# Why do my fish NEED an airstone!!!



## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

The first time I removed the airstone, my fish ended up gathering at the top and breathing heavily. The second time it got inadvertently left off, two of my fish died while the others scrambled at the surface for O2. Tonight I added a power head to replace the airstone and 1/2 hour later they are all gathering at the surface. I have no doubt I will have to plug the big noisy thing back in! WHY! I have a big filter on Cascade 1000 on a 40g tank. Whats up with these guys?


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

Is the water too hot??


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## reflexhunter (Jul 25, 2009)

How long has your tank been up and running?


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## karlfishing (Aug 4, 2009)

how many fish , and how big are they ?

is the power head located at or near the water surface ?


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

The water averages around 80, no heaters just Florida  
The tank has not been set up very long but I instant cycled with a filter from my 75g. There was never an ammonia or nitrite spike (except for when I lost the two fish a couple weeks ago there was a small nitrite reading that day). Water parameters are good-ammonia 0, nitrite-0, and nitrates linger from 10-20ppm. 
In the tank are 7 small mbuna (3 cyno white top, 3 johannii, and 1 Labeotropheus trewavasae all around 2 inches (BTW this is not their forever home). They had the same problem in a 20g when they were smaller, around 1 inch; this is where they had their first incident. 
I put the power head as close to the surface as possible while still having it submerged as the directions say. There is a port for tubing that I am not using which pulls air in and mixes it in the jet. I tried this last night but it was NOISY, so I took it out and just plugged the air pump back in. More experimenting today.


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## becadavies (Apr 2, 2007)

You dont need an airstone...as long as your return flow is just under or on the surface of the water it will produce enough movement to airate the tank.

The oxygen doesnt come from the bubbles the airstone makes- the bubbles function to break the water surface thus allowing o2 to mix with the water :thumb:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

It sounds like your filtration isn't adequate for the tank and fish load. If it were, your water would be well oxygenated. :thumb:


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

Well I am using a cascade 1000 rated for tanks up to 100 gallons in a 40 gallon tank plus a small power head. Maybe I will try moving the filter output, it is kinda deep. But how does this explain the same situation in the 20g with a HOB?


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

Okay I added the tubing to the power head which deliver O2 into the stream and the fish have been fine for about 5 hours. While I was messing with the tank, I took its temperature and it was high, 85 degrees. My 75 in the other room is 85 as well. However, my 20g is closer to 80. I thought I would get another strip light for this tank but I guess that is out now, they might boil :?


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

That's a little warm, and it's depleting the oxygen in the tank. (I wish it were warm enough here for this to be a problem!  )

You can also try opening the hoods and placing fans around the tank, but you'll want to put eggcrate or something over the opening so the fish can't jump.

Do you think it's from the heat, or could the heater be malfunctioning?

Your filtration sounds fine...Just wanted to make sure!


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

I have no heater, no need. I was thinking about opening the top or putting lots of holes in the plastic that runs on the back piece of glass. Lights went out at 11pm last night and 12 hours later when I went to turn them back on the temp was 84.5. My house says about 80 with lots of fans. The fish seem fine with the power head with the air attached to it, but it makes just as much noise as the air pump so whats the point. In addition, the power head adds heat to the tank whereas the airstone does not. The only good thing I can see is the powerhead has no risk of emptying my tank in the event of a power outage which are VERY common here. I may try turning off the air line to the power head later but am hesitant to do this because I have one female holding and another pair look like they may spawn today. I guess they don't mind the heat :lol:


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The heat may actually be spurring on the spawning...Lots of hobbyist turn their thermostats down to slow down breeding!


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## ladybugzcrunch (Jul 26, 2009)

Oh, too bad I can not turn my heat down; I would be a billionaire  Thanks for your thoughts.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

ladybugzcrunch said:


> Oh, too bad I can not turn my heat down; I would be a billionaire   Thanks for your thoughts.


Hey, I'll take the heat anyday...It feels like October here in Ontario right now! :wink:


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