FishCentric Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi there! I have 11 lambchop rasboras in a 20 gallon long that have been glass surfing incessantly since I brought them home over 4 months ago. And I mean nonstop! All day, every day! For 4 months! They might chill out for a little bit, but then they go right back to it. My tank is very well planted, fully cycled, and has plenty of hiding spots and plants to break line of sight, etc. I’ve tried everything under the sun to get them to stop, but nothing seems to work. I’ve blocked the corners they surf with plants, dimmed the lighting, increased the lighting, put black cardboard against the sides and back of the tank to block reflection, decreased/increased the filter flow, added dither fish, treated them for any diseases or parasites… I’ve tried literally everything I can think of and that was recommended by my LFS. Nothing works. In the tank I have the 11 rasboras, a pair of Bolivian rams, 7 cardinal tetras, and 4 otos. The rams are a mating pair but could care less of their tank mates so aggression isn’t an issue. Tank is fully cycled, well filtered and I regularly test the water to make sure everything is stable. Please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Hi @FishCentric, welcome to the forum. Since you've done the environmental things I guess I'm curious. What is your pH and how long have you had the rasboras? I hesitate to say that this could be an illness because nobody else is acting up. My Harlequin Rasboras once glass surfed when they were new in my tank, also when they had easy access to some bubbles from a sponge filter however they weren't doing it "all the time". They only did it in the early morning and sometimes evenings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I've only kept a few rescued rasboras, so I've never observed this behavior. It does looks like you have already tried just about everything. I have to ask: When you say they are glass surfing, Are the fish swimming close to the glass, or out in open water? I can't tell from your picture how much open swimming space the fish have. (Great looking tank BTW) They are a schooling fish, and they could consider their reflections as part of a larger school. I see a lot of reflections. Does their behavior change when the aquarium/room lights are out? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishCentric Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Hi @xXInkedPhoenixX and @Tanked, thanks for your reply! The pH stays pretty consistent at 7.4, and I’ve had the rasboras for 4 months now. I’ve treated them and the other fish in the tank for parasites and disease, so I don’t think that’s the issue. All the other fish in the tank look and act completely normal. I also have a small sponge filter running in addition to my HOB filter but they seem to ignore the bubbles from that. I’ve even tried completely baffling the HOB filter outlet so that it produces no current or waves and still no luck. As for open swimming space, they have quite a lot. The tall plants are restricted to the back of the tank and the front 2/3 of the tank is pretty open with lots of space to swim back and forth. When they are glass surfing, they stay in any of the 4 corners and just go up and down frantically. I’ve noticed that when the tank and the room they are in are completely dark they eventually stop and go to their “parking spots” as I call it. I’ve played around with the ambient room lighting as well. I’ve tried turning off/on all the room lights, closing/opening the blinds, etc. and it still doesn’t really make a difference. They might calm down for a few minutes but then go right back to it. My LFS thought that maybe if they were wild caught, they just have zero desire to be constrained in a tank and are looking to get out. But when I purchased them, they were swimming happily around the tank at the store. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Yes well clearly it's not a pH issue and you've treated for disease. I think maybe it could be the reflection thing still as @Tanked mentioned, you can see quite a few reflections even in your picture. I personally don't think it's a problem and over time you can work on that if it bothers you. I've got a good bit of algae on the sides of my tanks so my Rasboras are chill. Nothing seems to be wrong- but I'm sure it adds to the action if they're constantly doing this! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I have only seen that vertical swimming behavior once with a very unhappy Tiger Barb. He was the last of his group. For lack of a better idea, I would ask the LFS to test their water and yours, and see how they compare. The Co-op site indicates that they prefer "relatively soft" water. You've had the fish for four months, so they should have adapted to your water. Other than that, I've got nothing! