too much air????

[yvetted]

Is it possible to have to much air in the tank??? Did a 25%water change, had to move some plants around, and added a small bubble wall. It is a 10 gallon tank by the way that has been set up approx.10 weeks. My zebra danio turned red, instead of blue and gold striped he was blue and red striped and his gills were as red as I have ever seen. Do danio's change color under stress or is the air wall a problem? I don't think I have left anything out. Please help!!!

 

[sir_dudeguy]

hm...do you know what the temp is? i think danios are supposed to be cooler than most fish arent they? try taking the bubble wall out for a bit and see what happens. if he goes back to normal, i'd say leave out the bubles.

 

[joannde]

have you tested ammonia and nitrites ? these can cause red gills

 

[Menagerie]

It is a 10 gallon tank by the way that has been set up approx.10 weeks. My zebra danio turned red, instead of blue and gold striped he was blue and red striped and his gills were as red as I have ever seen.

Give your ammonia and nitrite readings.

Is the bubble wand new? Is it possible there are any cleaning chemicals on it, or chemicals used around the tank that got in the tank?

Bubble wands are for decor only--they do not add to the dissolved oxygen in the tank. They help surface agitation, but the filter is probably doing a fine job.

 

[yvetted]

The bubble wand is new, but I did rinse it and the tubing, like it said to do. I do not know the readings of my tank, actually I get mixed messages on this when I talk to fish stores. They say I don't need to test, not worth it, I have looked at some test strips that are all in one, but to tell you the truth I would not know what to do once I had the results. Should I be testing in such a small tank, and what would you suggest that I use.???? The tank has been set up for about 10 weeks and have lost 2 platy's and 2 danio's, the one danio got tail and fin rot, tried to give the medicine but died shortly after that, with no fins, eating was a problem, had to hold him near the top in a container so he could eat. 1 danio left, 1 molly, 2 black skirts, 2 platy's, 1 cherry barb, and very small pleco. Danio was the only one that seemed affected by the wand.

 

[Menagerie]

I get mixed messages on this when I talk to fish stores. They say I don't need to test, not worth it, I have looked at some test strips that are all in one, but to tell you the truth I would not know what to do once I had the results.

It is worth testing your tank because knowing the water parameters are often the best way to diagnose a problem. The all in-one test strips can be inaccurate and it's best to get liquid tests for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Once you had results, you would come here and get more help (we’re open 24 hours ).

Should I be testing in such a small tank

Absolutely, the smaller the tank, the quicker the downturn.

The tank has been set up for about 10 weeks and have lost 2 platy's and 2 danio's, the one danio got tail and fin rot, tried to give the medicine but died shortly after that, with no fins, eating was a problem, had to hold him near the top in a container so he could eat. 1 danio left, 1 molly, 2 black skirts, 2 platy's, 1 cherry barb, and very small pleco. Danio was the only one that seemed affected by the wand.

Sounds like the tank is not cycled and there maybe an ammonia or nitrite spike right now. I doubt the wand has affected any fish, the danio is finally succumbing to a problematic tank. If you have aquarium salt, add 1 tablespoon to help bind up the ammonia. In the meantime, do another PWC.
How often are you vacuuming the tank and doing PWC?

 

[Viperboy]

(not to steal the thread but) so bubble stones and bubble wants even though they add surface agitation they dont give more oxygen to the water? ... i was under the impression that they did

Ray

 

[Menagerie]

so bubble stones and bubble wants even though they add surface agitation they dont give more oxygen to the water? ... i was under the impression that they did

They will increase surface agitation, but IME, they are out done by the filter and at some point you can only agitate the surface so much before oxygen is dissolving at a maximum rate. Unless your filter is very clogged and not giving your tank the surface agitation it needs, then dropping in an air stone until the filter is unclogged will help tremendously. If you ever find all your fish at the surface, drop in an air stone ASAP! I have battery powered air pumps in case the electricity goes out for long periods of time. Aside from emergency uses, I use them in medicated hospital QT tanks instead of a filter. To put this point to rest, some people add bubble wands to their tanks thinking the bubbles in the water will help aerate the tank. The bubbles will not allow enough oxygen to dissolve before breaking at the surface.

 

[CompMage]

And, to add to what Menagerie said. Filters add a lot more air to the tank then any air stone can, and to top that even a SMALL like 10% or less water change will add A LOT of air to the water.

IMO and Observation, the only use for a bubble wand/stone is for a fish bowl that you can't stuck a HOB filter on. Something like a Betta bowl. Or like Menagerie said a Hospital tank.

I would take it out and simply do PWC, and perhaps do a check of your filters.

Only reason I have air stones in my tanks is for power outages because I have most of the tanks setup for a single air pump hooked up to a small computer UPS. (overkill is great) For any other reason personally I recommend against the use of air-stones. Most of the time they are the first place algae and other bad things start at. but that is IMO.

Good luck with your tank! Keep us posted on the status of your fish I hope this all helps.

 

[trotty]

Just a thought. When you stirred the gravel to put the air wall in, was it dirty? If so you have released all the ammonia and waste into the water, this will cause gill burn and eventual suffocation from not being able to breathe!

