Jumping Gourami

[blue_ram]

My Opaline Gourami has been jumping alot in the past 2 days.

The first time he hit the glass canopy and knocked himself silly. The second time he managed to escape and fell on the floor. Several other times he has hit the canopy and has a bruised eye now and missing scales.

Two things have changed. I cleaned the tank real good and cleaned the heater so the temps dropped to about 72 and then back to 78 with the heater back on. I also started using prime and the python directly from the tap.

The tank is a 40T (3feet long) moderately planted with about 20 cories, 5 black neons, 5 otots, 1 unidentified (less than 2 inch) pleco and a few danios and a female opaline gourami.

PH is 6.8 (stable range for tank is around 7.

Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate alll test at 0.

 

[Sharkee]

what was the water temp when all this started? Fishes tend to "get out" of the water when it gets too hot for them.

 

[Doomhed]

they also get out when they are fighting with other fish...are you sure it is a "female" gourami?

 

[blue_ram]

I will check the water temp again, was 78. He tried jumping again and is beginning to look badly battered.

I believe I have a female and a male in there, they have been together for 2 years.

 

[Newman]

do you run the lights in your tank at all?

 

[OrangeCones]

Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate alll test at 0.

Unusual for a tank to be zero in all three tests. Might want to recheck.

 

[blue_ram]

My tanks all always(usually) have zero nitrogen and the test kits are known to be good. This is probably why I am always fighting algae growth.

I checked temps again, they are at 80 so I unplugged the heater because it might be malfunctioning.

 

[lauraf]

Ummm, I'm no expert but I don't think nitrogen is the same thing as nitrates - right?

 

[OrangeCones]

Nitrogen is in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Plants need nitrogen to grow and most aquatic plants will consume ammonia first, then nitrite, then nitrate. If you have a lot of fast-growing plants and/or light bio-load, its possible for there to be nothing on all three tests (I have two such tanks). Just not common.

blue_ram, yes, you likely would be battling algae with little/no nitrates. I'm trying to induce algae in my two tanks and if I get a bump up to even 5ppm nitrate, the algae starts to die off and the plants take over again. It's a hard thing to balance sometimes!

 

[blue_ram]

do you run the lights in your tank at all?

Yes, they are on a timer for 10 hours per day.

 

[blue_ram]

Nitrogen is in ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Plants need nitrogen to grow and most aquatic plants will consume ammonia first, then nitrite, then nitrate. If you have a lot of fast-growing plants and/or light bio-load, its possible for there to be nothing on all three tests (I have two such tanks). Just not common.

blue_ram, yes, you likely would be battling algae with little/no nitrates. I'm trying to induce algae in my two tanks and if I get a bump up to even 5ppm nitrate, the algae starts to die off and the plants take over again. It's a hard thing to balance sometimes!

I have plenty of algae to send you

Maybe I will start dosing with Kents accelerator, has nitrogen in it.

 

[blue_ram]

He has becomne an amazing escape artist now. They tank is sealed except for the opening where the filter is, it is an aquaclear 50 (old 200). He soem how managed to squeeze through there and out the tank. I found him by accident and he was partially dried out. I thought he was dead, but he twitched so I put him in the water and he is alive(somewhat). I have him in a 5 G bucket covered and blued with meth-blue and an airstone. From the looks of him, he was out fo the tank for hours.

None of the other fish have any issues, sicknesses, illensses etc... No major changes to water quality and the 75-80 temp rise doesn't seem bad.

This is just a fish determined to live outside his tank. If he survives the night, I will set up a 20g barebottomed to help heal him with meds.

 

[Newman]

damn....he really hated that tank then. same thing happened to my favorite Betta. he managed to jump out of a .5" x .5" hole left for the heater in his 2.5 gal tank. unfortunately in my case I did not find him in time. he was fully dried out and very dead :'(