Why is there bubbles around the surface of the tank? I don't have any bettas or male gouramie...?

Question

I have a 10 gallon tank with 3 mollies, 1 FEMALE gourami (I'm getting a male for her this weekend), and 1 cory (I'm getting another 2 for him this weekend, too). I noticed 2 days ago, bubbles started appearing just on the surface fo the water gathering on the edges of tank and filter. I scraped off some yesterday and its back today. My filter is really strong, 150 gallons per hour, but I noticed that when my fish eat, they blow bubbles, a little. Is that the cause of this? Do the fish need a water plant? My filter moves the surface fo the water so I don't know why it wouldn't be aerating the water.

Answer 1

Actually, disrupting the surface water will aerate the tank by increasing the surface area for gaseous exhange.

Little bubbles will naturally appear all the time; not much can be done about it. I have no bubble-blowers in my tank, but I still see the occassional bubble on a filter intake, a powerhead, or along the surface.

If you have more than this, the most likely situation is that you're using a fish food that floats. Your fish are taking in a little bit of air when they eat. They released the bubbles later, and there's no harm in it.

Another option is that you have a deep substrate (more than a couple inches). This creates anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions. Here, bacteria thrive and convert waste in Hydogen Sulfide gas, which then floats to the top of the tank. We can smell hydrogen sulfide in concentrations as low as a few parts per billion (WAY below toxic levels), so take a whiff of your tank. If it smells like rotten eggs, then vacuum the gravel and consider investing in an undergravel filter.

Answer 2

Female gouramis have been known to make bubble nests, but it sounds like your bubbles are dispersed around the edges of the tank and not cluster like a nest would be.  Bubblenesters will blow bubbles when they are happy.  It's fairly common, but they should not remain in the water for a long time unless the water is very soft, or conditions are poor.  

If you have a lot of bubbles that remain on the surface for a long time and don't pop by themselves and it's not a bubblenest, it's usually a sign of deteriorating water conditions.  Not really serious, just means it's time for a water change.  Bubbles gather from the filter disturbing the surface and aerating the water, especially if you have a strong filter or lots of bubblers.  As the water quality goes down they tend to last longer because the water becomes more sticky.  

Sometimes, if you feed foods that tend to disperse in the water and wash up onto the sides of the tank, the fish will learn to blow bubbles to knock the foods down to where they can reach them and eat them.  Cories are especially good at doing this, because they pop up to breathe at the surface anyways.  I believe you had a cory that was coming up to eat at the surface?  Guppies can also learn to copy this behavior from other fish and I'd imagine that mollies can too.

The best way to find out what's going on in your fish tank is to just watch and see.  

Answer 3

It could be proteins but it sounds like you are over oxygenating your tank.   There should be a baffle somewhere on your filter that allows you to adjust the water flow.  Should your filter be equipped with one, turn it down a bit so that you don't have such a torrent of water cycling throughout your tank.  Too much water flow also makes it difficult for fish to eat, whether or not they are top, middle, or bottom feeders.  

Also, I would not add anymore fish to the 10 gallon tank, or you should up-size to a 20 gallon.  Too many fish in a small area create what is called a bio-overload.  The fish will create too much waste for the tank to remain stabilized and "in balance".  Waste includes fish poo, uneaten food, and dead plants.  It would be good for you to learn about setting up new tanks and how to "cycle" the water for a healthy environment.  Tanks that are not cycled, or are overcrowded (which creates an unbalanced tank) are the main reason why fish die.  You will learn about the ammonia - nitrite - nitrate cycle.  This is the most valuable knowledge that you will need to keep fish healthy and alive

Live plants are a wonderful addition to aquariums.  But here again, you will need to research which plants can live in cold or warm water.  How much light exposure they will need, etc.  The internet has tons of information about aquarium plants.  In fact, just type in for search:  Aquarium plants.

Good luck.  

Answer 4

the bubbles on the surface that u have is called ' bubble nest ' usually, gouramies do that. they do that when female is pregnant. but usually, male gourami is the one who makes bubble nest but sometimes, female does too... i guess she was pregnant when she was at where ever u got her from, and preparing for her babies... plz do not scrap them off. they will keep doing it anyway. it's better idea to put a water plant since ur gourami looks pregnant, but u don't have to get a real one. u can buy plastic one from local petstore. when u see her eggs, quickly remove them to other place. or other fishes will eat'em!       hope this helped. also, click the source. it's about bubble nest.

Answer 5

the guy above me is a racist *****

no wonder all the colored people dont like those b*****s from greece

Answer 6

Gourami do make bubbles when time for it to lay eggs. if it is a thick bubbles, that could be made by frog.

Answer 7

Sometimes if fish feed from the top they gulp air with their food and blow bubbles.  Sometimes bubbles can be caused by the cycling of a tank.  Did you just change anything, like a partial water change or the filter?  I wouldn't be too worried.

Answer 8

I mean, maybe there is a build up of chemicals.

Answer 9

Don't be too worried. The bubbles are appearing because when the fish feed from the surface they take in air also. As far as you needing a water plant I would say yes, not because of the bubble situation but it is better for the overall health of your fish. And it looks like your trying to breed them and having plants is a must for breeding any fish.