Plants And Water Aggro

[blue acara]

I read somewhere that when u aggro the water surface say from an airstone or from a spraybar that it causes co2 to escape from the water, i am not using co2 injection so this may be bad for plants.

is this true and should i avoid aggroing the water?

 

[Jen]

That is correct. The more movement at the surface, the more gas will escape. Since you aren't adding co2 to the tank if wouldn't hurt to cut that down as much as possible.

On the flip side, you do want to make sure that there is enough o2 in the tank for your fish, and the only way to tell that is to monitor them to make sure they aren't gasping at the surface.

 

[blue acara]

cheers for reply

well at the mo i have 2 swordtails only and they seem happy and healthy but i do see them occasionaly at the top getting some air i wouldnt call it gasping as they are relaxed when doing it and dont do it often... is this normal behaviour?
What is the right balance for plants and fish? should i turn on the air pump only at night when plants dont need co2?