Fish Gulping At Waters Surface - Why?

[ennazus]

Hi there. Im new to keeping tropical fish and to the forum here. I recently set up a 40G tank and did fishless cycling which took about 4 weeks. 3 days ago I added four mollies and a japanese fighting fish as my first fish, just a few so as not to overload the filter. The ammonia and nitrate were at zero and nitrates were around 10, ph at 7. All these readings have stayed the same and i've only fed them very minimally 3 times in order to keep waste to a minimum. Two of the Mollies have begun going to the surface today, an hour or two after feeding and gulping there for a minute or so. They do this every five or ten minutes. Im worried this could mean they're not getting enough oxygen. I dont have live plants in the tank at the moment and i was told i didnt really need an air pump when i set it up, just a filter, heater and light. I do have an air pump that i could add if necessary, just wondering if i need to be concerned by this behaviour in my fish, whether i need to add a pump or feed my fish a little more? Sorry if this seems a really daft question to some of you, but i've never done this before and i'm just really keen to make sure I dont kill any fish through ignorance. All advice gratefully received, thanks

 

[backtotropical]

Hi and to the forum,

Gulping at the surface can generally mean 3 things.

1. I'm really hungry!

2. Help, this ammonia is really hurting!

3. Help i can't breathe!

Fish usually have to be really hungry to gulp so it's probably not that. You could try feeding and see if that helps.

You say your readings have stayed the same. Does that mean that ammonia and nitrite are still 0? If so, it's not that either.

That means it's probably lack of oxygen. Do you have any surface agitation in the tank?

Cheers

BTT

 

[Piltdownpaul]

I have to say that my mollies do take air from the surface in most of my tanks but not for longer periods than 5 mins or so, every now and then .They take a bit in -then bubble it out. Best to keep your eye on your stats and make sure you have lots of oxygen around.

 

[ennazus]

Hi and to the forum,

Gulping at the surface can generally mean 3 things.

1. I'm really hungry!

2. Help, this ammonia is really hurting!

3. Help i can't breathe!

Fish usually have to be really hungry to gulp so it's probably not that. You could try feeding and see if that helps.

You say your readings have stayed the same. Does that mean that ammonia and nitrite are still 0? If so, it's not that either.

That means it's probably lack of oxygen. Do you have any surface agitation in the tank?

Cheers

Thanks for the reply, yes my ammonia and nitrite are at zero and nitrate around 10.
The filter moves the surface of the water in a counter clockwise direction, I see the food moving around that way when i feed them, but heres no other surface agitation. The fish arent gulping all the time, and they're not all doing it. Just two of them for a minute or so every five or ten minutes.

 

[backtotropical]

So long as your ammonia and nitrite are 0 and there is surface movement, i wouldn't worry. It's probably nothing to worry about.

If there was no surface movement or ammonia or nitrite present, that would have suggested a problem.

Keep an eye on them, but i'm pretty sure everything is ok.

Cheers

BTT

 

[ennazus]

So long as your ammonia and nitrite are 0 and there is surface movement, i wouldn't worry. It's probably nothing to worry about.

If there was no surface movement or ammonia or nitrite present, that would have suggested a problem.

Keep an eye on them, but i'm pretty sure everything is ok.

Cheers

BTT

I will keep an eye on things, thanks so much for your help, you've put my mind at rest

 

[backtotropical]

Just as a side thought, are there any signs of disease?

For example, white cotton-wool like growths, white spots, cloudy eyes etc?

If not, just keep a close eye on things for a while to be sure.

Cheers

BTT