I have a 5ft (length) x 2ft (height) x 2ft width aquarium, 1 leopard sailfin plec, 6 silver dollars, and 13 scissor tails.
I have had this aquarium for 4 years and had no problems got it cycled from their older (smaller) aquarium and it has worked perfect. Recently my plec has been going up for air about 4 times a day to start with and then it got to about 1 every half an hour, I did a partial change and he went back to normal again.
1 week later it started again, so I got the filter out and cleaned it and had a look, it is running normal maybe the jet stream is a tad weaker than normal but not by much. It is a fluval 405 which has been working great for 4 years I also have two spray bars attached to give maximum surface agitation. There is an air curtain which doesn't give much out (more like a trickle of bubbles) but it has always been like that and I have had no problems.
I tested water levels. Nitrate and nitrite are perfect. Ammonia is 0.25 mg/l and PH is 5.0.
My plec is nearly a foot long and the dollars are pretty big now too. This time around all the fish seemed to be gasping a little more than normal, plec seemed to react the most, and one scissor tail is hanging at the surface a lot with a cloudy eye.
Like I say I have been really lucky with no problems for 2 years, I put it down to the larger size maintaining itself.
Usually however the water evaporates and I always have to top up with extra but it hasn't been evaporating, the temp in the aquarium is 27- 28.
The substrate is sand and the ornaments are plastic. There is one old silk plant that is ragged , can they cause problems when they get older?
The other thing I noticed was a net like covering occasionally on my plec , I don't understand what it is but he shakes it off and then sometimes it reappears?
I have done nothing different to normal and don't understand what is going on with it.
Any advice would be appreciated especially advice without adding chemicals to correct things.
Could the oxygen level be too low because the filter is slightly weaker?
thank you , Laura xx
Ps. I use stress coat as my water conditioner and put a cap in per 2 gallon bucket.
I have had this aquarium for 4 years and had no problems got it cycled from their older (smaller) aquarium and it has worked perfect. Recently my plec has been going up for air about 4 times a day to start with and then it got to about 1 every half an hour, I did a partial change and he went back to normal again.
1 week later it started again, so I got the filter out and cleaned it and had a look, it is running normal maybe the jet stream is a tad weaker than normal but not by much. It is a fluval 405 which has been working great for 4 years I also have two spray bars attached to give maximum surface agitation. There is an air curtain which doesn't give much out (more like a trickle of bubbles) but it has always been like that and I have had no problems.
I tested water levels. Nitrate and nitrite are perfect. Ammonia is 0.25 mg/l and PH is 5.0.
My plec is nearly a foot long and the dollars are pretty big now too. This time around all the fish seemed to be gasping a little more than normal, plec seemed to react the most, and one scissor tail is hanging at the surface a lot with a cloudy eye.
Like I say I have been really lucky with no problems for 2 years, I put it down to the larger size maintaining itself.
Usually however the water evaporates and I always have to top up with extra but it hasn't been evaporating, the temp in the aquarium is 27- 28.
The substrate is sand and the ornaments are plastic. There is one old silk plant that is ragged , can they cause problems when they get older?
The other thing I noticed was a net like covering occasionally on my plec , I don't understand what it is but he shakes it off and then sometimes it reappears?
I have done nothing different to normal and don't understand what is going on with it.
Any advice would be appreciated especially advice without adding chemicals to correct things.
Could the oxygen level be too low because the filter is slightly weaker?
thank you , Laura xx
Ps. I use stress coat as my water conditioner and put a cap in per 2 gallon bucket.
