breathing heavy

Discussion in 'Tropical Fish' started by nemo1991, Jun 23, 2008.

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  1. nemo1991

    nemo1991 Millepora

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    well for the past couple weeks, both my tangs and all my clown fish have been breathing REALLY heavy like their gills that been going crazy..........i have lost a bunch of fish to ich the past couple weeks (powder blue tang, black saddleback butterfly, etc)......and i need to do something.....does the breathing have anything to do with that possibley???

    i just put garlic in my magic bullet and it made the garlic into a paste (SP?) so then i put like 2 parts fish food to the garlic and fed them and they seemed to go crazy....but the only fish who dont have visible signes of ich are the 2 chromis' and the tangs....the tangs are the only fish that get cleaned by the shrimp....sometimes the female saddle back does too but the little guy never did (past :( )


    any help here?
    what am i doing wrong?
     
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  3. wareagle35031

    wareagle35031 Bubble Tip Anemone

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    what are your parameters, unhealthy fish usually fall ill to ick, not healthy ones
     
  4. nemo1991

    nemo1991 Millepora

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    i have had a spike in the last week or so.....the amonia is at .25, nitrates are at 20 again, and nitrites are at 0..........
     
  5. nemo1991

    nemo1991 Millepora

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    now my male false perc is not looking good at all,.....he is swimming really closely to the sand, and stops swimming at times, adn then starts again.....i am feeding with teh garlic, but idk what to do....i was almost going to fresh water dip him.....but i was told he already sounds stressed out enough that it would only kill him.....aaww everything is really bad right now!!! help!!!
     
  6. Iraf

    Iraf Snowflake Eel

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    sounds like something kicked off a cycle to me
     
  7. geekdafied

    geekdafied 3reef Sponsor

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    how old is your tank? whats the size of it?
     
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  9. nemo1991

    nemo1991 Millepora

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    55 gallons........its like 5 months old or so, but all the water and rock and sand was from an established tank (2 years old)
     
  10. coral reefer

    coral reefer Giant Squid

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    It seems to me that their is too much carbon dioxide in your tank and not enough dissolved oxygen causing your fish labored breathing! That coinsiding with the fact that your fish may be stressed, are responsible for this dilemma.
     
  11. phoenixhieghts

    phoenixhieghts Panda Puffer

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    Thats a good one - do you do anything to oxygenate the water? Perhaps a pump and airstone is in order here
     
  12. nemo1991

    nemo1991 Millepora

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    i have a filter that when it drops tot eh water it brings in oxygen, and i have a skimmer that brings in oxygen.....i have air pumps, should i put those in there?