just a question

[lyinxz]

Hi i am new here ,but use this site as my main tool for my new hobby as a novice aquarist.
now this is stupid.. tho i dont know what fish i have lol, it is tropical fish in a 45L tank. (i think maybe its a tetra) its red/orange and has 2 whiskers from its face.
its a very small fish.

I have a filter , heater (set at 26C) , and a air pump. and a few ornaments.
my fish ever since i bought it, every couple of minutes will go up to the surface and looks like it blows a little air bubble.

The tank has had new water in there , with conditioner added , and ran the filter for few days before i put the fishy in.

i dont have a test kit.
but i just want to know is this behavior normal? or is my tank lacking something not allowing the fish to breath?
Do fish always stay under the water and breath through gills? or do they occasionally rise to the surface?

PS: i am feeding it just normal gold fish flakes, is this okay?

Thankyou in Advance
Ash.

please add me on msn or email me or reply!
ash.n@msn.com

[Sin]

hey dude , whats up there...i too am new on this site and new to fishes , i did tons of reserch on the web and spoke to helpful knowledgeable staff members at fishtown usa , and the best thing you can do with a new setup is to get the tank cycled with some hardy fish , that process takes about 4 - 6 weeks and it is adviseable not to feed them everyday since fish produce waste and there are not enough healthy bacteria in the water and filter to sustain them , feed the fish every 3 days the first two weeks , then cut back to every other day , after its been cycled you can go back to normal feedings and the filter will be up and running the proper way it was intended to function..do not do any water changes for several weeks or you will have to start the cycleing process all over again ... also people dont realize how long fish can go without eating..several weeks , so a few days wont hurt them.....and please do your fish a BIG favor and get a PH tester , ammonia tester ( ammonia detox if ammonia is present ) , and any other tests you need to run to sustain healthy fish that can thrive in your tank as fishes live in certain conditions that have to be maintained....in a new setup without testing you can not know the condition of the water , untill you see dead fishes! avoid the hassel of loseing fishes and or haveing them stressed out...your fish is trying to tell you something by gasping for air at the top of the tank! i do wish you good luck , as i am learning myself

[lyinxz]

hey sin , thanks for the advice!.
now ...
Hardy fish , whats that?

[Glasstapper]

two whiskers? red/orange? going to the surface for air? sounds to me like a dwarf flame gourami. Does he look like this:
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

If that's your fish, then this guy will come to the surface to take air. It is normal for them to do that because they have a special organ that allows them to take in oxygen to their bodies. Pretty cool, huh? They are also an omnivore, so something meaty in his diet would be appreciated. You could freeze dried bloodworms, as an example.

Also, if that's your fish, then I'm afraid that kind isn't really hardy enough to do a tank cycle. You may have good luck with him, but my personal experience makes me say otherwise. First thing's first, you will absolutely, no doubt about it, will need a water testing kit especially when you're cycling.

A hardy fish that can be used for cycling (also the fish that I personally used) would be the bleeding heart tetras. I've also heard people have had success using zebra danios and many many other different species.

You should go and read up as much as you can about "aquarium cycling". There are a few different methods, but it seems the easiest, quickest, and least painful for fish is the "fishless cycling" method.

Fish keeping is a wonderful hobby, but it's imperative to educate yourself on it so that you save yourself a lot of heartache and headache. and money, too!

Good luck!

[lyinxz]

hey man!
you are REALLY good , thats my fish exactly!!!
You know your STUFF!!
i hope one day i can become like that! :p
awsome im happy now beacuse i know that my fish is okay :D

sorry to continue tho,
what are you guys talking about when you say:

[I]"Also, if that's your fish, then I'm afraid that kind isn't really hardy enough to do a tank cycle. "

"A hardy fish that can be used for cycling (also the fish that I personally used) would be the bleeding heart tetras. I've also heard people have had success using zebra danios and many many other different species."

-

What is "hardy enough" refering to?
and what do you mean "tank cycle"?

