Cory's Gasping For Breath

[Platy lover]

I noticed two of my cory's are gasping for breath at the bottom of my tank. The Ph is 6.4, ammonia .25 and the nitrates is 0 also I did a water change Saturday. I am worried since I love them.

 

[Livewire88]

Could be short on Oxigen, does the outlet of your filter disturb the surface of the water? or have you got an airstone in the tank?

 

[Xraymark]

Another water change needed. 50%. Don't let ammonia go above 0.25.

 

[Platy lover]

Could be short on Oxigen, does the outlet of your filter disturb the surface of the water? or have you got an airstone in the tank?

I have an airstone but it pushes my guppies around which stresses them out but I will put it back in.

Another water change needed. 50%. Don't let ammonia go above 0.25.

I used ammonia lock which is supposed to get rid of ammonia

 

[Livewire88]

Could be short on Oxigen, does the outlet of your filter disturb the surface of the water? or have you got an airstone in the tank?

I have an airstone but it pushes my guppies around which stresses them out but I will put it back in.

Well worth a try IMO, if it does not make a difference no harm done just remove it again

Another water change needed. 50%. Don't let ammonia go above 0.25.

I used ammonia lock which is supposed to get rid of ammonia

 

[Platy lover]

Could be short on Oxigen, does the outlet of your filter disturb the surface of the water? or have you got an airstone in the tank?

I have an airstone but it pushes my guppies around which stresses them out but I will put it back in.

Well worth a try IMO, if it does not make a difference no harm done just remove it again

Another water change needed. 50%. Don't let ammonia go above 0.25.

I used ammonia lock which is supposed to get rid of ammonia

Put the airstone in and one of them is perking up. ^.^

 

[Blubble37]

yep, lack of oxygen then... i run an airstone in my tank but most of my aeration comes from the surface... which is rippled like nothing on earth

 

[Platy lover]

yep, lack of oxygen then... i run an airstone in my tank but most of my aeration comes from the surface... which is rippled like nothing on earth

The other one is still gasping, so I am going to do a 25% water change

 

[Livewire88]

If the problem has indeed been caused by a lack of Oxigen you will want to try and fix the issue for the long term, so please can you provide some more info about your tank and hopefully we can offer some advice so your fish dont have this problem again.

Size of your tank?
What filter are you using?
Where is the filter outlet situated?
Do you have any plants in your tank?
How often and how much water do you change?
Have you only recently removed the airstone?

 

[Xraymark]

Shouldn't be any ammonia in your tank if the filter is doing its job. Ammonia lock is a temporary fix.

 

[Livewire88]

Shouldn't be any ammonia in your tank if the filter is doing its job. Ammonia lock is a temporary fix.

There is always going to be some Ammonia in any tank with fish in, its just a case of keeping it as low as possible

 

[snazy]

There is always going to be some Ammonia in any tank with fish in, its just a case of keeping it as low as possible

In a cycled/established tank the ammonia present can not be detected on any of your home test kits, but 0.25ppm ammonia does and is probably 500 times more than what a "good" tank would have at any given time.

 

[Livewire88]

There is always going to be some Ammonia in any tank with fish in, its just a case of keeping it as low as possible

In a cycled/established tank the ammonia present can not be detected on any of your home test kits, but 0.25ppm ammonia does and is probably 500 times more than what a "good" tank would have at any given time.

Very true, but as said there is allways going to be some Ammonia in any tank that has fish in

 

[Harlequins]

There is always going to be some Ammonia in any tank with fish in, its just a case of keeping it as low as possible

In a cycled/established tank the ammonia present can not be detected on any of your home test kits, but 0.25ppm ammonia does and is probably 500 times more than what a "good" tank would have at any given time.

+1 - No tank once established with good maintainance should show any ammonia using a liquid test kit, fair enough there will be ammonia in there,but the filter should be handling this bio load therefore not showing noticeable ammonia.

Platylover - Has mentioned, ammonia lock is only a short term effect,you will need to do daily waterchanges to keep the ammonia has close to zero has possible - even with a reading of 0.25ppm it will do harm to fish,especially any weak ones...if your tank is showing no nitrates then makes me wonder if its fully cycled - how long has it been set up? An airstone is only a short term effect, it won't help the fish if being poisoned by ammonia spikes.

Waterchanges are your best friend, and will keep your fish alive also

 

[Platy lover]

If the problem has indeed been caused by a lack of Oxigen you will want to try and fix the issue for the long term, so please can you provide some more info about your tank and hopefully we can offer some advice so your fish dont have this problem again.

Size of your tank?
What filter are you using?
Where is the filter outlet situated?
Do you have any plants in your tank?
How often and how much water do you change?
Have you only recently removed the airstone?

Tank size: 29 gallons

Filter I am using: Marineland Penguin 150 power filter but using top fin filter cartridges for the time being until they get the other filter cartridges in.

Filter outlet: It is in the back of the tank.

Plants I have: A small swordleaf like plant

Water change: 25% weekly and a full water change monthly.

Time I took out the airstone out: Friday.

Time I had the tank: 5 months.