fish breathing heavily in QT

[kevsqn]

my fish has been breathing heavily since this morning in qt with 0.5 cupramine.
they seem lethargic too.
fishes are yellow tang, 2 clownfish, pt
they have been in there for 3 weeks already no problem.
no signs of white spot or any other skin problems.
just the heavy breathing.
but last night i spray insecticide around the house.
could this be the problem of them heavy breathing?
are there any other reasons theyre like this?
the ammonia badge is reading 0.

so i transferred them to another tank and they seem to be doing better.
while theyre at another tank, i did 100% water change in their previous qt.
gonna transfer them back later.
im gonna have to start again with my copper.

 

[Brew12]

my fish has been breathing heavily since this morning in qt with 0.5 cupramine.
they seem lethargic too.
fishes are yellow tang, 2 clownfish, pt
they have been in there for 3 weeks already no problem.
no signs of white spot or any other skin problems.
just the heavy breathing.
but last night i spray insecticide around the house.
could this be the problem of them heavy breathing?
are there any other reasons theyre like this?
the ammonia badge is reading 0.

so i transferred them to another tank and they seem to be doing better.
while theyre at another tank, i did 100% water change in their previous qt.
gonna transfer them back later.
im gonna have to start again with my copper.

Just to make sure I understand this correctly. You have had them in copper for 3 weeks already and moved them into a new and clean QT, correct?

If so you do not have to restart the copper. If you need to move them into the old QT system you can disinfect it, let it dry, and set it back up. The only reason to start copper again would be if you think you had ich/velvet in the tank you just put them into.

The insecticide could cause a problem, but I'm not sure. That is typically more harmful to inverts and microfauna.

 

[ngoodermuth]

I agree ^

Did you have an ammonia badge in the previous QT?

 

[Swoody]

Almost all insecticides say to cover aquariums in the labeling and if you are running an airstone that pump will just push the airborne residuals into the tank!!

 

[melypr1985]

the insecticide would definitely have an effect on the fish and cause heavy breathing. Was it sprayed inside the house or only on the outside? Brew is correct though, that if you transferred the fish to a new, sterile QT that was at least 10 feet away from the original then you don't have to restart copper.... assuming that the copper stayed at therapeutic levels the entire time.