I have a moderately planted tank so I don't have an air stone. I do add Co2. Anyways, did a water change yesterday and today all my fish, (and shrimp) are all at the top of the tank getting air! Am I going to have to add an airstone now? Would that effect CO2 levels? Thanks for the :help:
Fish gasping for breath?
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because you run co2, and most likely have little surface disruption from your filters (so that the co2 doesn't offgas), i would say lack of oxygen is probably the culprit here. drop your water level down so the filter splashes more, and turn off your co2.
if that doesn't help, then i would say something toxic in the water is the culprit. phone your local water authority to find out if anything different has been done to the water supply recently.
if that doesn't help, then i would say something toxic in the water is the culprit. phone your local water authority to find out if anything different has been done to the water supply recently.
It was the CO2! I out gassed them. It was only on about 1 bubble per second. That's less then usual. Lost a blue and and a gold ram and one's mia. Presumed dead or he would be gasping on top too. Oh, I am soooo heart broken. The Rams were my star and so beautiful. I would post a picture but it doesn't turn up.
My other blue survived! So far. Turned off CO2 and have more surface disruption. It's amazing how quick that happens. 2 dead. I hope the others survive my stupidity.
sorry to hear you lost them 
i made the decision to run my planted 20 gallon without co2 - just too much to worry about and i like my fish more than the plants
i made the decision to run my planted 20 gallon without co2 - just too much to worry about and i like my fish more than the plants
I use a CO2 drop checker (actually 4), I have only added livestock today (Amano Shrimp) but they are supposed to be very sensitive to high CO2 and did survive today. It is essential that you use "4 dkh water" (can be found on ebay if you don't want to learn to make it / buy scales etc) and PH solution, and not tank or tap water, as the whole premise of a drop checker is that it works on a very specific solution so that it indicates the pH of 6.6 equivalent to 30 PPM CO2 in equilibrium. (Tank water can be drastically different than 6.6 so you measure the 4 dkh fluid). The "charts" of PH-to-hardness are not that accurate because they presume that carbonic acid is the only factor on PH in your tank.
Here is a pic of the drop checker with one of my shrimp on it:
Also - if you are using pressurized CO2 I don't think there is a reason to avoid lots of surface agitation. The CO2 bottle will still last for months, you need to run a slightly higher flowrate, but in return you get lots of O2 and less likely to gas your fish. I run enough surface agitation that I can't count my CO2 usage in "bubbles per second".
Here is a pic of the drop checker with one of my shrimp on it:
Also - if you are using pressurized CO2 I don't think there is a reason to avoid lots of surface agitation. The CO2 bottle will still last for months, you need to run a slightly higher flowrate, but in return you get lots of O2 and less likely to gas your fish. I run enough surface agitation that I can't count my CO2 usage in "bubbles per second".
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This can happen in non-planted, non co2 tanks as well, I know cause it use-to happen to me after my 50% water-changes. I first remedied the situation by having a micro bubble wand and air pump standing by at the 1st sign of labored breathing. Then I discovered if I use a garden sprayer adjusted to a spray pattern that was both wide and high-flow that my measures O2 levels would actually be higher then when I started the water-change, and a huge difference in the end between just pouring the water in (no-nozzle spray) resulting in 5 PPM (death zone) and below O2 readings, and 8 to 9 PPM (max zone) when filling the tank using a sprayer. This is especially true in the summer southwest if your city water is gravity fed warm water between 80 and 90 F out of the cold side will be depleted of O2 and spray filling makes all the difference between happy and dieing fish and will also lower the exit temperature of the water by 5 F. I do all ma fish y 1200 gallons of water changes using a $3 spray nozzle and have never had fish gasp syndrome since.
Oh, it also helps the water vent off chlorine and chloramines it exchanges for O2 in the spray process
Oh, it also helps the water vent off chlorine and chloramines it exchanges for O2 in the spray process
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another thing i do if my water change isn't going to make the water temporarily go below the filter intakes is to just leave the filters running while i do my water change. all that agitation really oxygenates the water! my oscar ends up with microbubbles all over him after, lol.
