Help me identify this rock please?

[Fahmy]

Hi everyone,

I'm very very new, and i think i'm making a lot of mistakes along the way. anyway, i recently bought this rock at a lfs. I've boiled it 3 times, and i then placed it into my freshwater tank.

My fishes immediately swam to the surface and started gasping (thats what it looks like?). I left it there for 20 minutes, yet the fishes never stopped gasping at the surface. So i did a 50% water change after removing the rock.

What is this rock?!

[IMG][/IMG]

[AQMS]

I believe it is red lava rock.
They are volcanic, not limestone based, so they wont have much effect on the pH.
The lava rock is red due to the iron in it.

What type of fishes do have in your tank?
What is your set up like?

[Fahmy]

Well, like i said, i'm really new, so currently i only have a few guppies and mollies, since i heard they were quite hardy.

I've got a 3 ft tank that i bought second hand, and i did the nitrogen cycle for 2 weeks, so these fishes have been inside for 2 weeks (after the 2 weeks of cycling). When i bought the tank, it had this built-in overflow, so i don't know how to put in the gravel (cos the water flows through the overflow from the bottom of the partition). Hence my tank is currently very very bare.

What i would really aim to achieve is a planted tank, perhaps some java moss and java fern in the beginning would be awesome.

and thanks for identifying it. i guess i'll just put it in and hope nothing happens.

[mincedmeat]

Just give it a good wash and the tank should do fine with the rock in it.

[wongce]

Hi Ts, fish gasping for air due to lack of oxygen most of the time. Do you aerate your tank?

Lava rock is one of the safest rock for aquarium. Unless its contaminated, i doubt i can harm your hardy fish....

[AQMS]

How is your tank now?
Fish still gasping at the surface?

[Fahmy]

quite high aeration. i transferred them to another tank. i just checked my nitrite. its at 1ppm. >< a few died before i figured i should go buy a test kit.