Dreaming Fish?

[SlateSpider]

Last night and the night before, I woke up to the sound of splashing water. I looked over to my fish tank and saw one of my Black Mollies just wiggling around and jumping just barely out of the water. It didn't look like normal fish behavior, so I got to thinking, is this fish dreaming???

Anyone ever heard of something like this before?

 

[Kiara1125]

Fish don't really 'sleep'. My fish just rest on the gravel and my decroations and plants when the lights go off. They become less active and less aware of things. Something could have possibly scared your Black Molly or another fish could've chased her. That happens to my fish sometimes. I'm a night owl and when the lights are off, or I just have a small light on, and I walk by, they sometimes spaz out. Of course, I'm the weird person who kneels next to my tank and soothe them by saying "Sorry my babies." I also stick my hand in the tank and they swim up and start rubbing themselves and nibbling on my hand.

 

[SlateSpider]

Yeah, I have been an animal lover ever since I was born, and tend to talk to animals as if they are people. I would rather be out riding horses than getting my hair and nails done in a beauty salon (aka, Tomboy).

Anyways, back to the fish. It makes sense if they don't really sleep, because in the wild, a shark would swim up and eat them, not giving them a chance to wake up and swim away.

 

[OrangeCones]

saw one of my Black Mollies just wiggling around and jumping just barely out of the water. It didn't look like normal fish behavior

Fish often jump to escape poor water quality or a larger fish, and sometimes due to parasites (you'd also seem them rubbing on gravel and tank deco). With 4 mollies and 2 danio on one side of a divided 10 gallon tank, I doubt anything is chasing him/her to cause jumping.

The tank seems overstocked and your benefical bacteria may not be able to handle the bio-load of the fish with your current maintanance.

How much and how often do you do water changes?

What are your readings of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

Did the tank complete the nitrogen cycle before you added the fish?

 

[Kiara1125]

I have more fish then that and it's fine due to my water changes. If you can keep up with the maintenance, I think that you can bend around the limits of stocking.

Yay!! Another tomboy!!! Yeah I love riding horses and I love all animals.

 

[OrangeCones]

The tank seems overstocked

Please forgive me for using the word 'overstocked.' You are free, of course, to put as many fish as you want in the 10gallon tank.

Kiara1125 should be able to help you best from here.

 

[KcMopar]

Another reason not to overstock fish is the extra pheromones that build up in the tank, this can happen in just hours!!!!! This is a chemical that makes fish respond and can be confusing and stressful to your fish. One must really understand the anatomy of a species before one goes and thinks its OK to bend the rules. If you do not know how to remove DOC and pheromones it might not be in the best interest of the tank to be overstocked.

 

[Thyra]

Kerry, could you please explain this in more detail - first time its come up on this forum and I don't know what "DOC" is:
QUOTE: "If you do not know how to remove DOC and pheromones it might not be in the best interest of the tank to be overstocked."

My main concern would be the size of the tank (with a divider) having enough room for 4 mollies because they are so active.

 

[OrangeCones]

DOC = dissolved organic compounds. Marine tanks can use a protein skimmer (although they remove far more than proteins) from the water on a continuing basis. It's not feasiable to use a protein skimmer on a freshwater tank so the only way to keep the DOC low is through water changes (or through active plant growth - plants use DOC to produce more plant mass. Trimming/removing plants effectively does the same as a small water change).

For those that like to breed fish, the pheromone/hormone dilution factor is critical. This can stunt fish, even if they are in a tank that is plenty large enough. Stronger/larger fish put off stunting hormones that can prevent the rest of the fish from growing.

In a closed system such as an aquarium, regular partial water changes do far more than keep nitrates down.

 

[Thyra]

Thanks, OC, There is always more to learn! I was aware of pheromone, but most of what I could find had to do with sexual attraction and a species being able to identify each other as one of their own.

 

[SlateSpider]

I don't have a water test thing, but i will get one as soon as I can. I might get a smaller tank ( if I can find somewhere to put it ) and put the betta in there so that the other fish can have all the room in the tank. It might be about time to do a water change...

 

[SlateSpider]

Okay, the heater I got from my friend doesn't work, either. I'll just get a new one.

Next trip to Petco:
1:Breeder Net
2:Water Test Kit
3:Adjustable Heater

 

[Kiara1125]

Okay, the heater I got from my friend doesn't work, either. I'll just get a new one.

Next trip to Petco:
1:Breeder Net
2:Water Test Kit
3:Adjustable Heater

lol, heaters don't like you.... Get a Stealth Pro Heater. I heard that they are very good. Here's what it looks like.

This is the type of heater that I have, the Tetra Submersible Heater.

 

[Thyra]

SlateSpider, when you say "water test thing" I kind of get an impression that you are not familiar with testing parameters (I could, of course be wrong), but to save you time and money, I would like to suggest an API liquid test kit that will test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. That is what most of the people on this forum have recommended. Its kind of spendy, but cheaper in the long run and I have seen it for $23. I also have a very nice adjustable small heater that I paid less than $17 for, - I think it was a Marineland, but I no longer have a receipt. Petco prices by mail are much cheaper than in the store and shipping is flat rate $5.99 or free if over $49 or sometimes even less. Shipping is surprisingly fast as it comes from CA. by FEDEX. You could also look for a tank at a thrift store. I found a 5 g acrylic hexagon tank for $1.99 and at the same time a rectangular hood that fit for the same price. It was just right for a betta! Just be careful that you don't get a tank for a reptile because they aren't made to fill with water - although some people have done it. If it didn't work it would be a mess!! There seems to be always room for just "one" more tank. lol - just consider roughly 10# per gallon and keep it level side to side and front to back.

 

[Kiara1125]

Thyra, I never got a test kit. I just go to my lfs and get it tested there for free. It works and I can get it tested as often as I want and I can get it tested for anything. I'm just cheap, lazy, and refuse to buy a kit when I can take full advantage of testing it for free.

 

[Thyra]

When I am first setting up a tank and getting it cycled - particularly if it has fish in it - I tested every day and I wanted to know the exact numbers. It is over 60 miles round trip to any LFS for me. Also from reading on this forum, most of the LFS use strips and they evidently don't give the customer the exact numbers - just "Its fine" which really isn't helpful in most cases. When a tank is stocked like SlateSpiders, she really needs to be testing her parameters almost daily until she is sure its cycled and even after that at least weekly IMO.

 

[OrangeCones]

+1 Thyra. When the gas money comes out of MY pocket, it's far cheaper to have my own test kit! I've only seen 2 or 3 stores that used a liquid test kit. Most use 5in1 dip strips.

 

[SlateSpider]

yeah, when I had a couple small goldfish when I was little, I never even heard about the water testing. Now, taking care of fish is getting a lot more complicated. When I was little, all I needed to do was get a tank, filter, fish, gravel, plants, and feed them every day before I went to bed. Now, I need to get heater, water testing stuff, worry about space for fish, keeping them from fighting, and watching for babies to go along with it!

 

[KcMopar]

Pheromones are also used to establish territory like a dog marking (well kinda), so these build fast in an aggressive tank.
Although Carbon is not really doing anything in a tank, the top quality stuff can help remove (some) DOC and pheromones a little but needs to be changed weekly so it gets expansive. So this is why its imperative to do weekly water changes.

 

[Kiara1125]

Thyra, I watch the manager and he even lets me do it myself sometimes. He uses the drop tests. He's the type of person who's fish crazy, not the people who done care about animals' wellbeing. The lfs is about 15 minutes from my house, so I walk there all the time. It's the only entertainment I have. XD