Goldfish scared of airstone??

[ashtheoriginal]

Hi!! This is my first post on these forums, need some advice.

I have a 5 year old black moor, he's currently in a 20 gallon tank. I've never had issues with him, he's always been very healthy and still is. I noticed lately though he's been hanging out at the top of the tank, he's not gasping for air but seems to be just hanging out up there. He isn't having any swimming issues and he's not bloated. Because I was concerned I went out and got an air stone, hoping this would increase some oxygen and get him back to normal.

I plugged in the air stone and he seemed fine, 20 minutes in he freaked out and started darting and swimming erratically. I turned it off, and now he's fine. The air stone is in a corner and he seems to be able to escape the current to the opposite side of the tank.

Should I try again? Any suggestions? I would really like to keep the air stone because he needs the extra circulation, his new filter is not creating enough agitation to the surface.

 

[jlk]

Welcome to AA!!! If your filter is not of a sufficient size to do its job, have you considered adding another filter on the opposite side of the tank? I would opt for this first instead of the airstone.

If you want to try the airstone again, place a check valve on the line to lessen the airflow. If this is not enough, place the airstone inside a large piece of filter foam to dissipate the bubbles though it will depend on the shape of the airstone- you may need to switch to a bubbler tube that can be slid into a piece of filter foam. Please ask if you have questions!

 

[ashtheoriginal]

The filter is a 105gph and its new so it's not clogged or anything, but the flow is soft and only agitates the water on the one side of the tank. I used to have two filters in there, but there was too much current for him to swim comfortably.

I pulled the air stone closer to the surface and it seemed to help a bit. I'll definitely pick up a valve tonight and try that. Thanks for your help!!