[t2ak]

My Dwarf Gouramis has been gulping alot lately. This is not normal. I initially thought it may be due to injecting co2 even though he has lived in the tank for more than a month and a half with out issuer before. I turned off the co2 and went to use an air stone. I found my pump no longer worked. It was late so I could not get another one. Sadly he didnt make it through the night. If co2 was the culprit and not another issue. Would a layer of gas built up on top of the water from off gassing caused him to suffocate?

I have a standard 29g tank. I have a c-220 canister filter. The outflow does not create the best surface agitation and I get a light oil slick. I will be trying some ways to help that tonight after I take a trip to the hardware store. Should I run an airstone at night just to be safe? none of the other tankmates seem effected at all. That leads me to believe it may be an underlying issue with him. A local store owner mentioned it could be parasitic as he showed no outward signs other than behavior and a slight belly bulge.

All my water parameter tested normal at:
PH: 6.5
Ammo: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10-15ppm (ferts.. If I skip fertilizing for a few days its near zero)
KH: 4-5
GH: 9-10

GH seems to be the only thing high but it has been this way for the entire tanks life.

any Ideas, thoughts and suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks,
TK

 

[houbanna]

Yes , that film will trap the co2 and cause this. Get some surface agitation by air stone or waster return. Bio film build up will also go away from good surface disturbance.

 

[PlantedRich]

There are many times when I think it takes a bit of combination of small things to do a fish in totally. One possible is too much CO2 but then the film may also have cut the O2 entering the water. Maybe a combo of those two as well as a slightly ailing fish??
I'm finding I'm getting a really nasty slick at the top at times but I think I have traced it back to one small change I made. I shut down a 75 and moved a group of small fish and algae eaters and loachs to my 125. Suddenly the 125 had a problem with foaming and a slick. Old tank that I have had running for quite a while. I find when I feed algae pellets pretty heavy to let the bottom folks get some at night, I get the slick. Binders in the pellets to make them stay hard?/ No pellets and I get no slick!

 

[t2ak]

I replaced the outflow pipe last night with a homemade spraybar. It took a while to get the holes the right size but it now is working great and fully adjustable. The surface scum is almost all gone. I think the scum comes from over feeding. I took some time last night and showed the girlfriend the right amount. Turns out she has been feeding them double what they would need. We work opposite shifts so she feeds them in the mid morning and I feed at night. All seems to be good now. Everyone else seems to be hanging out, doing their thing. The amano's I got recently seem to be very happy which I will take as a good sign.

 

[scapegoat]

if you're unable to get an air stone going you could always use your hand or a spoon, or something, to agitate the surface of the water for a bit. even a water change would've done the job.

 

[t2ak]

I think I've got pretty good surface agitation now that I made a spray bar. I picked up a new pump today. Everybody in the tank seems happy so I think I will just monitor everyone and make adjustments as needed.