why are my fish at top of tank?
Discussion
Just started my tropical fish tank, have 8 fish at the moment, Guppies, Neon Tetra, Zebra Danio and a Sucking Loach, and wondered if its normal that they always seem to spend most of thier time at the top of the tank? even the loach seems to spend alot of time up there?
are they looking for food? or attracted to the light or what??
are they looking for food? or attracted to the light or what??
Edited by Mubby on Wednesday 4th January 11:43
832ark said:
Are they at the surface gasping for air? Can you give us some more info? How many litres is the tank? How long has the tank been set up? How was it cycled? What filter are you using? What are your latest readings for Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAte?
they dont seem to be gasping for air, 80 litre tank, fishless cycled for 3.5 weeks, water levels fine (im not very clued up on this so my partner does this part!)
3 neon tetra been in there for 9 days,
3 guppies, 1 danio, 1 sucking loach been in for 4 days,
they are not like at the surface constantly, they always seem to be in the top quarter of the tank, and really i just wonedered if this was normal!
No offence intended, but 'water levels fine,' doesn't answer the question. Could you ask your partner to post up the actual readings?
If she can't do that quickly then do a 50% water change - it'll rarely do any harm, and if the problems are ammonia/nitrite related (they almost always are in new tanks) then it'll temporarily alleviate the issue.
If she can't do that quickly then do a 50% water change - it'll rarely do any harm, and if the problems are ammonia/nitrite related (they almost always are in new tanks) then it'll temporarily alleviate the issue.
Some species are midwater to surface dwellers, though of those the loach definitely isn't one. Anyone who knows fish would be able to tell at a glance from their behaviour whether what they are doing looks OK, but it's not easy to describe and things like "are they breathing fast" depends on you knowing what's normal. Zero ammonia and zero nitrite would be the starting point before looking at anything else, though.
tenohfive said:
No offence intended, but 'water levels fine,' doesn't answer the question. Could you ask your partner to post up the actual readings?
If she can't do that quickly then do a 50% water change - it'll rarely do any harm, and if the problems are ammonia/nitrite related (they almost always are in new tanks) then it'll temporarily alleviate the issue.
no offence taken, im a female and leave all things technical to him! If she can't do that quickly then do a 50% water change - it'll rarely do any harm, and if the problems are ammonia/nitrite related (they almost always are in new tanks) then it'll temporarily alleviate the issue.
edit: have asked him and he says this
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 28ppm
Edited by Mubby on Wednesday 4th January 11:52
otolith said:
Some species are midwater to surface dwellers, though of those the loach definitely isn't one. Anyone who knows fish would be able to tell at a glance from their behaviour whether what they are doing looks OK, but it's not easy to describe and things like "are they breathing fast" depends on you knowing what's normal. Zero ammonia and zero nitrite would be the starting point before looking at anything else, though.
I will look up midwater and surface dwellers.The loach is at the top far less than the others but he is quite often up there, I will keep an eye on this, thanks
Are they still at the surface when you watch from a distance? They might associate you being close with food, so go to the surface to get first dibs, especially if you only feed with floating food.
Guppies and danios are middle to surface dwellers, so if they aren't gasping for air, then this isn't that unusual - neons are normally mid water swimmers, but if you don't have many, they may be shoaling with the other fish for security. Danios and neons prefer to be in fairly large groups, so if you only have a couple then this could be a factor.
The loach is a bottom dweller, so this is unusual if he/she spends much time at the surface, they prefer to rest on the tank floor/sides/scenery. Constant trips to the surface are a sign that the water quality isn't great and/or that there isn't enough oxygenation going on.
I'd still do fairly decent water change (20-50%) just to be on the safe side though.
Guppies and danios are middle to surface dwellers, so if they aren't gasping for air, then this isn't that unusual - neons are normally mid water swimmers, but if you don't have many, they may be shoaling with the other fish for security. Danios and neons prefer to be in fairly large groups, so if you only have a couple then this could be a factor.
The loach is a bottom dweller, so this is unusual if he/she spends much time at the surface, they prefer to rest on the tank floor/sides/scenery. Constant trips to the surface are a sign that the water quality isn't great and/or that there isn't enough oxygenation going on.
I'd still do fairly decent water change (20-50%) just to be on the safe side though.
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