Hi all,
I concur that oxygenation is an issue giving the panting of the fish, but given the only thing that has changed is the water supply…
I’ll try RO / rainwater for the next change, do a small one, add an airstone
I think that is a good idea. If you want to add some dGH and dKH? I see <"
Oyster Shell Chick Grit"> as the way forward, it is cheap and forms a self-regulatory <"
negative feedback loop">. I've always been a <"
rainwater user"> and, where it is a viable option, I wouldn't use anything else, .
I’ll try and do a video as per LFNFan. I would say my surface agitation is quite good as the water falls like a waterfall into the tank.
It has to be the tap water, your tank looks fine and you shouldn't be suffering from low oxygen levels, but the fishes behaviour suggests that is the problem. It has to be something in the water adding to the <"
Biochemical Oxygen Demand">. That is likely to be <"
fixed nitrogen">, because of the rapid duckweed (
Lemna minor) growth. The duckweed is working for you (at the moment) as a nutrient sponge.
doing a full clean and recycle of the main tank currently, jic old tank syndrome
That is, honestly, unlikely to help. The problem with a deep clean is that if you reset the tank you will have quite a long time period before you get back to some form of stability. Have a look at <"
Seasoned Tank Time">.
The more I read the less I think this is an old tank syndrom issue to be honest. If you can, do a hardness test of your tank water, in parallel do a hardness test of the tap water.
I agree with
@Hanuman, normally you can cure <"
old tank syndrome"> just by changing some more water. In this case we have worries about the water, so an alternative water source would be useful.
cheers Darrel