Angels at surface? Need Air Pump?

[Psybuster]

All my angels are mostly hovering up near the surface looks like they are getting air. I was recommended getting an air pump, and I did get one. It's so loud Was it the right decision or did I just get suckered in buying an item at the LFS?

 

[krap101]

what are the params?

 

[Psybuster]

i did a test a couple days ago, reading 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate, 3ppm nitrite
temp is at 80*F
ph 6.8

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Any surface agitation? Could be that the O2 levels are too low.

 

[BrianNY]

I'm hoping that you posted your params out of order Psybuster. 3ppm of nitrite means your tank is still cycling.

One of the effects of ammonia or nitrite poisoning is gill damage If in fact the nitites are that high, I'd be doing 30% daily pwcs to reduce the stress on the fish.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm not real familiar with planted tanks, but would aquarium salt help the stress on the fish if it is cycling? If that's his tank description, it's planted with CO2. Would a small amount of salt be possible or is it out of the question with the tank being planted and CO2?

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26G Community:
1 Bala shark - 5", 1 Red Tail shark - 4", 1 Rainbow shark - 3 1/2", 1 Albino Rainbow shark - 3", 1 Golden Dojo Loach - 8", 1 Dojo loach - 4", 2 Fire Eels - 9" each, 4 Chinese Algae Eaters - 1" each, 1 Bolivian Ram - 1", 6 Glowlight rasboras - 1" each. 55G/75G coming soon.

 

[FawnN]

Angels are very sensitive to changing water conditions. I would recheck your water parameters. IMO, when fish are hoovering at the surface they are lacking O2.

I personally do immediate water changes when I feel my fish aren't acting normally.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Could try a couple 20% water changes a day for a couple days, maybe once in the morning befor feeding, and once before dinnertime.

_________________
26G Community:
1 Bala shark - 5", 1 Red Tail shark - 4", 1 Rainbow shark - 3 1/2", 1 Albino Rainbow shark - 3", 1 Golden Dojo Loach - 8", 1 Dojo loach - 4", 2 Fire Eels - 9" each, 4 Chinese Algae Eaters - 1" each, 1 Bolivian Ram - 1", 6 Glowlight rasboras - 1" each. 55G/75G coming soon.

 

[Psybuster]

i'm sorry i got nitrite and nitrate mixed up. 3ppm nitrate, 0ppm nitrite.

I'll do a 25% PWC today, see if that helps, but they aren't surfacing as much anymore. I would think with the amount of plants i have in there that it should supply enough O2 to all the fish. My tank is jungle like.

 

[Psybuster]

i wake up to find my angels hovering near the surface this is confusing...

 

[rich311k]

I would guess they are not getting enough o2 overnight when the plants are not photosynthesizing, I would add a bubbler at night and see how they do.

 

[BrianNY]

OK, here's what I suspect. You're injecting too much CO2 and the fish are becoming O2 starved at night. Do you have a bubble counter? Know how much CO2 is in the water column?

It isn't necessary to inject CO2 when the plants aren't photosynthisizng. You might want to turn the system off during the evening.

 

[Psybuster]

it's a hagen co2 system, and it's only getting around 0.5 bps. I thought it was a little low for it, oh the blunders of this aquarium world