What's he doing? + health question

angela · Post by **angela** » 11 Aug 2003, 23:44

Hi there.
I was just watching my 2 yr old albino channel cat gulp air from the surface and then blow bubbles out through his gills. He doesn't seem in distress and is back in his cave now but I've only seen him breathe from the surface, in the past, when it's about time to do a water change (he's in a 100 gallon tank with two koi-sized goldfish--yikes--another issue I'm not sure what to do about--and live plants, and the water was changed less than 2 weeks ago), which I do every month, changing at least 25 gallons and vaccuuming the gravel. I've never seen him blow bubbles out of his gills before and am wondering what he's up to and if this is cause for concern.
Also, I am about to begin an asbestos removal project in our home and it's not possible to move this tank out of the way. We are working on the ceilings and I am planning to stock the tank well with live plants and then cover it with two wet sheets before they cover the living room with plastic. Am I still courting disaster for these fish?
As far as his living with goldfish is concerned...When he was new, at 1 1/2 inches, they were established fish in the tank and much bigger than him. He is kept well fed (they are all fed twice a day and I feed him extra pellets if he's looking especially rascally), and has never shown aggression toward them besides chasing them away from food and away from his cave. Has anyone else ever dealt with a situation similar to this? What happened? He is approximately 14 inches long, while they are about 6 and 7 inches, respectively. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Angela

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Aug 2003, 00:09

What temperature is your tank at? What do you have in terms of filtration/aeration?

angela · Post by **angela** » 12 Aug 2003, 00:59

It's at "room temperature", and I live in the desert with a swamp cooler, so that means right this second the water temperature is 80 degrees F. I have two magnum 350 canister filters (no bio-wheels) but only one has ever worked properly--the other just kind of trickles out of the outtake.
He's not been doing anything out of the ordinary since I wrote that post.

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Aug 2003, 02:19

Have your goldfish ever done the same thing (i.e. breathe at the surface)?

angela · Post by **angela** » 12 Aug 2003, 20:16

But of course, goldfish are surface air breathers. They, however, have never been seen to blow bubbles out of their gills. He wasn't doing normal surface breathing, he was gulping big mouthfuls and then blowing it out of his gills in bubbles. He hasn't done it again since I posted and is acting completely normal now (and eating well, as usual!).

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Aug 2003, 23:38

The point I am trying to make is that the temperature in your tank is a little too high for the fishes. The fish should not be breathing near the surface at all. The fact that they are doing this means that there is insufficient oxygen in the water (exacerbated by elevated water temperatures).