Fishes Swimming At The Top Of The Tank

[kashifmasud]

Hi Guys,
Apologies if such issue is discussed before. I have recently moved from Cold Water to Tropical Water Tank which I bought from someone including Molly fishes.
 
Since I have setup my tank, I have noticed fishes mostly swimming at the top of the tank. I have searched internet & people suggested it could be due to high Ammonia level or low Oxygen level in the tank. Unfortunately, I do not have testing kit to confirm what the issue is.
I have tried changing 30% of water every day, added APIs ammonia removing liquid, added stress zymes but no major improvement. After changing water, fishes went down in the tank but as soon as I fed them, they again started swimming at the top. I have already setup air bubble & increased external pump height  of out nosal to cause ripple in water (in effort to absorb more oxygen) but not making any major difference.
 
The big adult fishes though swim inside the tank but all the young & fry swim at the top along with baby angel fish. Although Algae eater stays at the bottom.
 
Forgot to mention 2 or 3 mollies giving babies, so tank might be overstocked but the previous owner did not mention about it.
Any suggestions please?

 

[DerpPH]

uncycled tank syndrome.
 
Does it have a filter?
 
you could have done a fishless cycle.
 
Fish in cycles are not recommended as you lose many fish in the process.
 
Buy a testing kit to tell us precisley your params

 

[Blondielovesfish]

What size is the tank?
 
Do a big water change (70-80%) and see if there is any improvement.
 
I would imagine it is ammonia or nitrite poisoning.
 
Do you have a LFS near you that can test your water? If you do, make sure to ask for the exact results.
 
Getting your own test kit would be helpful, API makes a fairly good one that tests for everything, it is called API Freshwater Master Test Kit. 

 

[hobby5]

Welcome to the forum!
 
For mollies it is perfectly normal behaviour to swim at the top of the tank, especially for the young mollies. What is a bit strange that also the angelfish swim at the top, do they "sunbath" under the lamp? But to really help you we would need more information: size of the tank, water temp., exact no. of fish, tank running for how long? Do the fish breath heavily? If the problem were high concentrations of ammonia or nitrite you need to do large water changes not only 30%.
 
AND stop feeding for minimum of 2 days! Then start with very low amouts.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Research shows that well fed fish resist ammonia better than starved ones. Just do not let excess food stay in the tank after feeding.
 
Unless you get test kits or have the water tested, you will not know what the problem is. You will not be able to fix what is wrong if you do not know what is wrong
 
Stop adding the stress zyme. Stop adding the API ammonia remover. Start using a proper dechlor and then at only the normal dose when you change water.
 
You need to provide much more info for us to have any clue what is going on. What hardware etc.moved from the old tank to the new. What came with the new tank that you may not have used.  What sizes were both etc. etc. You can not provide too much info in this respect, only too little.

 

[hobby5]

Research shows that well fed fish resist ammonia better than starved ones. Just do not let excess food stay in the tank after feeding.

While this might be true, experience shows that beginners tend to feed way too much and rotten food is an additional ammonia source as is the fish digesting tons of food. Additionally, a feeding break of 2 days will not turn those fish into "starved ones".

 

[kashifmasud]

Thanks for the feedback. I have ordered the Api testing kit and will have it soon to test water.
Tank is about 130-140litres with 5-6 adult mollies, around 15-20 young mollies probably 4-6 weeks, 12-15 fry, 2 baby angelfishes & 1 algae eater (don't know exact name, it's golden one).
Tank has external fluval 205 filter, heater is set to 28c. I have been feeding them twice a day but they always seem hungry to me, I will skip feeding them for next 24hra and will change 70-80% water change and will share the result.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Is the algae eater a chinese algae eater? If so, you should rehome it, as they become very aggressive as they age, they have been found to be sucking the slime coat off of fish.
 
I don't have anything more to add until you know your readings.

 

[kashifmasud]

Thanks all for the help. Fortunately fishes are now doing fine. I found ammonia level was high (i.e. 4), so I used ammonia remover and changed water 20-30% every 2nd day and it worked. 
Also feeding less, twice a day...
 
About Algae eater, I am not sure its chinese one. It's golden algae eater, so far she is pretty calm... 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Does your algae eater look like this?....

 
If so, you need to get it out ASAP, although it may seem docile now, as it ages, it will stop eating algae and will become VERY aggressive.
 
Don't bother with ammonia removers, water changes are much better to use, cheaper too.
The ammonia removers can be a temporary fix, but they don't remove the ammonia, they only turn it into a non-toxic form.
 
You will need to keep an eye on the readings, particularly ammonia and nitrite, as they're likely to spike again, since your tank is not cycled.

 

[kashifmasud]

Does your algae eater look like this?....

 
If so, you need to get it out ASAP, although it may seem docile now, as it ages, it will stop eating algae and will become VERY aggressive.
 
Don't bother with ammonia removers, water changes are much better to use, cheaper too.
The ammonia removers can be a temporary fix, but they don't remove the ammonia, they only turn it into a non-toxic form.
 
You will need to keep an eye on the readings, particularly ammonia and nitrite, as they're likely to spike again, since your tank is not cycled.

I can't view the picture of algae eater..

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Hmm, not sure why that is
 
Here's another picture...

 
Hopefully you can see that.

 

[kashifmasud]

Yes it's the same one I have got. So you reckon I should separate this from other fishes or shall I wait? As I don't know if it has aged and started sucking the slime coat of the fish... 

 

[daizeUK]

I'd guess that if you see it sucking slime coat off your fishes, you've left it too late.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Thanks all for the help. Fortunately fishes are now doing fine. I found ammonia level was high (i.e. 4), so I used ammonia remover and changed water 20-30% every 2nd day and it worked. 
Also feeding less, twice a day...
 
About Algae eater, I am not sure its chinese one. It's golden algae eater, so far she is pretty calm... 

 
Stop feeding them so much...bits of uneaten food is going to compose and add to the ammonia already in your tank water. Fish won't die if they are not fed for a few days, during this time continue to change as much water as and when your test kit tells you to.
Stop using this ammonia remover nonsense..the ONLY two things that will remove ammonia are regular water changes or a fully cycled filter..remember to pay attention also to the NitrItes, treat them as ammonia and keep them at '0 as much as you physically can.
 
Terry.