sick?? eggs??

[hump]

I have a 125gal tank with about 20 Africans. My pair of gobie cichlids all of a sudden stopped eating. I thought maybe they were holding eggs. But it seems that the male is breathing very very heavy for the last two days. They look healthy and have good color still but I'm not sure they are ok. Tested water... its good and all my other fish eat and do there thing. I guess I will have to remove rocks cause they are still very hard to catch and I can't check for eggs. Any thoughts?

[SunnyHouTX]

Maybe they have a smoking habit that you don't know about? In all seriousness though, what kind of aeration do you have in the tank?

[alexrex20]

+1

I bet the tank just needs more circulation. The gobies stay on the bottom where there is less dissolved oxygen, especially in a tank with inadequate circulation and thus inadequate oxygen.

A medium sized air pump with a 12in bubble wand should do the trick. Remember, with any type of bubbler, the oxygenation is achieved by circulating the water to the surface. The bubbles themselves are not what aerates the water. If you're against the looks of a bubbler, a circulation pump like a Koralia or Maxi-Jet Pro will also work well. Either way, you need more circulation!

[hump]

Hmmm... Maybe so. I do have two HOB marineland 400s, Aquatech uv500 canister filter running, and two 4 inch bubble wands with one small power head. I will add some more and give it a try. They sure don't act sick but won't eat and breath like they have a severe smoking habit. lol! Thanks for the input.

[alexrex20]

that sounds like plenty of filtration/circulation, but make sure you have them flowing together, instead of against each other. a 6ft tank requires lots of water movement.

[Nelson]

I don't know if you do it or not but some people fill the aquarium waaaay to the top and the HOB just drops the water too softly, its better if you get that breaking point of the water opening thru, create more oxygen I'm just giving you a option but you might have it already. If so, check for bullying maybe is stress. Hope this helps

[SunnyHouTX]

Make sure that power head is angled upward so that its flow breaks the surface.

How much flow does your power head flow?

You can run two power heads at opposite ends of the tank BTW. The net effect when you do that is that each pump circulates half the tank and sometimes moves the substrate due to the flow.

The only thing that is puzzling is the fact that they're not eating... Maybe they're holding eggs like you said.

[hump]

Well I managed to clear the tank out and caught the male. Nothing in his mouth and the poor little guy was gasping while I was trying to pinch his cheeks. He is still quick and colorful but he is having a bad bout with something. Some good news though....my female seems to be better and I took advantage of the cleared tank to switch from gravel to sand.

[hump]

Memorial service tonight. He didn't make it. Glad he isn't suffering anymore. But now that gives me an excuse to go buy atleast 4 more.

[alexrex20]

It does not make a difference with oxygenation how the HOB spills into the tank. Oxygenation is all about circulation and getting water to the surface for gas exchange.

Perhaps you should figure out what killed your honors before you add 4 more.

[hump]

I'm pretty sure I have plenty of circulation. Had tanks for quit a few years fresh and salt with far less. The female came through.... he was just to weak.