# tiny bubbles at top of tank?



## pberry (Aug 30, 2011)

Hello all,

I'm new to the fish hobby just love it already. I just set up a 10 gallon tank about a week and a half ago. It is a starter tank that came with filter and lid with lights. I let the tank run for about a week then got the water tested at a fish store to get the OK to put fish in it. I put 3 cichlids in it and have a little baby blue gill that i caught in the lake at my school. I'm sure i prolly shouldn't have done it but it seems fine and has been with the other fish for about 4 days now.

I recently did a gravel change because I didn't like the originally gravel I put in it. I changed about 30-40% of the water also when doing it. (did this last night) I didnt clean off any of my decorations beacuse I know that it has bacteria that is good for the fish. I have been noticing that there are a lot of tiny bubbles at the top of my tank. I have tried scooping some out but didn't really work. Any idea as to why I'm getting so many sitting at the top of the water?

Also I was wondering whats the best way to identify your cichilds. I have 1 that is whiteish and about 4-5 stripes on the top half of his body (hides at the top of the tank and stays away for the other 2 ciclids.), 1 that is all yellow and I beleive is a electric cichild from looking around at the forum, and 1 that has a black stripe along the top half of its body.

Thanks for all the help and very excited to see them grow!


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## panicbess (Aug 30, 2011)

In all my cases with this, I just turned down the air supply a bit!!! Oxygen is too high for the tank size


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## pberry (Aug 30, 2011)

How to i do that? i have a air pump but there isnt a knob to turn it down?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

From what you described I believe you have a convict in the mix. Either way you will need a bigger tank and some.of your fish shouldn't be mix. Looks to.me like soap bubbles did you use soap in or near the tank?


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## pberry (Aug 30, 2011)

whcih one do you believe is the convict? and i didnt use any soap but i did wash my hands and after washing them could perhaps put my hands but in the tank. think that the reason? and how can i get rid of them?


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

White with black strips sounds like a convict all in all they will all need a bigger tank. If it is soap best thing is to tear the tank down an recycle it again once you rinse the tank out throughly. [/code]


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Very sad, I'm afraid. There are so many potential problems that it is hard to know where to start. One big one to clear up is start up. Do you mean you have just let the filter and tank run for a week or so and did nothing else? And then the fish shop said okay to add fish? If so, there is a major disappointment coming rather soon. For this, I would referr you to the library section for more info than I can give on the nitrogen cycle. You may have an ammonia spike coming which kills fish. 
Fish that hang near the top are usually suffering stress. In this case, it could be from the other fish as we don't know what kind you have. Check the profile section above to ID the fish. But then there is also the chance that he is having trouble breathing. Do you have chlorine or chloramine in your water? Most people do and need to use chemicals to clear them before adding fish. Did you do that? Too much chlorine can make water bubbles. Soap or chlorine will kill fish as it burns their gills. 
It may just be too much air blowing through. The pump needs to have a way to let some of the air blow off rather than forcing it all through the airstone. One way to do this is to add a set of valves. You use one to move air to the tank and the second to let excess air blow out. This lets the air pump last longer as well by not forcing it to work harder than designed. When it pushes that much air through a single spot it causes lots of stress on the pump diapham which will make it split if done for too long.

Hope this helps you get it going. It really is a good hobby but does take some study to get it right.


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## pberry (Aug 30, 2011)

thanks for all the help. Yes I want to the fish store and they told me to fill the tank up, put 2 table spoons of salt in it, set up my air pump as well as filter and let run for a week. So i did just that. It ran for a week then i took a sample of the water and he said the water tested fine to put fish in.

The only thing I added to the water was the aquarium salt. When I switched the gravel and put about 30% new water in the tank I also put in a teaspoon of the water conditioner. I only have one cichild that hangs out at the top but recentally he has been hanging out in the plant I have not as high as he usually does.

Thanks for the help again as I am new to this and want the best for my fish. Ill be sure to look up the ID section to help me figure out which fish I have and if a male or female.


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## syates33 (Aug 27, 2011)

Never, ever, EVER return to that store unless it's to slap the heck out of that employee


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## dillon0990 (Jun 11, 2011)

I hate to tell you this man but your fish store just set you up for failure. Running an aquarium for a week doesnt get your bacteria build up that you need to keep fish alive. Take the time to go and google how to cycle an aquarium. If you do it the proper way it takes a few weeks without fish. The fish they sold you should never go into a 10 gallon and they should never be mixed with eachother. no cichlid should really be in a 10 gallon aquarium. If you still want to keep those fish here is what needs to be done. Go back to the fish store if its a true fish store and not a pet smart or anything and get a bacteria additive to help cycle the tank. You need to get an API master test kit so you can test your own water for ammonia nitrite and nitrate. You also need to buy dechlorinator unless you have well water. You will need to start doing regular water changes untill your cycle is complete. Once you have your test kit keep your ammonia and nitrite under 1ppm so you dont kill your fish.


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## Tadgo (Jul 31, 2011)

Might want to return the buegill back to where you found him. they get big and have a big bio load. also they have a lower water temperature need then a cichlid.

Don't get discouraged. Read as much as you can. Ask questions. There is a place on the forum to find a LFS and it has reviews. See if there are any other stores near you.

Good luck.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

where to start...return the fish


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Ouch! I was a little afraid that might have happened. So sorry to hear you have been treated so poorly. As an excuse for the store, it is possible you got the "new guy" and he knows nothing about fish. If you had been learning to drive and asked for his help---he handed you the keys and said go for it! Maybe we can sort it out and be of help. Right now, I would warn you that it has not started off well.

Good to hear they did set you up with water conditioner. What brand do you have? You will need to change a bunch of water in small amounts over the coming days and weeks and each time conditioner of some type will be needed. Are you near a city using city water? I'm assuming it has chlorine or chloramine to kill bacteria, making it safe to drink. This is the main thing the conditioner needs to do. Some advertise they do lots of other things but it really needs to do the first.

For help on fish ID:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=132

Black and white fish look like some of these? Convict

Yellow fish look like this? All yellow but with black on some fins. Young and female may have very little black.
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=713

Look at this female. Does one look like this? I hope not but got a bad feeling!

Let's see what we can work out.


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## dangerstangdave (Jun 26, 2011)

Returning a fish to the wild that has been in a tank with petstore stock is not a good idea. That petstore is not where you want to do business. If you like cichlids, spend some money and start cycling a 40 or 55 gallon correctly(craigslist). Fish keeping is a constant learning experience, so dont get discouraged.


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