Fish At top of Tank(not dead)

[anduknodis]

hey guys just got a few quick questions for ya. I have to Fish in a gallon tank and every once in a while they swim to the top of the water and it looks like they are sucking in air from the top of the water. Is it time for a water change when my fish start doing this? What should i do when this occurs, or is something common and nothing to worry about. Also how can i check the ammonia levels in my water and with what? I am pretty interested in fish now that i have two and i am looking to get a bigger tank in the future.
Thanks a lot guys

 

[cloud]

Need more info

Firstly a few Qs so we can help you:

What kind of fish are they?
How big/old are they?
Do you have a filter?
Is your tank cycled?
When was the last time you changed the water and how much of it was changed?
How long has the tank been up and running for?

Would need answers to these Qs before you could get proper help, but I'd say it sounds like there is a good chance your fish are guping because of bad water. If you haven't changed the water in a while then do a large water change now to stop it getting worse. It can't hurt as a precaucion unless your tanks has been running with unchanged water for close to 6 months then hold of until you've answered the Qs and the experts on the site can tell you more about it. A tank that has'nt been changed for that long runs the risk of getting Old Tank Syndrome (OTS) in which case a large water change can do more harm than good. However I find it hard to imagine any fish could survive in an unchaged 1gal for that long:
The smaller your tank, the faster the water will foul and the more unstable the water chemistry is. A lot of fish do ok in a 1gal with the proper care but bigger is better. You should be aiming to change at least 50% of the water a week. On a 1gal it could'nt be too much trouble to go to 60% though.
Many fish are surface dwellers and some can take in air so need to know the type first but a water change can't hurt in the mean time (the more the better as a rule).

You can get Amonia test kits from a pet store or fish store. You also need Nitrate and Nitrite test kits as a minimum. There are more that help such as Ph, Gh, & Kh test kits that are also recommended but you can look into that later.
If your tank is new the most important info you need to look into of you don't already know about it is something called cycling. Until a tank is cycled it's harmful to fish and needs to be sorted out asap. In really basic terms cycling a tank means growing enough of the right bacteria in your filter (and on your gravel and aquarium decor) to be able to break down the harmful chemicals in fish waste to their least harmful state so that all you need are regular water changes to keep the water healthy. There is a sticky in the beginners section that you should read on this.
I'm guessing your fish are tropical fish and the tank is heated to the right temp also?

Hope this all helps in the interim until you can give us more info

 

[anduknodis]

Alright i have a done a little research and i haev figured out how to take care of my tank properly but i have
One regular albino goldfish-3 months since i bought it
One bubble-eye goldfish-1 week since i bought it
They are in a sufficiently sized bowl and i water change 30% every three days.
I do not use cycle.
Tank running for 3 months

 

[Bigbob55]

Usually that means that the fish aren't getting enough oxygen in the water. Which means the tank is too small with too little surface area on the top to properly oxygenate the water.

Goldfish would do that a lot when I would add them to my pond out back from the petstore, especially when it was hot (head inhibits oxygenation)

 

[cloud]

By cycle i don't mean the product called Cycle (which as anyone on this site'll tell you there is no scientific proof it has any effect). Cycling is a term used to mature your tank (letting the tank create enough of the right bacteria which is ESSENTIAL for keeping your fish alive). but I would think a tank over 3 months old would've cycled itself by now. Would still be good for you to invest in those test kits though, so you can keep an eye on things, as tanks as small as yours can change for the worse easily. A quick test once a month would be fine.

I agree that if your changing the water that regularly then it should be fine and that the probable cause is lack of dissolved oxygen.
The main way to get that sorted is to create surface movement. Try angling your filter outtake in such a way that it churns the surface a little more.

p.s. if it's goldfish you have then you don't need a heater as they are coldwater fish not tropical. Which also means you'll get better help from the folks in the coldwater section of this forum.

Good luck with it all.

 

[Roan Art]

Alright i have a done a little research and i haev figured out how to take care of my tank properly but i have
One regular albino goldfish-3 months since i bought it
One bubble-eye goldfish-1 week since i bought it
They are in a sufficiently sized bowl and i water change 30% every three days.
I do not use cycle.
Tank running for 3 months

Now that you've done a little research on keeping the tank, please take some time and do some research on the fish.

Goldfish, the types you have, need a 30 gallon tank for one fish, PLUS 15 gallons for each additional goldfish.

In other words, you have 2 fish that need to be in at *least* a 45 gallon tank in a 1 gallon tank. At bare minimum those two fish need to have 30gallons and then upgraded to 45 gallons in a couple more months.

Goldfish are very messy. They produce massive amounts of waste and need their tanks double filtered. This means that for a 45 gallon tank, you need a filter rated for 90 gallons.

Because you have 2 goldfish in a 1 gallon tank producing a lot of waste the most likely cause of their hanging at the surface is water quality. A 30% water change every 3 days isn't enough. Please:

1. Start changing out the water at least 50% every day
2. Purchase a testing kit. Not strips. Aquarium Pharaceuticals makes a very good low-cost testing kit. Test the water before you do a change and post it here so that we can see exactly what these fish are dealing with and can advise accordingly
3. Get the fish a MUCH bigger tank that is double filtered
4. Read this sticky http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26051 on cycling your tank

Roan