what causes a fish to breath heavily

surferb

surferb

Member
i have a coral beauty that has ich just spotted it today around 3-5 spots and it is breathing rapidly i also have a damsel that is breathing the same but dosn't appear to have ich. does ich make fish breath fast? or is there something else that could be making them do this? my parameters are ammo = 0 nitrite = 0 nitrate = 0 ph = 8.2 spec. grav. = 1.022 temp = 79 - 80
 
sugarfox03

sugarfox03

Member
I have read that low oxygen levels in the water causes them to breathe heavy, but I would think any stressor would cause that also.
 
surferb

surferb

Member
the angelfish is also just swimming into the same corner like he's trying to go through the glass any ideas why? please help
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
How long have you had the fish?
Are they getting enough oxygen? Do you have good circulation and turbulence at the water surface?
 
surferb

surferb

Member
this is the 3rd day i've had him more like 2 though i bought him late fri night. i have 2 maxi jet 900 in a 55 gal i didn't have the tube thing connected but i connected it about 2 hrs ago and i'm lettin some air in about as much as 3 air stones, but he's still doin the same thing. when i opend the valve he came over and checked it out for a sec then went back into the corner and is still swimming into it
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
I don't think you really need to add those tubes to the powerheads. It causes lots of bubbles which doesn't look real nice, and isn't necessary for saltwater tanks. Maybe just point one towards the surface to get a little turbulence. Do you have a protein skimmer, or filter? These will give more air contact with the water, and help oxygen to dissolve in it.
Since you just got the fish, it leads me to believe it could be caused by poor acclimation. How did you acclimate them?
Maybe you could also take a water sample to an LFS to get tested. You might find out one of your tests are inaccurate (just a suggestion), or even the specific gravity is off (I take it you are using a swing hydrometer?).
 
surferb

surferb

Member
lol you know ur a noob when u use a swing hydrometer. and yes i do use one. when i acclimated it i let it sit in the tank for about 10 minutes then opened the bag and slowly added water from my tank over about 10 - 15 which totaled about 3 cups of my tank water then let it sit another 5 - 10 min and scooped him out and added him. i don't do the drip thing 1. b/c i'm a noob 2. i'm young and can't afford all the fancy stuff / don't have the time i've found my way to be quite effective but what do i know
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
drip acclimation is easy and cheap all it cost is a section of airline tubing that has a knot at the end of it to regulate the water drips. and some kind of bucket for them to go into while they are getting acclimated. nothing fancy needed.
as far as why they are breathing hard it could be any number of things ich that you have, stress from getting moved and honestly acclimated alittle to fast in my opinion, water condtions.
what are your water parameters sitting at? OPPS I just saw they are in your post ;-)
Mike
 
darknes

darknes

Active Member
Ok, I don't think you have a problem with lack of oxygen.
Since you use a swing hydrometer, I would suggest having an LFS test a sample of your water since those things can be off. (And if they test it with a hydrometer as well, go somewhere else
)
Do you have any inverts? They would usually be the first to show signs if your salinity level is off.
 
surferb

surferb

Member
peppermint shrimp but only have had him 1 day and he seems fine he's just hiding in a crevice he found peekin out every now and then
 
surferb

surferb

Member
i saw someone above me with thing about salt being to high and there fish was panting so i guess too high causes that but my coral beauty still is in the corner damsel seems to be doing better
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
the CB you said had ich spots on him right them that could be the culprit combined with the SG of the water. both can cause this.
Mike
 
surferb

surferb

Member
do u think he'll make it through tomorrow? this is the first day he has done it and all the fish places near here are closed or would close be the time i got to it.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
hard to say. but I would be leary of a fish place that will sell a sick fish to you to start with.. was he acting right when you picked him out?
Mike
 
surferb

surferb

Member
when i bought him he was acting fine and didn't have any ich that i could see i checked him out before buying him. and all yesterday he swam around the tank peeping in and out of the live rock. and then this morning when i turned the lights on he went into the left back corner and has been trying to swim through it all day
 
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