Gasping for air . . .

[Sooty-Bumble]

Hello all!

Today I brought 1 Molly and 1 fantail. They are in a 30 litter tank, its one of them Bi-Orb tanks, not sure if you have herd of them, but i was told they where quite good.

Anyway I set the tank up 24hrs before putting the fish in like the instructions stated; I treated the water with the treatment that was given in the box. Washed the media before putting it in, washed all other ornaments and fake plants before putting them in. The flitter system has been running for 24hrs as well. This was all done yesterday (Friday). I got my fish today and they weren't in the bag for long, only about a 10min ride from the pet shop.

I followed everything that I’ve read, to leave the fish in the bag which is put into the tank for 15-20mins, and then open the bag and let them swim out. I got a minimal amount of water that was in the bag into the tank.

The problem that I’m having is that my Fantail seems to be gasping for air, he has been like this from when I got him/her, its swimming around fine, although a lot slower than my molly and seems to have period where it stays put for a while, but has got a bit more active from the 1st hour when I got him. My molly seems to be fine.

What could be the cause of it? Is there anything I can do?

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

do you have a test kit?

 

[GeraldTheMouse]

Is there enough oxygen in the tank?

 

[Chazwick]

Is it me, or do Fantails and Mollies need completely different water conditions?

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

I haven't got a test kit, one didn't come with the tank, and the shop assistant said they had to restock from the back but they were busy and I couldn't wait around because I had the fish in the bag.

I'm getting one 1st thing in the morning though! My flitter is running well and only my fantail is breathing fast not my Molly, so surely if there wasn't enough O2 they both would be gasping?

I have taken some water out - just enough to the fliter works - so my fantail won’t be swimming all over the place wasting energy. Is there anything else in the meantime I could do? How can I put O2 in there, surely the flitter does that?

Is there anything else in the meantime I could do?

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

whats the temperature at? and this is a fantail gold fish right? they need cool temps around 72, and the molly is tropical and needs temps around 79-82. as you can see someones not getting what they need. plus, goldies arent really suited to anything that small. the biorbs arent very good. they dont have much surface area, and the have insufficient filtration. if the store employees told you they were good they were lying to your face. sounds like they wanted a sale to me.

forgot to mention, it might be an ammonia spike, you really need a test kit. try for the drop kind, they are more acurate.

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

Sorry i'm incorrect using the term Molly, it is a Black moor what I have, sorry had a moment there!

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

black moor... thats good and bad. it is a type of goldie also... but thewy will grow too large, and they may be sufocating in their own waste currently. gold fish are very messy. they are better suited for ponds.


lowes has a lot of pond equipment this time of year.

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

Mmmm i was told they aren't good for pond . . . Pet shop people are ****!

 

['-JIN-']

wait a second,u post that u put them in tanks.U put them in pond??

 

[rohnds]

I read your post correctly you added fish 23hr after setting up your tank.

You fish are gasping for air the surface due to ammonia poisoning sicen the tank isn't cycled, i.e. no nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to less toxic nitrite and then to nitrates.

30 liter is about 7.9gallons. In such a small tank even 2 fishes can produce enough ammonia to burn their gills. Best option would be to add air stone (oxygen) and water conditioner that would convert the ammonia to ammonium. And ofcourse frequent water changes till your tank is cycled.

I am assuming that you are using the fish to cycle tank.

Rohn

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

I've tested my water:

ammonia level is 0ppm
nitrite level 0ppm
pH level is 7.6
high Range pH is 8.0
nitrate level is 10

the only level that is up is the pH, what can i do about that? Take 30% out and out some more water in?

I've got an air stone and some oxygenating tablets, will that help?

 

[Orion]

Did you add any thing else to the water that would help speed up the cycle of the tank?

If not, then your test results are wrong. I can't see how you already have nitrAtes, but no ammonia or nitrItes. When a tank cycles, you get ammonia first, then nitrItes, and finaly nitrAtes. And if left to cycle on it's own this process can tank close to a month.

How do you know the pH is up? What is it up from? Either way I wouldn't worry about the PH right now.

Goldfish are very messy fish that need lots of oxygen. In the long run you'll be better off returning both of those fish and getting a few smaller fish.

