Clown fish in qt breathing hard.

[Medmondsii]

I just purchased a couple of days ago. 2 young storm clown fish from lfs. They are in quarantine now. I want to know if the fish is okay. The has been a salfin tang in the same qt tank for 2 weeks now. It seems that one of the clown fish is breathing hard. I'm doing a 1st dose of prazipro now. https://youtube.com/shorts/BrsOmnLwp-0?feature=share
Here is a yt link for video.
Let me know if you have any input on what you see. Or do I do a water change until the clown fish look better.

Thanks

 

[blaxsun]

#fishmedic

 

[SlugSnorter]

I just purchased a couple of days ago. 2 young storm clown fish from lfs. They are in quarantine now. I want to know if the fish is okay. The has been a salfin tang in the same qt tank for 2 weeks now. It seems that one of the clown fish is breathing hard. I'm doing a 1st dose of prazipro now. https://youtube.com/shorts/BrsOmnLwp-0?feature=share
Here is a yt link for video.
Let me know if you have any input on what you see. Or do I do a water change until the clown fish look better.

Thanks

don't add any medication yet, we need a description of symptoms. Itching, not eating, etc.

prazi treats flukes

Clowns are prone to brook.

params?

Bullying?

 

[Sharkbait19]

Does it ever get up to swim?
Something definitely looks wrong. Hard to say what.
You can try a freshwater dip to alleviate symptoms or see if any flukes fall off. At this stage it may not survive a fw dip.

 

[threebuoys]

Difficult to get a breathe count, have you tried?

The one that is swimming in and out of the video appears to have red mouth and gills. Is that what you see?

The one sitting on the floor isn't moving very much, but I can see his gills moving.

I can't open the video in full screen for some reason so hard to zoom in for a better look.

If the one has red mouth and gills, you should double check your ammonia levels just to be safe, even though the QT has been running for two weeks.

Have you treated the sailfin with copper or just prazi? Do you have reason to suspect flukes or are you just being pre-emptive?

 

[Medmondsii]

I just use an old API kit to test for parameters. Looks l nh3 and nitrite are off the charts. Way too high.. not sure the kit are bad or if it real reading. Any way. I will hit the tank with some prime. Then later on do a 95% water change..

Also get a new API kit for test water parameters.

 

[Medmondsii]

Difficult to get a breathe count, have you tried?

The one that is swimming in and out of the video appears to have red mouth and gills. Is that what you see?

The one sitting on the floor isn't moving very much, but I can see his gills moving.

I can't open the video in full screen for some reason so hard to zoom in for a better look.

If the one has red mouth and gills, you should double check your ammonia levels just to be safe, even though the QT has been running for two weeks.

Have you treated the sailfin with copper or just prazi? Do you have reason to suspect flukes or are you just being pre-emptive?

This is normal qt regiment. I'm gonna put a new video up to get a closer looks for.

 

[Sharkbait19]

If getting a new test kit, might as well go for Salifert or better. Api can be pretty inaccurate.

Ammonia poisoning makes sense here. Water change and prime will help.

 

[Medmondsii]

Does it ever get up to swim?
Something definitely looks wrong. Hard to say what.
You can try a freshwater dip to alleviate symptoms or see if any flukes fall off. At this stage it may not survive a fw dip.

I did see him swim for a bit.. but he mostly just stay at the bottom like you see there..

 

[threebuoys]

I suggest you try a different test kit. API kits can be difficult to use properly often resulting in false readings. I agree that Salifert would be a better choice.
As far as QT regimen, our standard protocol begins with Copper and finishes with prazi. You didn't mention copper, hence my earlier question.

 

[Medmondsii]

don't add any medication yet, we need a description of symptoms. Itching, not eating, etc.

prazi treats flukes

Clowns are prone to brook.

params?

Bullying?

No bullying in this tank.. I just did some water testing. With API.. nh3 and nitrite. All seemed really high. But it's a old test kit. I will get new one today.
In the mean while I will use prime and the do a 90% water change today.

 

[Medmondsii]

Here is new video of the tank.. I hope he able to make it..

 

[Sharkbait19]

Clowns are tough - I’ve seen fish bounce back from some pretty bad situations.

 

[threebuoys]

Both clowns and the sailfin appear to be breathing very rapidly. Water spots on the glass make it difficult to assess the sailfin's skin. Do you see any spots or dust on him? Rapid breathing can be a sign of velvet, but I'm still concerned that the issue may be the ammonia is too high in the tank. The more active clown still appears to me to have a reddish mouth and gills.

 

[Medmondsii]

Both clowns and the sailfin appear to be breathing very rapidly. Water spots on the glass make it difficult to assess the sailfin's skin. Do you see any spots or dust on him? Rapid breathing can be a sign of velvet, but I'm still concerned that the issue may be the ammonia is too high in the tank. The more active clown still appears to me to have a reddish mouth and gills.

I believe you are right.. I will do a 50% water change right now..to help out. I'm making some fresh saltwater now also..should ready tomorrow. I'm gonna get a new API test new to and give water parameters.

 

[Medmondsii]

Here another video after doing 50% water change

 

[threebuoys]

If it is ammonia, the gills were likely damaged and it may take some time for them to heal. Let's keep our fingers crossed this was the problem and you caught it early enough.

If you see any signs of parasites on the skin, with the rapid breathing, the possibility of velvet still exists. The coloration of the clownfish make it very difficult to discern that. Also sloughing mucus from the skin could be an indicator to help diagnose, potentially brooklynella.

 

[Medmondsii]

Both clowns and the sailfin appear to be breathing very rapidly. Water spots on the glass make it difficult to assess the sailfin's skin. Do you see any spots or dust on him? Rapid breathing can be a sign of velvet, but I'm still concerned that the issue may be the ammonia is too high in the tank. The more active clown still appears to me to have a reddish mouth and gills.

I don't see any spot on him at all.. the salfin seem to eat seaweed. But he does hide when the lights are on. About the reddish around the gills. Since they are in quarantine, what medication can I use for healing? I would like to start 30 day copper soon as possible. But for now I will keep doing daily 5 gal water change on this 10 gal tank until fish are acting normal.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Hiding from light can be associated with velvet. Also could just be stress.
Copper will treat for velvet and ich, but I wouldn’t start that until you can rule out ammonia. Copper can be deadly if mixed with prime (or pretty much any chemical).
Clean water and good diet are #1 for healing injured fish.

 

[Medmondsii]

Just bought an API nh3 tester seems like the ammonia is alright. But but I can't believe that nitrite are this high...
What should I do?
Looks like the API nitrite expire 02/2026..should I get a new one to confirm?
Will prime help this out?
This is after a 50% water change.
Should do another water change and retest?

Please help!!!