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/24/2024 at 6:56 PM, FishCentric said: I have 11 lambchop rasboras in a 20 gallon long that have been glass surfing incessantly since I brought them home over 4 months ago. And I mean nonstop! I just want to add this about my Harlequin Rasboras in a 20g high tank. I have never seen this glass surfing in the 2 years I've had these fish. That's all I know. Someone out there is bound to be able to help you. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLANANO Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/24/2024 at 6:56 PM, FishCentric said: Hi there! I have 11 lambchop rasboras in a 20 gallon long that have been glass surfing incessantly since I brought them home over 4 months ago. And I mean nonstop! All day, every day! For 4 months! They might chill out for a little bit, but then they go right back to it. My tank is very well planted, fully cycled, and has plenty of hiding spots and plants to break line of sight, etc. I’ve tried everything under the sun to get them to stop, but nothing seems to work. I’ve blocked the corners they surf with plants, dimmed the lighting, increased the lighting, put black cardboard against the sides and back of the tank to block reflection, decreased/increased the filter flow, added dither fish, treated them for any diseases or parasites… I’ve tried literally everything I can think of and that was recommended by my LFS. Nothing works. In the tank I have the 11 rasboras, a pair of Bolivian rams, 7 cardinal tetras, and 4 otos. The rams are a mating pair but could care less of their tank mates so aggression isn’t an issue. Tank is fully cycled, well filtered and I regularly test the water to make sure everything is stable. Please help! I think you only posted this thread to show us how amazing your tank looks lol. I don't have any suggestions beyond what you have tried but Ido want to share a lesson I have learned during my aquarium journey. If something isn't making you happy or is stressing you out, get rid of it. Maybe someone in this thread can help you figure out the issue and you and the Rasboras can live happily ever after (I hope this for you). But if you can't figure out the issue and the glass surfing is causing you stress then maybe try to rehome or trade in the Rasboras. Recently I had this beautiful Albino Bristle nose Pleco that was a perfect specimen (like could have been in magazines, he was perfect) BUT he started eating my plants. Killed my Amazon sword, chopped all the leaves off my tiger lotus, and was doing a number on my Crypt Wenditii. Finally I decided it was time for him to go. I traded him in and the stress load that took off of my pate was immediately felt. Point being that these are animals and we can't always control their behaviors. Maybe our setup just isn't for them and someone else will have better luck. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMcDermott Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 To remove reflections make it very bright outside the tank, and very dark inside the tank. Putting something up on the outside of the glass will make reflections worse, having a bright aquarium light shining inside the tank will make reflections worse. You need it dark inside the tank and bright outside the tank to remove the inner reflection from the glass surfaces inside the tank. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishCentric Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Haha thanks @NOLANANO, I appreciate it! And that is really good advice. Thank you! To be honest I’ve been mulling over the idea of trading them in for something else. Posting here was kind of my final straw because like you said, it sure is stressing me out. We get in this hobby to enjoy the tank and watch the fish interact and go about doing their thing. It’s really hard to do that when you’re sitting and fretting about things the whole time! I’ve already played around with lighting and reflections, but I guess I’ll mess around a bit more. If things don’t change I might just take your advice and see about trading them in. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 @FishCentric I want to compliment your tank. It is really pretty 😍 I can see that you know what you're doing. It's such a shame to have this worry that you don't deserve. Sadly, I vote to re-home them. Then you can replace them with some "normal" acting fish and relax and enjoy. Perhaps you got a batch of "Mentally ill" fish. 🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I think your tank is very good looking and well thought out. I like your combination of fish in the tank as well. I would differ from some of the other peoples thoughts on the rasboras, however. Instead of getting rid of them, I first would try adding about 10 more to the school. I think you have plenty of room for that many more, and it may change their behavior in a pleasing way. Anyway, that is the approach I would take before getting rid of a beautiful school of fish. