[Fish Breathing Quickly]

On 6/25/2022 at 5:30 PM, Torrey said:

Your fish are big for 6 months. California just heated up, plus some barometric changes. May have triggered some hormones and fish are feeling frisky (heavy breathing can be a thing just before sparring and pairing up for breeding). The fact that no one is near the surface would make me think your 6 months of calm fish may be about to come to an end. Are the colors more vibrant than they have been in the past?

Yeah, you might be right. The colors are about the same as always but I knew going in I may have to move some fish around. 

I shared your thought about them not being at the top. I figured if they were low on oxygen they would be near the top. But another air stone has seemed to slow the breathing significantly. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! 

UPDATE: The obvious answer is usually the correct one. I added another sponge filter with an air stone and breathing has slowed to about half what it was! 

Thank you to everyone who shared their ideas. It's greatly appreciated! Happy fish keeping!

[Fish Breathing Quickly]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:47 AM, Flumpweesel said:

Are you checking the temp or is that what the heater is set at.  Often worth a double check and warm water doesn't hold O2 the same.

If you can add another air stone it won't hurt and might help while we figure things out

I don't have a heater in the tank at the moment. I live in northern California so it stays pretty consistently between 77-80 degrees F. in the summer months. I will add another air stone and see if this helps. Thanks!

On 6/25/2022 at 1:10 PM, Jacob Hill-Legion Aquatics said:

@Chrisanderson707i hope you figured it out but I was wondering where did you get that cool tree decoration?

I got it from a guy in my local aquarium club. Thanks for noticing! 

[Fish Breathing Quickly]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:42 PM, AndEEss said:

Ammonia test?

Ammonia 0

[Fish Breathing Quickly]

On 6/24/2022 at 7:42 PM, AndEEss said:

Ammonia test?

I haven't done one in a while. I didn't think it was needed as the tank has been cycled and never any nitrite but I guess you wouldn't have known that. I guess I'll break out the old master test kit. Brb

[What does your background look like on your tank and what did you use?]

On 4/11/2022 at 9:18 AM, sweetpoison said:

I now remember why I used to paint the back of my tanks because putting on this background is a pain!!  I only have a 29 gallon long it fits but it’s curly and it’s shiny I hated shiny, and it won’t stick it is annoying as hell please tell me after all these years there is something, better easier and not shiny😡

I use the black "by the foot" backgrounds from petco. They are discontinuing them in the stores in my area but still sell them in pre cut rolls. I cut them slightly smaller then the aquarium, so it's easy to install and use packing tape to run all the way up each side. Starting with one side then pulling the other side tight before taping. Hope this helps!

[Cycling]

On 6/23/2022 at 2:18 PM, macdaddy36 said:

Yeah I will test everyday and do water changes at least every other day for the next few weeks.

I would personally change less water. We typically change water to get rid of nitrates, you don't have any so I'd step back to once a week max. At least while cycling and keeping an eye on parameters.  Good luck! I think your doing great so far!

[Holiday concerns]

On 6/24/2022 at 6:32 AM, SC Fish said:

i was thinking about that but apparently they dont dispense flakes too well?

They do much better with pellets, so if that's an option do that. If not you can crush up the flake in uniform pieces and test it on a plate for a couple days to make sure you have it set right. I'd error on the side of too little food. Even if it only dumps a little food, that's better then none. Good luck!

[Fish Breathing Quickly]

My fish seem to be breathing quicker than what I feel is a normal rate. No other signs of stress that I can see. Some slight aggression in tank. I know some of the fish in my tank may not work out long term but I don't think that's part of my current issue but always willing to listen to advice. Parameters are in pics. 150 gallon. Fish: 3 Oscar's, macaw, rainbow shark, common pleco, Dempsey, fire mouth, jewel, yellow lab, ob, pictus, chocolate, parot. All fish around 3-6 months old roughly. Filters: internal 40 gallon, fluval 305, 107, double stacked medium coop sponge filter with air stone, 1 small circulation pump running while the lights are on about 12 hours a day. Not running any chemical filtration or adding anything to the tap water. Ph is this high out of the tap.Temp 78. Fish are overall pretty calm most of the time, no lip locking or any injuries. Just the occasional 1-3 second chase. Feeding mostly big fella. The tanks been running about 2 months since last tare down.

 

Any thoughts on the rapid breathing? Seems to be all fish equally. Not gasping near the top, just faster breathing everywhere in the tank. I tried to take a video but the file type wasn't allowed  even when going directly to "camcorder" from attach files. Thanks for your time!

[Cold water algae eater]

I have a 100 gal tank in my backyard with a few gold fish and the algae is a bit of a problem.  I live in Northern California so it doesn't get too cold but I'm wondering if there's any algae eaters that are cold water. I search the forum and most suggest snails but my goldfish eat them all. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks! 

[Puffer food tank]

I've been thinking about getting a Fahaka puffer but I'm worried about where I'm going to get all the shelled foods without breaking the bank. My thought was to have a snail and crayfish tank but when doing research I couldn't find anything specific to just keeping and breeding them for food. I'd like to hear your ideas on how you would set up a puffer food tank. IE size, number of snails and crayfish to start with(never kept crayfish) any other food I could grow in there? What types of cheap food I could feed the snails/crayfish. Filtration. Do crayfish need pristine water? Do they tolerate nitrates well?  Any input is appreciated. Thanks!