i have a 90 gallon fish tank with cichlids and all of the fish are at the top of the tank and have been for a couple of days. It looks like they are trying to get oxygen. my parents are away and i'm not sure what is wrong, i'm thinking it may have something to do with the air pump but do not know how to turn it on/off.
HELP cichlids gasping for air!
- Thread starter laurak
- Start date
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dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Most air pumps you just plug in. Do you see a bubbler in the tank?
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, well they are a little box that will have a tube coming out of it like you see on oxygen tanks. The boxes are usually black or grey.
Is the filter turned on?
Is the filter turned on?
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok, well I just looked that up, and thats the filter. Is it on?
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Is there water going into the tank that you can see?
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Ok that's not good. Is there ANY water movement in the tank at all? Do you know if your parents have any extra aquarium stuff laying around?
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
This is the kind of filter they have, and this website might be more help than I am:
Canister Filters - The First Tank Guide - Filtering Your Aquarium Water
Canister Filters - The First Tank Guide - Filtering Your Aquarium Water
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
This might also help:
Filstar xP Instructional Video
Filstar xP Instructional Video
laurak said:
Hello laurak,
Could you provide a little more info please?
What are you using for filtration?
Is all your equipment working properly?
When was your last water change?
Have you tested your water recently?
If so what were the parameters?
Are there any signs of aggression?
Can you think of anything unusual, or different that has happened recently?
Edit:
Sorry for any repeat questions. The previous replies did not show up when I first viewed the post.
dkpate said:
After reading through the thread it definitely seems, as dkpate pointed out, that your filter is the problem.
I will take a look as well to see if I can find any info on this.
But for now, see if you can find an air pump. It will have two very small connections meant for airline tubing, and will probably be about 8" long, just to give you a vague idea if what your looking for. If you can find one and hook it up it will definitely buy you some time.
Ok, after a little research I would be willing to bet that your Rena needs to be reprimed. Perhaps it wasn't primed properly after the last water change or filter maintenance.
It could also be a clogged filter. The Rena filstar forces all the water to travel through the filter. So if the filter were heavily clogged it could restrict or even stop the water flow.
There are other possibilities too. But those are the two that are easiest to fix.
I would recommend that you clean your filter then hook the Rena back up and prime it again. The video link in an earlier post should give you an idea of how to do this.
If you don't think you can do this on your own you should at least try to find airpump you can hook up to get some water movement and surface agitation until the tank owner gets back.
It could also be a clogged filter. The Rena filstar forces all the water to travel through the filter. So if the filter were heavily clogged it could restrict or even stop the water flow.
There are other possibilities too. But those are the two that are easiest to fix.
I would recommend that you clean your filter then hook the Rena back up and prime it again. The video link in an earlier post should give you an idea of how to do this.
If you don't think you can do this on your own you should at least try to find airpump you can hook up to get some water movement and surface agitation until the tank owner gets back.
Is the pump plugged in? Check that, and then check for an obvious on/off switch, easily found on most pumps. The fish are obviously starving for oxygen, so the sooner you start water circulation the better. (I would also venture to say the tank is overstocked, like most aquariums).
