HI all.
I am wondering if anyone can help me.I have a 55 gal,3 filters 2 aqua 30's...and 1 60gal, bio filter.
I did ammonia,nitrate,and ph test just 2 nights ago,,,all good..my ph is about 7'4,,7'6 in that area,,,i wish it was closer to 7 '2,,,but i do not try to play with it,,i have heard it is better to be alittle off and stable..so i leave that for now.
I have 2 plutus catfish(2 inch), another 2 inch bottom feeder and a 3 inch crayfish..
i have 2 oscars,3 inch,,and 4 inch.and i am presently looking at a nice 110 galon tank..


Here is my problem.every few days,,i notice my bigger oscar(4 inch) going to surfuce and and it looks like he takes breaths from the top of water.I do not see his lips come out of water,,but it looks like he lets his nose come up flush with top of water...

now he does not do it all the time,seems like for a few hours he do it,,,then he don't do it for few hours later.

I have a 10 inch air stone,,,and i have 3 filters circulating water back down into tank..
I have recently leave my water about 1 inch from top,,,so the water from filter cause alot of bubbles splashing back down into tank...

he eats well,,,he is still very active..he is still normal except that one thing..

I feed him dried krill,2 kinds of pellets and dried blood worms...
(also incects every once in awhile)


His favorit food is dried blood worms,,,they float of top of the water,,,he knows when its feeding time yes,,he does flips and splashes,,he jumps clear out of the water,,he is a good fish..


so he knows i am not feeding him,,,but could he be searching the water surface for food??? becuase while he is on the way to the top of the tank water,,,i can see his eyes seaching all the top of the water,,before he surfaces...

do you guys have any idea's that can help me???

Thank you.
Rick.

you seem to be doing everything right. id try to get that 110 as soon as possible but other than that i would just keep watching him and see what happens sometimes Oscars do very weird stuff. and welcome to the site

my two oscars out of five ( in two different tanks)do the same.
even my pangasius used to gulp air and releases the bubbles gradually
while submerge.

as long as your o eats normally and active, no need to worry that much

I agree with Paul, as long as he is active and eating and your water parameters are good, he should be fine.

Thats good to know.
Thank guys

oscarRic wrote:


Mine is mostly looking for food on the surface when I'm not near the tank.
I suppose yours may as well!

Is your oscar opening and closing his mouth constantly?

OFL wrote:


Not really.

But i do notice he opens it slightly,,,maybe enough to put tooth pic in..as he swimms..but not rapidly.



UPDATE!
And to add to this,,,as of today,,since making this thread,,i have not seen him swimming to the top today...but if his routine is the same,,i expect he will be sometime again over next few hours.

If this helps,,the more i have been noticing this,,,it seems always to start few hours before lights out,,but not in the morning when i check him..

your set up sounds text book i recon he is serching for food i use pellets that float and he is constantly looking for a stray snack!

If the Oscar is not breathing heavily and that's a good sign. I think we can rule out oxygen depletion and toxins in the water. Hey, it would be great if you could get a video of it sometime

I was wondering 1 more thing,,

Is it possible to have to much air circulation in a tank?

Because i have lots and lots of air bubbles...but if i top off my tank again with water,,,i can reduce them,,if it is a danger to my fish...

and if nothing is wrong with him,,i will probably top it off in next few days anyway.i am just watching him abit longer,,is/was my plan.

OFL wrote:


i will certianly try.