Why is my fish idle!

[Guppy._.lover]

My fish stay idle no moving around but moving their fins until someone come on top. I have a 50 gallon tub with a lot of floating plants and an air stone due to it being a flat tub I don't use filters

 

[JayKN]

Hello,

I would recommend using a filter to aid in keeping the water clean.

How often do you perform water changes? If you don't have filtration, then you will need to perform more water changes to keep the water clean. Are all your parameters normal?

 

[Guppy._.lover]

Hello,

I would recommend using a filter to aid in keeping the water clean.

How often do you perform water changes? If you don't have filtration, then you will need to perform more water changes to keep the water clean. Are all your parameters normal?

I do 50% water changes every week I don't know anything about the parameters because my lfs do not sell test kits

 

[Demeter32]

I would bet the fish are acting lazy because there water is less than suitable. You should grab a large sponge filter and hook it up to your air line. Sponge filters will remove fine particles from the water as well as provide a great home for beneficial bacteria that break down the fish waste into nitrates, which will then be absorbed and used by the plants.

If you have the sponge filter up and running, it will become established with bacteria after a while. If the light is nice and strong, the plants will use a lot of the nitrates which will in turn help keep the water parameters in prime condition.

In my 36gal planted bowfront the light is in the higher range so the plants use up a great deal of the waste products produced by the fish. I bet I could test for nitrates right now and they will be very close to zero despite it being a week since the last water change.

What kind of fish do you have in the tub?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I agree with Demeter. Add a sponge filter attachment to the air stone.

You are likely dealing with a fish-in cycle process. My guess is that there is a build up of ammonia in the tank, and even weekly 50% water changes weekly just won't fix that. The ammonia should be zero constantly, and the sponge filter will be a great home for the beneficial bacteria we need to help with that.

The floating plants could be helping a lot with that, and depending on how many fish you have in there and how much floating plants, they might be dealing with the ammonia sufficiently to keep the fish alive.

But... I'd suggest that, even with that, the sponge filter will make for an even better environment. (Just squeeze out the gunk caught by the filter with each water change, in dechlorinated water - even old tank water will work great - and things will be far more healthy in the tub.)

 

[Guppy._.lover]

I would bet the fish are acting lazy because there water is less than suitable. You should grab a large sponge filter and hook it up to your air line. Sponge filters will remove fine particles from the water as well as provide a great home for beneficial bacteria that break down the fish waste into nitrates, which will then be absorbed and used by the plants.

If you have the sponge filter up and running, it will become established with bacteria after a while. If the light is nice and strong, the plants will use a lot of the nitrates which will in turn help keep the water parameters in prime condition.

In my 36gal planted bowfront the light is in the higher range so the plants use up a great deal of the waste products produced by the fish. I bet I could test for nitrates right now and they will be very close to zero despite it being a week since the last water change.

What kind of fish do you have in the tub?

I have 12 guppies

 

[Guppy._.lover]

I agree with Demeter. Add a sponge filter attachment to the air stone.

You are likely dealing with a fish-in cycle process. My guess is that there is a build up of ammonia in the tank, and even weekly 50% water changes weekly just won't fix that. The ammonia should be zero constantly, and the sponge filter will be a great home for the beneficial bacteria we need to help with that.

The floating plants could be helping a lot with that, and depending on how many fish you have in there and how much floating plants, they might be dealing with the ammonia sufficiently to keep the fish alive.

But... I'd suggest that, even with that, the sponge filter will make for an even better environment. (Just squeeze out the gunk caught by the filter with each water change, in dechlorinated water - even old tank water will work great - and things will be far more healthy in the tub.)

The plants are giant salvinas they cover almost half the surface of the tub

 

[Guppy._.lover]

Here is a pic.