Hanging out at the top of the tank....

[trybal]

About two weeks ago my girlfriend picked up some more fish. 2 platys and 2 mollys. Every since then all the fish have been hanging out at the to of the tank. Why would they do this? I also switched foods which they barley touch. With the old foods they use to go crazy for it. All the levels are good for chemicals. Any idea of what it could be??

 

[ViolistRichard]

The first thing that came to mind was that maybe they don't have enough oxygen. Is your tank properly being aerated via filtration system or air stone?

 

[Rivercats]

Actually what size is the tank and was it cycled? What exactly are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings. Also are they just staying up high in the water or are they actually at the surface, mouths open, swallowing air?

 

[trybal]

It is a 20 gallon high tank. It's been up since this past November. It has a 30 gallon pump on it with an air stone. I checked the levels and the ammonia was at zero, nitrate and nitrite were at zero as well. The ammonia was at 8.2, but the water in my area is always high and bounces back after it's been treated. I talked with my lfs they advised me to do a small water change and that seemed to help for a bit then the fish went back to normal...

 

[Rivercats]

Okay am I understanding you that the ammonia in your tap water is 8.2? That sounds like a ph number. If you have high ammonia in your tap water then honestly you need to look into alternative water supply options. If the ph is that number then that is okay. Also what do you mean it bounces back once it's treated?

 

[Platiesareawesome]

It is a 20 gallon high tank. It's been up since this past November. It has a 30 gallon pump on it with an air stone. I checked the levels and the ammonia was at zero, nitrate and nitrite were at zero as well. The ammonia was at 8.2, but the water in my area is always high and bounces back after it's been treated. I talked with my lfs they advised me to do a small water change and that seemed to help for a bit then the fish went back to normal...

8.2 definitely sounds like a pH, not ammonia, as my pH is also 8.2. What do you use to test the water?

 

[trybal]

My fault it is the Ph. I use an API fresh water master test kit. The bouncing back it what the guy at the lfs said.

 

[Rivers2k]

Have you noticed any of the fish getting harassed?

Usually top of the tank means lack of oxygen but you mentioned not eating. I would wonder if these new fish are beating up on the existing fish causing stress and therefore not eating leaving access food. Ammonia could possibly be a result not the cause. They could be at the top because they were pushed out of their territories.

 

[Platiesareawesome]

My fault it is the Ph. I use an API fresh water master test kit. The bouncing back it what the guy at the lfs said.

That's probably an ideal ph for the fish you have, and it's good that you have the API master test kit. But I'm still unsure what you mean by "it bouncing back". Also, what fish do you have besides the 2 mollies and 2 platies?

 

[Cactuspixie]

It is a 20 gallon high tank. It's been up since this past November. It has a 30 gallon pump on it with an air stone. I checked the levels and the ammonia was at zero, nitrate and nitrite were at zero as well. The ammonia was at 8.2, but the water in my area is always high and bounces back after it's been treated. I talked with my lfs they advised me to do a small water change and that seemed to help for a bit then the fish went back to normal...

Do you mean you are using 'ph down' to lower it ? It's strange that your tank has zero nitrate after 7 months. What kind of filter are you using, and how do you clean it?

 

[Platiesareawesome]

Actually what size is the tank and was it cycled? What exactly are your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings. Also are they just staying up high in the water or are they actually at the surface, mouths open, swallowing air?

Hey, I was just wondering, my balloon mollies seem to "gulp" the air at the surface. I cycled my tank, and my filter is a hang on back type filter, so it agitates the surface of the water. What does that mean? (I'm taking my mollies back to the pet shop today anyway because I overstocked my tank, but I'd still like to know.)