Is airpump necessary?

**B.karthik** · 11-12-2009, 02:01 AM

why we need a airpump to supply oxygen for the fishes in the tank?I have molly fishes around 10 in number.But here power failure occurs everyday at night for about 6-8hours.Next morning i saw many fishes dead.Before going to bed at night i close all windows for safety.What should i do inorder to avoid these death?

One doubt:
1.Consider a molly fish eg:Dalmatian molly.It naturally lives in freshwater streams where there is no airpump,like we provide in our tank.Then why should we provide a airpump to provide oxygen for these fish?Will it not survive without airpump?

**Amazon** · 11-12-2009, 02:05 AM

Streams are filled with oxygen. airpumps provide oxygen for your fish to breath and if they dont breath they will die. I never use air pumps on any of my tanks because my filters and powerheads provide enough oxygen for them to breath. Aggitated flow in rivers gives them oxygen. Also when plants and algae respire they give off more oxygen that is why plant rich ecosystems are oxygen rich which enables them to have fish.

**Red** · 11-12-2009, 02:15 AM

Do fish live in a tank in the wild?

**Scrup** · 11-12-2009, 04:54 AM

Originally Posted by The Red Severum

Do fish live in a tank in the wild?

why no..they don't.

**Scrup** · 11-12-2009, 05:01 AM

Amazon explained the wild thing pretty well.

As far as your problem goes, you will need to figure something out, because 6-8 hours without power every night can be a problem. Without light even plants can't help you..most likely they would make it worse.

You could always invest in a battery powered air pump and rechargeable batteries, or just keep bettas OR-not and-OR gouramis, or some other labyrinth fish. Or if you have $500-$1000 to blow, you could look into a long lasting UPS, though it may not charge before your next power outage.

**Northernguy** · 11-12-2009, 02:34 PM

Do you have a filter on your tank?
What size is the tank.
I can shut my filters off for a full day and not worry about losing any fish.
Now if I just had an air pump,I would have all kinds of problems.
As long there surface movement of the water your fish will have oxygen.

**tetra** · 11-16-2009, 02:30 AM

What about a live plant, That should provide enough oxygen for tempory fix.

**VoidParadigm** · 11-16-2009, 02:50 AM

Live plants could help. But if I knew my filter was shutting off for eight hours every night I would only get fish that can breathe actual air for longer periods.

**Scrup** · 11-16-2009, 04:49 AM

Originally Posted by tetra

What about a live plant, That should provide enough oxygen for tempory fix.

Again if it is at night, when plants are in the dark they consume oxygen and release co2....something to remember.

**Lady Hobbs** · 11-16-2009, 01:59 PM

In the wild, the water is constantly changing and constantly be oxygenated. In a closed off system there is no movement of the water and it's just a dead zone which is why we must supply a source of oxygen.

The water surface must be broken in order for that.