fish breathing heavily

[finnipper]

I am very new to saltwater(3months) 29gal fowlr, fluval 204. ammonia=0 nitrites=0 nitrates=20 calcium=500 alk 7dkh ph 7.8. this have been stable for about 2 ms. I have 2 chromis, 2 ocellaris, 1 firefish, 1 purple pseudochromis, and 1 hawkfish(which is being given away in a couple of days). Because of weather tank temp fluctuates between 77.5 & 82.(no chiller or air conditioning). Today when I got up the fish seemed fine, swimming, eating, etc. after about 2 hours all fish are breathing very heavily. I added an air stone for additional water movement at the top. Are they just stressed due to temp changes? should I be worried :roll:

 

[finnipper]

Sorry, I forgot to include a bubble anemone, feather duster and assorted crabs & snails which seem fine

 

[Anonymous]

finnnipper,
It may be that...... or more likely that you have a co2 build up. Take some tank water, measure your pH add the air stone for a few hours, retest the pH, if the pH goes up then you'll need to boost the oxygen in your tank. You can do this by pointing a ph so that it "disturbs" the surface of the water. The airstone in the tank is helpful but very very messy with saltcreep. A fan, box or other, directed toward the tank water surface will help with the heat issue. If your lights are on timers, then just hook the fan up to them, so that it comes on when the lights do.

I would also recommend that you do some frequent water changes to get those nitrates down.

Oh and after you get rid of the hawkfish, I wouldn't add any more fish. Your pretty much at your fish limit on the 29.

Good luck

I would also like to mention here that you may not have strong enough lighting for the bta, but since you didn't mention what type of lighting you do have, I'll wait to do that.

 

[finnipper]

thanks for the tips. have dual satelite pc with dual actinic and moon lite. I do 20% water changes every other week and once a month clean filter by rinsing with old aquarium water. stopped using sealab 28 when calcium got high but can't get alk or ph up. do I need to? won't airstone affect ph if left in tank too long?

 

[finnipper]

sorry I forgot I umplugged lites 2 days ago due to high temps but anemone still seems fine, bubbling, expanding etc.

 

[Anonymous]

most ppl run a pH of 8.1-8.3

I guess first off, we need to take care of your fisheys. Check for the co2 build up. That is so easy a thing to check. The air stone "won't" hurt anything, but will make a huge freaking mess. Instead, I'd point a ph at the surface to disturb the surface to get better oxygen exchange. Also, clean/change the filter media EVERY time you do a water change.

Things you could do:
Get a hot skimmer, remove the media from the fluval (run carbon when needed in it) replace with rock rubble. This will also help with the nitrates. I really don't think you need to worry about alk and cal right now, you don't have anything that really needs it right now.

From personal experience, those lights won't allow your bta to thrive.

You might want to start saving for some mh lighting and skimmer. The skimmer will be a life saver for the whole tank and the lights, well, for one the bta will love you for it and there's just so much more you can do with them.

Sorry, I've had too much coffee and my brain is rambleing.

 

[finnipper]

Boobie & knowes thanks so much for the replys. In about another hour I will test my ph. Things were going so smoothly until now (no nuisance algae/red slime and only a few diatoms)I'l get a ph over the weekend. How big do you suggest? Things were so stable until now even though ph is a little low. Oh well, I'm learning. :wink:

 

[finnipper]

Hi everyone! I just disconnected my airstone and tested ph 8.2! Now,

1. If I get a ph will my ph continue to rise until infinity?

2. Fishies are still breathing a little heavy, but not as bad as before. They are not going to the top trying to gulp air, just labored breathing. Temp is 78.2.

What if anything should I do now.