should I be worried?

[MrsPuffs]

I bought a clown fish from the LFS today, got it home and noticed that it was breathing rather fast. Its mouth was open a little bit also. There does not seem to be anything else wrong with it. Should I be worried? I tested my water and everything tests good.

Thanks

 

[zoomfish1]

It could be normal stress if it was healthy at the LFS. Did you see it eat?

By evertything tests good, could you post the results. Maybe that could give us a clue.

 

[MrsPuffs]

sure

Ph- 8.2
Ammonia-0 ppm
Nitrite- 0 ppm
Nitrate- 5.0 ppm
sg 1.022

I did test the water that was in the bag from the pet store. their PH was really low and the nitrates were off the chart. It didnt looks stressed at the pet store though.

I tryed to feed it, it would not eat.

 

[sperry]

How did you acclimate it? Maybe it was just stressed by changing water quality. Keep an eye on it but will prob be ok.

 

[MrsPuffs]

I acclimated by setting the bag in the tank for 5 min. then every min for 5 more min I added one cup of my tank water to the bag. Waited a few more min and then gently scooped it out and let it loose in my tank. Then threw away the water in the bag.

 

[InvaderJim]

How long exactly did you acclimate it?

 

[MrsPuffs]

It was a total of about 15 min.

 

[InvaderJim]

Ouch. You should have floated the bag in the tank for at least 15 min to match temps, then acclimate for an hour. Your clown is probably really stressed out right now because of the rapid change. I'd try turning the lights out if they aren't already so that it can rest some.

 

[MrsPuffs]

I turned out the lights as soon as I seen its mouth open and moving. I watched it for a while to see what it would do in the dark and it quicky found a rock and hid behind it. It is still behind the rock where there is very soft water movement. It does not seem to be having any trouble swimming or anything thing else except its breathing is fast. Is there anything else I should do for it now or just leave it alone untill morning and check on it then?

 

[InvaderJim]

How's it doing?

 

[MrsPuffs]

Woke up this morning and He seems to be doing fine. least I think its a "he". No more rapid breathing. He is swimming around the tank like hes confused. He still wont eat.

 

[Sk8r]

'He" will be a he until there is another clownfish. Then "he" will become a "she" and become quite territorial.

Safest for your tank to quarantine your new fish in a separate, bare tank for a couple of weeks at least. Conditions you describe at your lfs are brutal, and ich is very likely. If your fish is qt'd, he won't transmit ich to your tank and kill everybody else.

Do not offer food more than once or twice a day. Ask your fish store what they were feeding, and offer that. Frozen mysis is good for tempting a reluctant eater. So is a tiny, tiny piece of a raw shrimp from your grocery store. But do not feed your fish more than will fit into his mouth for one big bite.

Also---your nitrate is still higher than it ought to be. Not too bad for only fish, but lethal for corals. If you are running any filter [instead of live rock] or bioballs or sponge or the like, that can cause nitrate to stay high. HTH.

 

[InvaderJim]

It is common for fish not to eat the first couple days when introduced into a new tank. Just keep trying to feed.

 

[MrsPuffs]

I don't have any corals. I have only a few fish, 5. I have them in a 55 gal. with 80 lbs of live rock and a 3 1/2 in. sand bed. (was 4 in. but the sand settles I guess) I try hard to keep my nitrates as low as I can get them. My goal is 0ppm but I have a hard time keeping it under 7. I do a 15% water change once a week. I change carbon every other week and just rince the carbon on the off week. I use RO/DI water for water changes. My tank is almost a year old. Oh, I also run a skimmer and get about 1/2 cup of skimm every other day. I had been told I was feeding to much so I cut down on that and now feed 1/8th of what I was. If im missing something that could help lower the nitrates that last little bit, let me know. I have been stumped on that one for a while.
Thanks