I've got a 40-gallon breeder tank with three air stones running off one pump, and my fish seem stressed lately. They're darting around more than usual. I'm wondering if the constant bubbling is actually hurting them or if there's something else going on. Should I remove some of the air stones?
Too much aeration itself isn't usually the culprit - fish actually need oxygen and won't stress from bubbles alone. The darting behavior you're seeing is more likely caused by something else, like a water quality issue (ammonia spike, pH shift), temperature swing, or an aggressor in the tank. I'd check your parameters first before touching the air stones. That said, if one pump is running three stones simultaneously, make sure each stone is getting decent flow and none are clogged, since weak aeration can leave dead spots where waste builds up.
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