It’s starting to get hot again here and my Pearlscale seems to be 'lapping' at the water line of my tank (40gal).
I'm worried that if this continues she's going to upset her swim bladder again.

So basically I want to know why she’s ‘lapping at the water’ and how to stop her.

I do have a large 12inch air stone in the tank and a pump plus the filters out takes agitate the water surface. So I would have thought there was enough oxygen in the water, But i was wondering is there anything that i could do to improve the circulation of oxygen in the tank or to add more?

Edit:Actually looking at them, most of my fish seem to be hanging out just below the waterline......should i be worried?

First thing I would do right now is check the water quality......

then I would see what the temp of the water is?

How many fish are in the tank and is it all the time there doing this or is it after you feed them or when they want to be feed?

Hiya Peanuts, It's been hot here again hasn't it? My tanks are all sitting at about 84 at the moment because of the room temperature. My Bettas don't mind, but my goldies are slightly more sluggish, I'm just keeping a close eye on mine at the moment because the temperature is set to drop when the weather changes in the next few days. You could try moving the output of the filter even closer to the water surface to cause more surface aggitation? I always keep a close eye on the cycle when the temps rise because it can knock out some of the beneficial bacteria if its prolonged

Yep you'll want to tell all the info about your tank & fish! Size of tank, no. of fish, type of filters & stuff. Anything you can think of that might help to figure out the problem!

I have a similar problem going on. I was advised by a fish vet to try PraziPro. That it is a safe thing to add to the whole tank......kills off body flukes, internal parasites & worms.....all kinds of stuff! She said it could only help the affected fish AND the tank mates. She thinks those micro eckies can help cause that gulping air thing!

I don't know about this product but it sounds like a good idea. I think I am going to give it a try! I looked it up on the internet & it seems like a safe product!

Thanks guys, Moll has stopped her lapping,
I think it was mostly brought on by the heat (which has started to settle now) but i removed the lid the day after posting above and all fish seem ok
But last night after work I found Molly floating belly up at the top of the tank. She seemed to be ok with this as she was able to right herself when i came into the room and peas quickly sorted her out...but still.....I always seem to freak when my fish seem off

So here goes with the tanks history and params (it’s so easy when you keep a Tank Diary)

I have 4 Fancy goldies (Chirs lionhead 10mths, Alan Blackmoor 10mths, Molly Pearlscale 6mths, Jeremy Oranda 4mths) all ranging from 6-2inch. They all live in a 40-43 uk gal tank, which i first set up on 8th April 2006. Tank was running with a cycled Fluval 3+ until 18th April where i added a Fluval 305 Canister (this gave me the 10x filtration). I also have a Terta 50 air pump running on a 12ich air stone which really doesn't pump out that many bubbles.

I did water changes most days and all param looked ok. Until about June 15th when the params held steady and i started to decrease the amount of water changes i did until I finally got to 1 a week.

Also of not is that on June 2nd I added gravel to the tank and June 24th I removed all gravel after Molly got one stuck in her throat. I feed Tetra Japan gold sinking sticks, hikari lionhead mini sinking pellets, peas and home grown baby lettuce

And as of today params are as follows: -

Ammonia = 0ppm
NitrAte = 0pmm
NitrIte = 0ppm
PH = 7.4
Temp 25c

I'm actually starting to wonder if something is wrong with my test kit, I've had it for about a year; do they usually have use before dates? (I think taking a cup of tank water to my local LFS is order)

Yes Im alittle worried, I know tanks can be 0 with nitrates but this is rare..... Yes all test kits have use before this date because of the chems can go stale if not used in the right time...

Thanks koko, i'm definitely off to the LFS tomorrow to find out more. It's really strange cos up until a few weeks ago it was still showing some readings. But for the past few tests all was zero.

Thanks koko, i'm definitely off to the LFS tomorrow to find out more. It's really strange cos up until a few weeks ago it was still showing some readings. But for the past few tests all was zero.

Edit: Sorry about the double post my comp went funny

I keep my tanks at between 25 and 27C (depending on the room temperature affecting the tank), and even in the tank that's most crowded the fish all seem to be fine, so I don't think it's the temperature.

Koko may be right about the test kits and water quality as a 0 reading for nitrates in an established tank is unusual.

If they are hanging just below the surface and not actually gulping air, it could very well be a need for oxygen as it's richer up near the few centimetres just below the surface. But the cause could also be nitrites or a pH swing. The key to oxygenating water is to get that oxygen-richer top layer of water down to the bottom and the oxygen-poor water below up to the surface where it can absorb oxygen. Bubble wands and airstones actually help oxygenate the water not really by agitating the surface, but by pulling the lower water up to the surface with the air bubble current they create which in turn pushes the O2 rich surface water sideways and then down. In a sort of circular current fashion. So the trick is to get that circular current happening - push the surface water down and pull the lower water up to the surface.

It's easier to pull the lower water up, so I actually have my canister filter outflows at the bottom of the tank pointing straight up at the surface (using an upside down U-tube), pulling the lower water up with it.

(Edited for poor spelling from trying to type too fast and not checking it first!)