night when plant respiration is a also factor.

Seen this all before. Whenever you have an accidental discharge from a DIY CO2 bottle you should do several large water changes and increase water circulation asap. Things should stabilize within a few days to a week.


Tom
 
Thanks Tom, I'll continue to run the bubbler at night until the fish improve, it seems to help them out a lot.
 
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