Fish Gasping For Air

[australia]

A colony of my fish are gasping for air, they open and close there mouth all the time, what causes this?

nitrates?

or what else would it be and what can i do to fix it?

i have done a 50% water change so far and nothing has changed, will it change overnight?

 

[Esfa]

could be low oxygen levels in the water.

is there any surface movement?

 

[australia]

could be low oxygen levels in the water.

is there any surface movement?

yes i have 2 sponge filters in there and i have alot of air moving the top if the water, though i do have 20 fish in there maby that could be the problem?

 

[beany_bot]

Are they gasping at the surface of the water or just about the tank?

 

[australia]

Are they gasping at the surface of the water or just about the tank?

everywhere in the tank, not realy at the top!

 

[Esfa]

what's the tank size and stocking?

 

[minxfishy]

Are they gasping at the surface of the water or just about the tank?

everywhere in the tank, not realy at the top!

Do you have water stat readings for Ammonia, nitrIte and NitrAte?

 

[australia]

what's the tank size and stocking?

there is 18 adult fish and the tank size is 160litres, i know its a bit small though the people i got the fish of had them in exacly the same setup with no problems.....

Are they gasping at the surface of the water or just about the tank?

everywhere in the tank, not realy at the top!

Do you have water stat readings for Ammonia, nitrIte and NitrAte?

my water test kits are out of date, i have to wait entill i buy new ones! witch could be a while, and i want to kill the problem now!

 

[Esfa]

what's the tank size and stocking?

there is 18 adult fish and the tank size is 160litres, i know its a bit small though the people i got the fish of had them in exacly the same setup with no problems.....

what fish are they?

 

[australia]

what's the tank size and stocking?

there is 18 adult fish and the tank size is 160litres, i know its a bit small though the people i got the fish of had them in exacly the same setup with no problems.....

what fish are they?

Melanochromis maingano african cichlids

 

[Ace Of Spades]

what's the tank size and stocking?

there is 18 adult fish and the tank size is 160litres, i know its a bit small though the people i got the fish of had them in exacly the same setup with no problems.....

what fish are they?

Melanochromis maingano african cichlids

Yes but he was probally selling them, Maybe a breeder which will get rid of them in about 2 weeks. Or a LFS that will get rid of them quick and have lots of filtration....

 

[australia]

No, i got them from a breeder who has the exacly the same setup! exept they had twice as many fish in the same tank!!!

 

[Esfa]

well i know nothing about chichlids.... so....

but if it's over stocked, that could be why they're gasping

 

[Ace Of Spades]

No, i got them from a breeder who has the exacly the same setup! exept they had twice as many fish in the same tank!!!

Just because someonelse does it dont mean its right..., It could be because theres so many fish in there and the water quality is bad....did you cycle your tank?

 

[minxfishy]

No, i got them from a breeder who has the exacly the same setup! exept they had twice as many fish in the same tank!!!

Just because someonelse does it dont mean its right..., It could be because theres so many fish in there and the water quality is bad....did you cycle your tank?

Whilst I understand you dont have a test kit, I would strongly recommend that you purchase one, whilst a little expensive they are invaluable when it comes to understanding what is happening in your tank and to your fishes. An API master test kit or another liquid test kit.

If you cannot get one immediately, I would take a sample of the tank water to your LFS and ask them to test it for you (some do this free of charge) and get them to write the results down for you.

In the meantime, do a minimum of a 25% water change, if possible angle your outlet from your filter so that it creates more movement, thus creating more oxygen in the water, also if you have an airstone/pump turn it on.

The fish sound like they are in need of more oxygen and/or suffering from ammonia/nitrIte poisoning. The only way to aleviate this is to do regular, sometimes 2/3 times a day water changes of 25% until the levels in the tank get to acceptable levels and your tank cycles.