fish staying at the top of the water, maybe gasping for air..

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jilly

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Feb 25, 2008
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I have a 20 gallon tank, had it set up for 3 days with plants, and tested the water first before getting any fish, everything was fine. I got some fish on saturday, 3 dalmation mollies, 4 guppies and an algae eater, can't remember his name, pleco something maybe. Also 6 ghost shrimp and 2 small apple snails.

Starting yesterday, all the fish except the pleco started hanging around the top, like they'd prefer to breathe air from the surface.. The water does look a little cloudy, but I assumed it was the start of the nitrogen cycle, the bacterial bloom thing

Tank temperature is about 78/79 degrees.

All these items test in the normal range

Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Alkalinity, PH, ammonia

I just now added some drops from a product that is supposed to clear cloudy water, not much change yet..

They don't seem to have any signs of illness, no spots, clamped fins, etc..

What could be causing the fish to all stay at the top?
 

chaibill

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Apr 28, 2006
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I believe that ammonia is heavier than water so it sinks and the fish go to the surface be cause there is less ammonia at the surface. What did you test with? Strips?
Three days is not enough for a cycle. Maybe try Ammolock.
 

msjinkzd

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Feb 11, 2007
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I would do a very large water change. Its most likely that you have high ammonia as the start of your cycle. Are you using test strips or a liquid test kit? If htere is any detectable ammonia or nitrite its very stressful to your fish and could cause the behavior you are seeing. Do as many water changes as necessary for your ammonia and trite readings to be 0.
 

grannylvsfish

have you been bad this year ??
Dec 6, 2006
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mollies are very susceptable to amonia, you have to have a perfect tank to add them . water changes and now!!
 

SanguineApple

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Feb 3, 2008
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That's a whole lot of stock to add to a brand new tank. I agree with the above -- water changes and quickly. Make sure you're treating the water with a dechlorinator like Prime or Amquel+ as you're changing it. Also, if you don't have a liquid test kit, invest in one immediately as it'll be your fish's best friend for the forseeable future.
 

jilly

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Feb 25, 2008
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the test kit was I took a little vial of water from the tank, put a dip strip in, dipped it for 30 seconds, then laid it flat for 30 seconds, then read the test.

Okay, I am going to try changing some water - how much should I change?
 

SanguineApple

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Feb 3, 2008
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The dip strip tests are not the most accurate. You'll really want to get a complete liquid kit that should include ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, gh and kh.

I'd change 50% today, and then keep changing daily until your ammonia lessens.
 

jilly

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Feb 25, 2008
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i did about 33% and they seem happier already. Later on tonight I'll do some more, and look for the liquid ammonia tests. Do the strips work okay for small tanks, like maybe 5 or 10 gallon? (i hate to think i spent $12 bucks on dip strips that are useless - but it will be one of the many things I've spent a lot of fish money on since I started this a month ago!)
 

dgoulston

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Feb 20, 2008
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i brought the strips and wish i hadnt. i allready had the nitrate liquid testing stuff, but got the strips for the rest, and i think they are crap, readings all over the place, when i compare what i get on strip to liquid its way way off!
 
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