bubbles created by fry...please advise....

[DragonChild]

Okay, I swear, I'm not trying to spam, but I would like an answer to this phenomenon, and can't find any sources for references. My platy fry are in a plastic floating isolation chamber, and I've noticed that they are swimming to the surface and blowing bubbles...it looks almost like a male betta building a bubble nest.

They are fine otherwise, love to eat (they eagerly devour brine shrimp...despite the fact that they are about 2 times the size of the fry!!), and the bubbles don't seem to hurt them any. I'm just baffled as to why they do this.

TIA.

 

[fish_doc]

most plastic breeding chambers have poor filtration. The fry may be at the surface trying to get air. And even though they do not breath like bettas the best oxygen exchange is at the surface. Since they must pass the air past their gills this could be creating the bubbles. Try using a turkey baster to cycle some of the main tank water into the chamber and some of the old water out of the chamber a couple times a day and see if that helps. Clean water is the best defense for all problems. And remember sometimes even bought equipment is not the right equipment for the job.

 

[DragonChild]

Ah, I see...that makes quite a bit of sense. Should I add the other airstone to the chamber? I don't want to add them to the community tank just yet, they are bigger, but still snack-size for the shark.

The isolation chamber measures about 5x3", with 3 platy fry in it.