trying to breath air?

[AquaPython]

what would possess a previously robust, healthy and eating Potters angel 2 weeks in quarantine to overnight start looking stressed and swim at the surface, breaking the surface with it's head like it is trying to breathe air non-stop???

 

[paulamrein]

What kind of flow do you have in the tank? What acclimation did you use? Are you currently treating with anything Hypo, copper etc.?

 

[AquaPython]

no treating at all. the flow is kind of weak, just an emperor 400 biowheel and a small MJ- maybe 400, in a 29 qt tank.
he has been in it happy for 2 weeks now. i was thinking maybe O2 depletion? i did a 5gal water change this morning , so i am hoping he is alive by the time i get home.

 

[paulamrein]

Are you getting surface agitation?

 

[AquaPython]

yes, especially near the emperor.

i have had a number of fish through this tank setup for their QT period.

 

[Recty]

Hmmmm, I think if I had any fish gasping air, I'd be dropping in an airstone real quickly.

Cant hurt to do a bigger water change too, more like 30-40%.

 

[AquaPython]

well, to be clear, it only appeared as if he wanted air, the mouth was not breaking the surface, he was just swimming at the surface, pointed / tilted towards the surface 20-30 degrees, and the forehead area was touching the surface at times.

 

[kevin2000]

If you have reasonable aeration and good water quality .. then the behavior your fish is exhibiting may indicate that he has parasites attacking his gills.

Ich is often evident - salt like spots over his body. Amylo (aka velvet) and brooklynella (aka clownfish disease) are also two diseases that tend to initially attack the gill area but are harder to identify.

Heres a link which discusses various fish diseases - within the link you will see other links showing you how to use copper (for ich or amylo) and formalin for brooklynella.

http://atj.net.au/marineaquaria/fishdiseases.html

Hope this helps.

 

[limitdown]

A few of my fish had velvet and flukes at the same time and they spent quite a bit of time at the surface gasping for air.

 

[AquaPython]

this morning the fish expired. no visible parasites at all.
i attribute it to the LFS. i havent bought a fish from them in a long time because of similar problems. this one was in the store for only a day and looked healthy. i guess i will continue to boycott this store.

 

[paulamrein]

Well, IMHO, LFS really can't be responsible if it was only in the store for only a day, it could be wholesale issue, and really, a lot of stores all over the country buy from them, and ultimately they ALL come from the ocean (except obviously tank bred) so when it comes down to it, it's just bad luck and bad luck was helped by having a notoriously issue-filled fish. Potters are difficult.

 

[IchthyoloChris]

I know this is after the fact, but FWIW, was the biowheel new and /or were any meds added that could wipe out the biological filter? Ammonia / nitrite burn on the gills could cause that behavior. Also, if the tank has a snug lid with the only opening being by the biowheel, I've seen set-ups with HOB filters have their oxygen level bottom out. The addition of an air stone / sponge filter quickly remedied the problem. In those cases, though, it happened within the first 24-48 hrs which doesn't match your situation, but if something temporarily slowed the flow of your biowheel, it's possible this could be a cause. I'd put more stock in the former than the latter, though. Just food for thought.