Symptoms
Gasping / piping at the surface
Goal: identify the most likely causes and take safe, high-impact steps first.
Check these first (in order)
- Increase aeration immediately (air stones, waterfalls)
- Ammonia / nitrite (toxins can cause respiratory stress)
- Temperature (warm water holds less oxygen)
- Observe gills/breathing (fast breathing, clamped fins)
- Recent changes (algae treatment, heavy cleaning, chemicals)
Common causes
- Low dissolved oxygen — Hot weather, crowding, algae die-off, nighttime dips.
- High CO₂ / poor gas exchange — Especially in covered systems or low surface agitation.
- Gill irritation/damage — Parasites, ammonia burn, or irritants.
- Gas supersaturation/microbubbles — Can trigger surface behavior even with strong aeration.
Safe next steps
- If ammonia/nitrite: do a water change, boost aeration, and stabilize.
- Stabilize KH/pH and avoid large daily swings.
- If symptoms persist and water is stable: consider a parasite plan (microscope is best).