Fish gasping for air at the surface after water change in new house?

[rsanz]

Hey everybody. I'm stumped.

As some of you know, I've recently moved into a new house with well water. Well, I've only added new water to my tank twice - once upon initial moving of the tanks, and one water change yesterday evening. Well, both times my fish, in particular the Harlequin Rasboras and my Moscow Guppies, both hang out at the top of the tank. It looks like they are gasping for air.

None of my other fish (albino cories, peacock gudgeons, BN pleco, otocinclus) react this way to the new water. If anything, everyone else is a bit lethargic after the water change, but nothing extreme.

What could be going on? I tested the water right out of the tap, and here were the readings:

Ammonia: >0ppm, but <.25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm
pH: 6.4

Any ideas? I have no idea what is going on...no parameters are so outrageous as to cause the fish to go to the surface! This morning, everyone seems to be a little bit more normal, but they're extremely skittish when before the move I could bang pots and pans without anyone even flinching.

Are there any particulars in terms of treating well water before putting it in the tank that well people generally do? I haven't been treating with Prime because well water supposedly does not contain chlorine or chloramine, correct? Should I go back to treating with Prime?

I also know that the pipes are copper.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

-Rob

 

[snoopy65]

I would use prime at this point. With ammonia in the water, it will "lock" it so it won't affect the fish. Do the fish go back to normal a day or so after the water change? The reason I ask is the bacteria in your tank would "kill" the ammonia by then. If they are doing it just after a water change and not any other time, I would think that is the problem. As far as copper pipes, they will make it difficult to have inverts.

 

[Lupin]

Last thread of yours I checked, there was no indication of possible damages that may result in harming your fish. It doesn't hurt to test dosing Prime and seeing their reactions on the next water change.

 

[thesixis]

I don't know about your well water, but I will say that Every house that I lived in has COPPER pipes. I never had any trouble with inverts.

 

[KarlTh]

At this pH you needn't worry about ammonia/ammonium. It'd have to get to 8ppm before you'd get enough toxic ammonia to be a problem.

How's the water circulation? Temperature?

 

[Carla G]

I suspect that the problem might be lack of oxygen because the water has been underground for a long time. My suggestion: Put your new water in non metal buckets and aerate with an airstone overnight before adding to the fishtank. See how the fish react to that.

 

[rsanz]

I suspect that the problem might be lack of oxygen because the water has been underground for a long time. My suggestion: Put your new water in non metal buckets and aerate with an airstone overnight before adding to the fishtank. See how the fish react to that.

You know, this sounds like the correct diagnosis to me. It really looks like they are gasping for oxygen at the top. And that certainly makes sense, because after a day with the filter on high aerating the water, the fish are fine.

I will try your method next time and report the results. I really hope it's something as simple as oxygen and doesn't have anything to do with dissolved chemicals!

 

[Squawkbert]

In addition to considering dissolved O2 content, ask yourself how the water tastes and smells. If it is "off", you may have traces of H2S, iron or something else in there.

Also - has this water been through a water softener?

 

[gzeiger]

Low oxygen was the first thing I thought of when I read your post too, before I read that reply. I wouldn't expect well water to have much if any oxygen. The above suggestion of aerating water before a water change should work, or you could just do more frequent, smaller water changes. If the fish recovered from this condition in the same water there aren't many chemical contaminants that could be the cause. Hydrogen sulfide at a dangerous level will let you know in a hurry. Iron as suggested in the previous post would remain in the water and the fish wouldn't recover. It also wouldn't likely manifest as gasping for air.

 

[rsanz]

Alright, then it looks like I'll have to switch to smaller, more frequent water changes. I only have one bucket, so aerating a lot of water overnight isn't really feasible. I was in the habit of doing 30-40% every water change, maybe I'll have to dial it back to 15-20%.

Thanks, everyone!