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

The water was treated before the fish were added, other then that no. I've reapeted the ammonia test again and its still saying oppm.

Can oxygenating tablets be put in while the fish are in there?

 

[rohnds]

pH level of neutral water is 7.
A pH of 7.6 is that your water is slightly basic. It is better than being acidic since high NO3 level will turn to nitric acid (HNO3) that will defintely kill your fish.
Personally I have never heard of oxygenating tablets. You are better of with an airstone for constant surface aggitation to create O2 exchange (@ the surface).

Rohn

 

[homebunnyj]

You might want to read the beginner stickies. There may be some info in there that will clue you in to what the problem is.
Also, goldfish (the black moor is a type of goldie too) require lots of oxygen, which means they need more surface are than a biorb can provide. As well, they are very heavy waste producers, so in a tank that size you will have an incredibly tough time keeping the water healthful and the tank clean. I love goldies; I have two in a 29 gallon tank, since it is recommended to have 20 gallons for the first one and 10 for every additional one to allow for future growth. If you like the goldies, you could get a much bigger tank, but if you like the tank more, you could take the fish back and get smaller, tropical fish.
Welcome to the tank.

 

[Sooty-Bumble]

What really bugs me is that BiOrb blatantly advertise Fantails and Black Moors on their boxes and they have about 3 in total, plus minnows. Surely that is false advertising, considering you lot are saying you shouldn’t even have one Goldie - let alone 3!!

I spent the best part of £90 on that BioOrb tank not even including the fixtures, when i could of good a bigger tank for about the same price. What a rip off!

Just a quick up-date, the fish that was gasping for air died yesterday. ( although he never gasped for air at the surface, he did it from the moment I got him.

After hearing all what you people have said I was happy just to have my Black Moor, but my mum had replaced the dead fish with a new Fantail. My mum told me that there was a lot of fish that had died and were gasping for air in the tank that the fantail was from. So maybe the water levels where bad in that tank and the fish was already compromised?

Both fish seem fine. They are not gasping for air and both had 3 pellets of food today (I’m being never careful not to overfeed them!). I have checked the water levels again and all are the same as before apart from the NitrAtes that have gone up from 20 to 40.

Surely as long as the Nitrites and Ammonia levels stay as they are (currently a trace for both levels) my fish will be ok?

I'm thinking of doing a 30% water change 2moro and treating it with stress zmye just to speed up the development of the tank, and to keep nasty’s at bay! Is this a good idea?

Thanks for all of your speedy replies! I’m not ignoring them. But I’m already very fond of my Black Moor, and I couldn’t possibly take him back! And I haven’t got the money just yet to by a new tank, unless they take my BiOrb back – which I doubt very much!

 

[Seleya]

Unfortunately, you have a Catch-22. Goldfish have no business in such a small tank regardless of shape and most certainly not a tank of this shape. You may want to watch craigslist (yes, they have various GB cities listed as well) or Freecycle, etc for a larger tank. You can also try a stock tank for your fish. The Biorb and tanks like it are more curiosities, imo, and only suited to bettas or similar fish.

 

[Sukielee3]

sorry, i just read this, but watch out with the oxygenating tablets! they will burn the gills in just such small areas. i dont know how they do, but from past experiances i know they do. (they are really made for fish that are kept in a bucket for bait on fishing trips, not long term pet fish) I have only used them in extreme emergancies, mostly during hurricane season down here when the power is out for several days, but i had two fish in a 55 so the tablets had a chance to dissolve in the water before ther reached the fish. but i also stocked up on water and changed it out as much as possible once a day. pretty funny sight, i have to say!! a giant fish tank wrapped up in several quilts and and blankets to keep the temp steady, and water buckets and gallon jugs everywhere. but they survived and that was all that mattered!
*and in case anyone else has hurricane probs, buy a battery operated air pump BEFORE a storm hits, when they are already in stock, it saves a lot of time and anquish!!*

 

[tessalion]

Have you tested the water straight out of your tap? It's possible, and probably likely that the nitrate readings you have could be coming from that. If that's the case then your tank hasn't cycle yet and you will eventually experience ammonia and nitrite spikes that can be dangerous to your fish.