[Glasstapper]

I only recognized the description because I had some of those! LOL! Thank you, though. I'm just learning, too.

by "hardy" that is describing a fish that can withstand and survive less than perfect water conditions. Perfect water conditions will have a reading of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and about 5-20 nitrates. Less than perfect will have some ammonia and/or some nitrites present.

It seems the dwarf flame gourami (what you have) usually doesn't like any ammonia or nitrite at all and will make them sick whereas the "hardy" fish will be relatively ok with it and can help you cycle your tank.

Basically, "hardy" kind of means "tough" and "not delicate or picky".

a "tank cycle" is also called a "nitrification cycle". It's the process where fish poo and uneaten food turn into ammonia, then nitrites form to break down the ammonia, then nitrates form to break down the nitrite. (look carefully at the spellings of the word-they are different). Once this "cycle" is complete, your tank is ready for fish. A fishless cycle method may only take a couple to a few weeks, whereas a fish cycle can take anywhere between 6 to 8 weeks.

[lyinxz]

ah awsome man , i get it now! :D
thankyou so much for your help :)
much appriciated!!

i downloaded the free aquarium ebook.
and i will read about the cycles.

i look forward to posting another post lol i am sure i will have heaps more questions soon! :)
take care , peace

[kimmers318]

Wow! Glasstapper...right on the nail with that one :) I had also started to suspect gourami, and you were already way ahead of me with your usual great advice.
Good luck lyinxz.....if you choose to keep your gourami in the tank you have a long frustrating road ahead of you cycling with it, which may still end in the loss of this beautiful fish. 2 things you can do to instantly help would be see if you can obtain some biospira....it will contain all those nice bacteria goomers you want to eat up the waste in the tank....or, if you know someone who has an established tank ask if they could give you some gravel to put in a mesh bag and let hang out in the tank, or some of the filter rinsing gunk (mulm). It will still take time this way to cycle, but it will be much lower toxin amounts, the bacteria will start to grow to take care of the waste load and water changes should get you thru the rest.
One other tip....goldfish flake is probably not the best choice of flake for gourami. There are several brands of tropical fish flakes, plus adding some other treats like frozen bloodworms are much appreciated. My personal flake of choice is the color enhancing stuff from omega one....the fish love all of the omega foods I offer and have great coloring.
Here is a pick of my dwarf flame gourami
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

He is with the powder blue who I unfortunately lost when another fish brought in some type of internal bacteria and I thought it was just being picked on too much by the male in the tank.

[lyinxz]

Wow look at the colour , BLUE :| thats amazing!!! heaps cool.
man having a aquarium is EXPENSIVE , geez!!!
my income is not that much , so i think i will try my best with the gorumi and see how it goes , maybe il learn something lol.
thanks for all the replies. much appriciated!! :)

[Sin]

heyy...just wanted to point out for instance you get the ammonia tester and get a high reading on the levels and you want to lower the level so you added ammonia detox , later on when you test for the ammonia levels remember that it will STILL give you a high reading...BUT the ammonia will not be present since you added the detoxer....and a new tank setup will always have higher levels of ammonia...untill they settle down and that takes some time....in the meantime there is no point to stress the poor fish out as many people do lose fish in a new tank setup.....and they have no idea why! and yesssssss you are right keeping fish is expensive...as most hobbys are! but the positive results you get back are more then worth it when you see your fish thrive and also are stress relievers just watching them swim peacefully......ohhhh yeah one more thing i should point out is do not buy your products from petland , in the longrun they are very costly....what you need to do is order in bulk online...i had a place saved on my computer of a really good site , but at the moment i cant find it....but trust me do some reserch online of fish products online and compare the prices and you will see a MAJOR difference ....then fish keeping can be feasable again on the wallet! if i do find the site i knew about i will be sure to add the link :thumb:

[Lady Hobbs]

Welcome. The Free e-book on the left menu is a good place to get started. Tells you about all you need to know to get you going.

[lyinxz]

awsome , thanks buddy :)