Fish Tank Help

Questions and Answers

Q1. Why is there is no air going in to the tank?

It is essential that there is always air going in to the tank, so you need to act fast.
Check that the air tubes are connected to the air pump. If they are, check that the air pump is working. You can do this by taking the air pipe off the pump, and putting the air outlet on the pump to your face. If the pump is working you should be able to feel a rush of air against your face. If you can’t this means the air pump isn’t working. The first thing to do now is to get your teacher/janitor to check the pump’s fuse. If this still doesn’t fix the problem then you will need to buy a new air pump from a pet shop straight away. The tank can not be without air for more than a day. You get a guarantee of at least a year with a new air pump so if it has broken down within a year you will be able to get a free replacement.

Q2 The water has gone cloudy, what is this and what should I do?

There are two possibilities.

• First check that the filter is still working. Look for water bubbling out of the top of the pipes. If there is no bubbling the filter isn’t working and needs to be fixed. The most likely cause is that the air pipes have become disconnected from the air pump, or that the air pump has broken down. Make sure this is all working. (See Q1). Once you have this fixed the filter will work again and the tank will clear
• If the filter is working all the time, but the tank has still gone cloudy, then the tank must be unhygienic. You need to very carefully check the entire tank for uneaten food or a dead animal. If you find anything take it out with your net and carefully dispose of it. Be sure to remember to record dead animals in your log book. If you find a lump of uneaten food or a dead animal, you should organise to do a water change as soon as you can in order to help the filter clear the tank.

  NB Very occasionally the water will go cloudy if an animal e.g. a starfish has released eggs. This will make the water look milky rather than dirty and should clear in a matter of hours

Q3 A lot of the fish are gasping for breath and look distressed.

This can be serious and needs to be dealt with quickly.

• If the weather is hot, check the temperature of the tank using your thermometer. If the temperature is above 19 C then this is quite warm and can make the fish breathe hard. It important to know that the warmer the water the less oxygen is in it for the fish to breathe. So when it is hot it is very important to make sure that the air pump is working properly at all times. If you have quite a small tank you can replace some of the water with ice to cool it down. If you have a large tank, the fish should be okay, just keep an eye on them and be prepared to deal with the situation if things don’t improve.
• If the temperature is not a problem and the fish are having difficult breathing then check the air pump is working. (see Q1). If the pump is okay, then it is possible the fish are sick. Check which fish and how many are in difficulty and then e-mail us straight away so we can advise you on what is best to do.

Q4 Some of the animals don’t seem to be eating

This is a complicated problem, but you can usually sort it with a little time and investigation.

Some fish such as mullet and blennies will eat the food as soon as it goes in to the tank. Other creatures, such as crabs and starfish will often take their time before eating, sometimes over 30 minutes after you have put in the food.

Here are some things you can do to help make sure everything gets a chance to feed.

1. Never turn the light off straight after putting the food in, as some fish don’t eat in the dark
2. Make sure you put in enough food so that once all the hungry fish have eaten there is still some in the tank for the shyer creatures.
3. Make sure one fish doesn’t become the “bully” of the tank. If this happens, the “bully” can eat all the food and stop everything else from getting anything. If you do get a “bully” in your tank you may need to take him out for the good of all the other creatures, and return him to Atlantaquaria.
4. Make sure the fish are happy. Unhappy fish wont eat. So make sure that each fish has a place in the tank of its own, where it can get some peace and quiet. Also make sure that there are no fish which are always being chased around by other fish. If this is happening you might need to put an extra rock in the tank to give the fish an extra place to hide.
5. Make sure you don’t overfeed the tank. This may sound strange but if you give the fish too much food they wont eat! If they are stuffed all the time, then they can suddenly go off their food and stop eating for a few days. Also, if you put too much food in the tank, then this can make the water dirty which will also stop the fish from feeding.

I hope this helps you solve your problem, but if you are still having trouble click here and you can email me directly with your query. I will try to answer straight away.