rapid breathing - suddenly

[iwishtofish]

My flame angel suddenly started breathing extremely rapidly last night. My SPS, LPS, and soft corals all look OK, as does my diamond goby and hermits.

I lost one of my two coral banded shrimp the other day, and I've been having astrea snails drop here and there recently also.

Only change I've made to my tank recently is beginning to dose pure alk, but I've been making changes to my dKH slowly. Just checked ammonia (zero) and nitrates have also been zero. pH has been holding steady at 8.2. I believe my water is adequately oxygenated via my overflow, HOB, sump, and small protein skimmer.

I'm worried about the flame angel. He seems a bit disoriented. I've had him for almost a year.

Anyone have other ideas as to what I should check?

Thanks!

 

[mrongi1]

Stop dosing would be the first thing. What are you dosing with? Are you dissolving in R/O water before adding? Are you pouring in over the course of the day or adding all at once? Most likely your dosing is causing immediate pH changes which is scorching the gills of your fish and killing your inverts. The pH changes will return to normal after a little while, but the immediate effect can be dramatic. Never put dry chemicals directly into your tank or even your sump.

 

[iwishtofish]

Not good news! I have been mixing sodium bicarbonate with a small cup of RO water, and pouring it in slowly over about 1/2 hour. The instructions said to dose 1/2 tsp per 25 gallons.

I will stop dosing until I find a safer way to do it, and I guess not worry about the dKH as long as it doesn't drop below 7 (which it hasn't, yet).

Thanks for the heads up, mrongi1! I hope my fish can recover, and that my other shrimp survives.

 

[SaltyMember]

How often are you dosing the sodium bicarbonate? That is a small amount and you are dosing it fairly gradually. I would not think that would be too dramatic a shock. But, if you are doing it multiple times a day then I could see it causing a problem.

 

[iwishtofish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12537172#post12537172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SaltyMember
How often are you dosing the sodium bicarbonate? That is a small amount and you are dosing it fairly gradually. I would not think that would be too dramatic a shock. But, if you are doing it multiple times a day then I could see it causing a problem.

SaltyMember, at one point I was dosing every other day to keep the dKH up. Sometimes less frequently. Last night was the first time I saw a negative reaction from my fish.

Today the flame angel is acting a little more normally - picking at the rocks, etc - but still breathing rapidly.

 

[mrongi1]

In a 29g it can be a problem. In my experience with my nano, dosing 1/3 to 1/2 is the better option. So in your case, add 1/4 teaspoon to your top off water and add slowly over at least an hr, rig up a little container with a hole so it dips in. Repeat this ever day until the desired levels are reached. Once alk level is reached, dosing should be switched to a maintenance dose which will be much lower. Then you can mix a larger container which will be a weaker solution and just remove the amount needed for each day. But don't chase numbers. See what your tank inhabitants like best and keep your levels at that.

 

[iwishtofish]

Thanks, mrongi. I'll slow down and try your methods. I find I'm having no trouble keeping my Ca up, but my alk seems to insist on dropping at a steady rate. I have noticed, though, that my pH seems to stay more stable since I started dosing alk.

 

[iwishtofish]

Well, it is a couple days later now, and my flame angel is still breathing just as rapidly. He also is not going after food with the same zeal as usual.

I am wondering if anyone has had a fish recover from gill injury due to pH spikes. Is this something that can heal?