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishCentric Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 Thanks @DaveO! Thats an interesting idea. You don’t think that adding 10 more fish would overstock the tank? It’s only a 20 gallon long and I feel like I may be pushing it as is with the current stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLANANO Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/26/2024 at 9:23 AM, FishCentric said: Thanks @DaveO! Thats an interesting idea. You don’t think that adding 10 more fish would overstock the tank? It’s only a 20 gallon long and I feel like I may be pushing it as is with the current stock. I don't think it would overstock from Bio Load perspective but I do think it'd drastically change the look of your tank. I think your stocking is great because the fish are visible but not EVERYWHERE. All the fish have room to maneuver and no single fish or school is overpowering. I think adding 10 more Rasbora would be very distracting. Thats just my 2 cents though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/24/2024 at 7:56 PM, FishCentric said: The rams are a mating pair but could care less of their tank mates so aggression isn’t an issue. It is a very long shot, but if you can, I would remove the rams for a day or three. It occurred to me that you said the fish were happily swimming around at the LFS. If all of the parameters are good, the next biggest change would be their their tank mates. If the surfing stops, you won't have solved the problem, but you will have identified it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flipper Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/24/2024 at 6:56 PM, FishCentric said: In the tank I have the 11 rasboras, a pair of Bolivian rams, 7 cardinal tetras, and 4 otos. I'm hoping everyone involved in this thread will chime in here. Maybe I'm under a false impression, but you have about 15 more fish in your 20 gallon than I have in mine. Your tank is well planted so maybe your stock level is fine. One thought I had was maybe the Rasboras feel overwhelmed by all the other fish. Just a thought I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/26/2024 at 9:23 AM, FishCentric said: Thanks @DaveO! Thats an interesting idea. You don’t think that adding 10 more fish would overstock the tank? It’s only a 20 gallon long and I feel like I may be pushing it as is with the current stock. On 1/26/2024 at 9:23 AM, FishCentric said: Thanks @DaveO! Thats an interesting idea. You don’t think that adding 10 more fish would overstock the tank? It’s only a 20 gallon long and I feel like I may be pushing it as is with the current stock. So if you think it's pushing the limit, you could start with five and see how it looks and how they behave. My own 32 gallon tank has 50 dwarf barbs. They are smaller than your rasboras, but by no means do I think it's overcrowded. The thing with adding more to a school is, if it ends up being too many, you can always undo it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 Are they still surfing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishCentric Posted February 12 Author Share Posted February 12 On 2/11/2024 at 9:05 AM, Tanked said: Are they still surfing? I tried a few more things with varying degrees of success. What seems to have worked the best is I took a patterned piece of gray fabric and placed it on the outside of the tank on the side they mostly surfed in order to block any light that was coming in. That seems to have really helped, and they now will maybe surf for a little bit in the morning when the lights first come on, but then will usually chill out and swim normally after a short while. It’s interesting because I had done this before but used a solid black piece of cardboard to block out the light, but yet had no success. It seems like the gray “linen patterned” fabric seems to have done the trick though. Not ideal aesthetically, but it’s on the side of the tank that faces the adjacent wall so you can’t even see it thankfully. Fingers crossed this fixes it! I really didn’t want to trade them in, they’re beautiful fish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 On 2/12/2024 at 11:21 AM, FishCentric said: I tried a few more things with varying degrees of success. What seems to have worked the best is I took a patterned piece of gray fabric and placed it on the outside of the tank on the side they mostly surfed in order to block any light that was coming in. That seems to have really helped, and they now will maybe surf for a little bit in the morning when the lights first come on, but then will usually chill out and swim normally after a short while. It’s interesting because I had done this before but used a solid black piece of cardboard to block out the light, but yet had no success. It seems like the gray “linen patterned” fabric seems to have done the trick though. Not ideal aesthetically, but it’s on the side of the tank that faces the adjacent wall so you can’t even see it thankfully. Fingers crossed this fixes it! I really didn’t want to trade them in, they’re beautiful fish! It makes sense for the same reason a photographer would never do your portrait against a plaid background. The Linen patterning probably distorts the reflections and distracts them, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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