Clownfish breathing

[ikimonogakari]

Hi all. Been taking care of a tank for about 5 months now. Have a tiger shrimp and watchman goby that’s been doing well for the past month. CUC includes a turbo, conch, 2 Nassarius, 3 astreas, and three hermit crabs. Added a clownfish a week ago and seems to just hang out almost entirely under the arch even after turning off the wave maker. Breathing seems to have increased but I could be wrong. Wondering if anyone could watch the video and let me know if the breathing seems ok or too fast. Parameters in the tank all seem good (fluval Evo). Thanks for everyone’s input!!

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[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hi all. Been taking care of a tank for about 5 months now. Have a tiger shrimp and watchman goby that’s been doing well for the past month. CUC includes a turbo, conch, 2 Nassarius, 3 astreas, and three hermit crabs. Added a clownfish a week ago and seems to just hang out almost entirely under the arch even after turning off the wave maker. Breathing seems to have increased but I could be wrong. Wondering if anyone could watch the video and let me know if the breathing seems ok or too fast. Parameters in the tank all seem good (fluval Evo). Thanks for everyone’s input!!

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Yes, the clown is breathing way too fast. I couldn’t see the watchman if it is also breathing too fast.
There are four main causes for rapid breathing: water quality/oxygen issues, protozoans, gill flukes and bacterial infection. Trouble is, there is no way to tell one cause from another without more clues.
If your water is testing good, then add an air stone or other aeration to see if that helps. My gut feeling though is that this is a protozoan gill disease, and to treat that effectively, you need a treatment tank.

Jay

 

[ikimonogakari]

Yes, the clown is breathing way too fast. I couldn’t see the watchman if it is also breathing too fast.
There are four main causes for rapid breathing: water quality/oxygen issues, protozoans, gill flukes and bacterial infection. Trouble is, there is no way to tell one cause from another without more clues.
If your water is testing good, then add an air stone or other aeration to see if that helps. My gut feeling though is that this is a protozoan gill disease, and to treat that effectively, you need a treatment tank.

Jay

Thank you for the reply. Shrimp and watchman have been in the tank a month and doing well so not sure if perhaps the fish brought it with him from the LFS. Water temp is at 80F and using stock fluval pump to break water on top. Does the water need to be more oxygenated than that? Disease is the only other possibility I can think of too. I don’t see any spots or signs of infection on the clownfish.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you for the reply. Shrimp and watchman have been in the tank a month and doing well so not sure if perhaps the fish brought it with him from the LFS. Water temp is at 80F and using stock fluval pump to break water on top. Does the water need to be more oxygenated than that? Disease is the only other possibility I can think of too. I don’t see any spots or signs of infection on the clownfish.

If there are not enough bubbles being produced, the stock pump may not be producing enough gas exchange. I would add supplemental aeration just to rule that out, but I think you will need to treat this fish - a FW dip to mitigate any flukes, and then coppersafe, in a treatment tank.
With it breathing so fast, you'll need to move fast on this....
Jay