Just my 2 cents.... correct me if i'm wrong anybody?

 

[TomK2]

chlorine or chloramines from the water change? Ammonia or nitrite in the tank? These can cause red gills. I have to confess, every now and then I will look at a danio and say, wow, those gills are red, and the next day it is normal. I have not found an cause to this. I recommend looking for a correctible cause before assuming that your danio is just "blushing." Especially since it is a relatively new and smaller tank.

An airstone dramatically increases the tanks effective surface area, since all those little bubbles hitting the surface add up to some seroius area. Sure, they look too tiny to make a difference, but there are a lot of them and thier surface area is that of a sphere, which is (oh god, what is that formula.... ) 4pi R squared? So the surface area increase even with little bubbles is significant. It doesn't matter what the bubbles are composed of either, they all will help drive off CO2 and increase 02. If you bubble CO2 in too fast, as in the airstone situation, it actually lowers CO2 to the atmospheric equilibration level! That is why CO2 injection uses those bubble reaction chambers to increas the time the CO2 is in contact with the water, and reduce the surface agitation by CO2 bubbles. And bubbling in CO2 through an airstone will also raise the 02 for the same reason.

So, the primary effect of an airstone on dissolved gasses is via its effect on surface area / agitation. Normnal surface area/agitation by your filter outflow is usually enough to saturate your water with oxygen and bring the CO2 down to equilibrium with the atmosphere, so that an airstone is usually not needed, except for decoration. However, unless you are adding CO2 to your tank, airstones don't hurt anything either.

BTW- I don't use airstones in my tank. I do, however, use them in my holding tank. I havent used dechlor in a year, since the little airstones can drive off the chlorine in 12 to 24 hours.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I don't have a stone and it works out just fine. Frogs don't like airstones.

 

[yvetted]

Yesterday was just full of problems!!!!For some reason NOW the filter keeps quitting, something that is going on with the power in this room only, danio turned back to normal color by the next morning. In answer to one of the questions I have done water change
1. 4 weeks after putting new fish in tank
2. 4 days after putting in medicine for tail rot (which was only 10 days after first water change)
3. And again when I put the bubble wand in (that's is why I waited to put it in)which was approx 4 weeks after last change.
I will say though I do not think that I did a thorough job with the syphon the first time because when I did it the second time and really really moved the stones around there was tons of gunk going up the syphon.
Now my new problem is my molly, she is swimming with her tail down, almost like standing up, any ideas. I am getting a test kit today so I will be able to give more info that you need to help me. Thanks for the help so far though.

 

[malkore]

Its not the bubble wall. No, you cannot have too much air (oxygen) in an aquarium.

You definitely need test kits, and to stop getting advice from that LFS. Apparently they want you to fail at first, and buy more fish, since those are a better markup on price, vs. a master test kit they probably make $1.25 on.

 

[Menagerie]

Once you get a test kit, will know if there are water quality issues, which is probably the case if you have only done PWC 3-4 times since setting up the tank. In smaller tanks, water quality issues can more quickly affect your fish than in a larger tank. You need to increase the PWC to weekly--removing and adding 2.5 gallons will not take long. This will also allow you to vacuum more often and the gunk (waste) will be removed, which will help keep the tank's water quality tip top until the next PWC.

 

[europas_ice]

A good water test kit is the AP Freshwater Master Test Kit, for example, this one: http://www.aquariumguys.com/mastertestkit.html

 

[SCFatz]

I put a air wand in my tank when I set it up for the first time...just for the look of it.

It was too much air for my liking...and probably to much current too...so I bought a gang valve and diverted some flow away from the wand and into the room.

Worked well.For two bucks I still had some bubbles,but I had control over how much "curtain" I had.

Now for those results.....

 

[yvetted]

Ok had my water tested at the pet shop, (they did not have the 5 in 1 test strips in) that I need. But the only one that was high was NITRATE. It was supposed to be white and mine was hot pink.!!!!!!! I did a 40 % water change like they advised, but Menagerie says PWC once a week now I have a evaporation that happens quite quickly in my tank and I don't know why but after a week the water will be down already 2-2 1/2 inches by that time so you say 2.5 gallons but does that include the evaporated part. That is why in my first water change after the first month I only syphoned a small bit because to only take 1/4 away altogether I didn't have much water to take. If this makes sense, please advise me!!!
Would all of what has happened in the last week make my molly swim kind of like it is standing up, tail down and kind of rocking back and forth like a boat???

 

[kaz]

if I am not mistaken you guys are wrong, for planted tanks many AA members found out that the plants were taking all the o2 away from the water thus making the fish die or trying to get some air in themselfs. the cure for this is an air pump running at night. please don't quote me but do research under aqauscaping and planted tanks. having said that then that means air pumps do work.

 

[sherry]

kaz is right. At night plants go from producing o2, to competing with fish for 02. in my heavilly planted 35 gallon cube, I lost a bunch of fish to hypoxia one night. (only lost the ones sensitive to o2 loss and lost them all at once)

I started running an airstone at night and I have had no more die offs.