HELPPPP!!! Please my lion fish is dying.. I think

[papisgirlamanda]

So... I have a 55 gallon aquarium and I've had it for 4 months... I have some damsels a shrimp clown fish and dog face puffer as well as a goby... Yesterday he was just fine.. When I woke up he would not eat and was in the corner breathing hard (he still is) his skin is also shedding and he looks very sad... All the other fish seem to be fine...I checked my water today they said it was all bad.. So I did a 15 gal water change and added a whole bottle of bacteria as they suggested.. I am new and love my lion fish and will give up the hobby if he dies... I feed him freeze dried krill(was feeding him frozen dead fish but it disgusted me keeping them in my freezer so I switched to something could deal with) pleaseeeeeeeeeee HELP Frank And let me know if he will snap out of it!!!!!!:cry::cry::cry::cry:

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Papisgirlamanda http:///t/391276/helpppp-please-my-lion-fish-is-dying-i-think#post_3469087
So... I have a 55 gallon aquarium and I've had it for 4 months... I have some damsels a shrimp clown fish and dog face puffer as well as a goby... Yesterday he was just fine.. When I woke up he would not eat and was in the corner breathing hard (he still is) his skin is also shedding and he looks very sad... All the other fish seem to be fine...I checked my water today they said it was all bad.. So I did a 15 gal water change and added a whole bottle of bacteria as they suggested.. I am new and love my lion fish and will give up the hobby if he dies... I feed him freeze dried krill(was feeding him frozen dead fish but it disgusted me keeping them in my freezer so I switched to something could deal with) pleaseeeeeeeeeee HELP Frank And let me know if he will snap out of it!!!!!!

Welcome to the site,
I'm sorry to hear about your problems. You have bigger issues than I can really help with and by posting and bringing this back to the top, I hope somebody will chime in.
First...age has nothing to do with if a tank is cycled. Nothing happens until you add life into the tank to introduce ammonia. When you say your water is all bad doesn't help. We need the test result readings.
Breathing hard is a sign of a fish exposed to ammonia. A 55g tank is way too small to house a dogface puffer a minimum 100g tank is recomended for that fish...it can grow to 13 inches.
Damsels are evil fish and too mean to be with a lionfish. It does not matter if YOU like the food....the fish need it. I don't know what lionfish eat except they like live food and need to be taught to eat frozen. I just find it bazaar that you select the fish food according to your demands instead of the fish. Most of us do a great deal of research to know what is the best food for our pets.
If you are going to get out of the hobby because a fish dies...well, fish die....you are in the wrong hobby. None of us want our fish to die, but eventually it happens to us all.

 

[mr. limpid]

Like flower says need to the numbers on the water prams. And a picture of the fish. Is it a puffer or a lion? Lion should not be feed Krill, this will cause liver problems. Also a 4 month old tank should not have that many fish in, bio over load. One word of advise slow down take your time add one fish ever month. Like flower say's research the fish you want, not all fish will live long and happy lives in a 55 gal tank. This is a hobby to enjoy, if you have fish dying it can't be enjoyable. Please way all the advise given, because truly people are just trying to help.

 

[saxman]

Sounds like a heavy bioload for a 55 unless all of your fish are small.
What species of puffer and lionfish are you referring to? Puffers and lions often make poor tankmates as puffers can't seem to keep their mouths off of lionfishes' long, pretty fins.
Since your fish is gilling and shedding its cuticle, it sounds like it's infested with either flukes or ******. Cuticle shedding is normal, however, excessive cuticle shedding is the fish's attempt to rid itself of ectoparasites. If it were ammonia poisoning, I suspect all of your fish would be affected. Labored breathing isn't always associated with ammonia poisoning.
Does the fish have spots? Look at its median and caudal fins to see them the easiest.
How long have you had the lionfish, and did you QT it? If so, for how long?
What are your water parameters? (temp, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates as a minimum, and "fine" is not the answer we need to see to help you diagnose your troubles).
As for krill, ESPECIALLY freeze-dried krill, as mentioned that's about as poor of a diet as you can feed your fish. Even worse, krill has been linked to lockjaw in many predatory species, esp. lionfish. Additionally, many fish refuse to take any other foods once they becom "hooked" on "fish crack" (as FD krill is often referred to).
A couple of pics of your fish's condition would be very helpful here...
If you're really serious about keeping a lionfish, I highly recommend giving our lionfish care article a read: http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml
I also recommend taking a peek at our weaning article: http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml which will give you a lot of info on weaning your fish and the types of foods you should consider.
If you need them, we also have an article on understanding and treating ****** (ich) as well as a QT article...just LMK if you'd like links.

 

[raina55]

thats sad, my clownfish dead a lot at the begining of keeping my tank