mouth breathig

[tycomps]

been noticing more and more carp and sunfish mouth breathing lately.

[lunkertaker]

What do ya think...not enough O2 in the water?

Carp are notorious for this. I have seen so many in too many lakes in NJ and over the South (TN, Ga, NC) jumping all over. An extra breath, not enough O2 in the water, or just in their nature to jump?

My theory is dissolved O2 in combination with temperature contribute to this. As the temps in the water heats up, more O2 is lost from the water unless it is well oxygenated via well flowing and mixed water. A water fall, or other source of water mixing with air will better oxygenate the water than still water that absorbs smaller quantities of O2. Lower levels of dissolved O2 in the water and the fish need to find alternative O2 sources. A chemists perspective.