Do your fish breath with their mouths open?

FishyMatty

FishyMatty

FishKiller
Jan 30, 2007
876
0
0
46
Milford,CT
I think my fish might not be getting enough o2. They breath with their mouths open. Open, shut, open, shut.
I know that I've seen fish in pet stores that swim around with their mouth shut and their gills move.
What do you think
 
in order to move water across their gills, fish have to open their mouths..so I would not worry.

when a fish opens its mouth, water rushes in to fill the void. as this happens, the gill operculum moves out and allows the water rushing in to move out, and in the process moving across the gill filaments where gas exchange takes place.

unless your fish are gasping with their heads up at the top of the tank, I would not worry..

and make sure your ammonia and nitrite levels are at zero.

ammonia can burn the fish's gills and nitrite tends to suffocate them by out competing oxgygen for a spot on the red blood cell.

so these have to be at zero for your fish to get the most out of the dissolved oxygen in your water...
 
My ammonia/nitrite levels are always at 0 and any trace amounts are used by the extremely fast growing plants.
I just know that I've seen discus especially almost never move their mouths.
 
when they are relaxed they may not appear to be opening thie mouths..discus will do the same if they get excited.
also warm water may cause more than normal mouth movement.
 
The difference between what I've seen when staring at the discus in a breeder tank while I choose the ones I want and the way they breathe in my tanks is different. I don't think anything is really wrong but I would assume that they would be happier if they didn't have to work so hard.
 
FishyMatty said:
I think my fish might not be getting enough o2. They breath with their mouths open. Open, shut, open, shut.
I know that I've seen fish in pet stores that swim around with their mouth shut and their gills move.
What do you think
Click to expand...

I was wondering why the Dwarf Gouramis in the store did not move their mouths at all and in my tank(s) they do.Now I`m convinced it is because they are sucking in plankton.I first notice this when they were hovering around plants.I have 26 home-breeds(one I put down at 8 weeks old) the rest are 8 months old and they all look healthy so it`s normal for Dwarf Gouramis.Also my Dwarf rams do the mouth moving thing.
 
I know they need the to have water flow through their mouths but they just move their mouths a little bit not constantly open and shut.
 
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