Gouramis Gulping Air

[christophoro1]

Hi,
I know that gouramis breath air but since I moved them into their new larger tank they have been doing it much more frequently than before and can spent up to 2 mins at a time at the suface.
Can someone tell me whats going on and how to fix it?!

Thanks Chris

 

[bagu]

whats in the tank? any live plants? have you got water surface agitation?

 

[christophoro1]

whats in the tank? any live plants? have you got water surface agitation?

No, no plants and the output from the filter to the tank is too low to agitate the water
I the tank there is:
3 silver sharks
4 gold gouramis
5 Clown loach
A bristle nosed plec
A common plec

 

[RedeyesUK]

the output from the filter to the tank is too low to agitate the water

That may well be your problem - you need a bit of surface agitation to help with oxygen exchange. Try moving your filter up to a level where it breaks the surface a little.
If your gouramis are spending a lot of time gulping air, that's a good symptom of not having enough oxygen.

What are the differences between the new tank and the old one? Have you got any water test results?

 

[pippoodle]

if you cant move the filter go and get an airstone and pump
you need more surface movement

 

[christophoro1]

The tank is substantialy bigger an increase of 70L. I tested the water for ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate but those are the only tests I have and they all came out fine . Is there one for oxygen?

 

[bagu]

The tank is substantialy bigger an increase of 70L. I tested the water for ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate but those are the only tests I have and they all came out fine . Is there one for oxygen?

How many litres is your tank?

you should buy an airstone or, buy a power head, and set it constantly agitating thewaters suface, this causes oxygenation

Im not sure about oxygen tests though ^^

good luck

 

[christophoro1]

Its 200L is there any way of quieting down an air pump as I've heard they are very noisy!

 

[RedeyesUK]

They don't have to be that noisy, the one in mine just gives a nice burbling sound. Once you've been in the room for a couple of minutes, you don't even notice it.

Neither does it have to be on all the time - you can just plug it in to a cheap 24h timer to have it come on when you're not there, eg during work hours. Even running for 8 hours a day or so will make a lot of difference.

 

[christophoro1]

thanks for all the help I will try the air stone.