Bicolor blenny breathing extremely heavy

[jadedog]

My bicolor blenny is always out swimming and perching well I just got home from work and I couldn't locate him at all. I went to feed all my other fish and he finally came out he didn't eat and he has his full stress stripes on and he is breathing extremely heavy. I have 3 other fish that are acting normal. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at him before he retreated back into the rocks. I do see his head sticking out and hes breathing super heavy. What should I do at this point? I imagine it will be extremely difficult removing him. Should I give it more time? Im pretty concerned he didn't look good. I will attempt to get a better look to see if I can spot any disease but hes not coming out of the rocks. Should I wait or try to get him into a quarantine? I've checked ammonia and its 0. All fish in my tank have been quarantined in copper power. Just looking for any advice he looked totally normal last night am i jumping the gun? I will update with pics/videos if he comes out of the rocks.

 

[BonnieB]

@vetteguy53081 @Jay Hemdal can either of you help?

 

[vetteguy53081]

My bicolor blenny is always out swimming and perching well I just got home from work and I couldn't locate him at all. I went to feed all my other fish and he finally came out he didn't eat and he has his full stress stripes on and he is breathing extremely heavy. I have 3 other fish that are acting normal. Unfortunately I didn't get the best look at him before he retreated back into the rocks. I do see his head sticking out and hes breathing super heavy. What should I do at this point? I imagine it will be extremely difficult removing him. Should I give it more time? Im pretty concerned he didn't look good. I will attempt to get a better look to see if I can spot any disease but hes not coming out of the rocks. Should I wait or try to get him into a quarantine? I've checked ammonia and its 0. All fish in my tank have been quarantined in copper power. Just looking for any advice he looked totally normal last night am i jumping the gun? I will update with pics/videos if he comes out of the rocks.

How are you testing ammonia?
While I dont believe its related to water, but rather stress or intimidation, Add an air stone
Also please post a 30 second video under white light intensity, no blue and look for any skin damage or issues as well as no torn fins

 

[jadedog]

I will absolutely post a video when I find him as of now I cannot locate him in the tank. It's a 60gallon with a return pump and two ai neros 5 and a skimmer so I doubt oxygen is a issue do you still recommend adding the airstone? As for fish theres two clowns and a bangai cardinal and I've yet to seen aggression from any of them. My ammonia test kit is API I know it sucks but that's all I got on hand and I did the test twice. I will look for torn fins and lesions when I can locate him.

 

[MnFish1]

I would try to catch the fish. if possible you can use a fish trap. Part of my answer depends on how fast is 'super fast' and is there anything new in the tank recently not quarantined. As already said it's unlikely to be ammonia or O2 if all of the other fish are fine. If stress - there should be something new in the tank causing it?

 

[MnFish1]

I will absolutely post a video when I find him as of now I cannot locate him in the tank. It's a 60gallon with a return pump and two ai neros 5 and a skimmer so I doubt oxygen is a issue do you still recommend adding the airstone? As for fish theres two clowns and a bangai cardinal and I've yet to seen aggression from any of them. My ammonia test kit is API I know it sucks but that's all I got on hand and I did the test twice. I will look for torn fins and lesions when I can locate him.

PS - just saw this - I would guess that the clowns may be scaring it if they are marking territory to breed, etc - and aggression is not always seen when you're standing in front of the tank. However, Usually In my experience, all fish will at least try to come out for feeding - so whether it's a disease or aggression - it makes sense to isolate the fish.

 

[jadedog]

I would try to catch the fish. if possible you can use a fish trap. Part of my answer depends on how fast is 'super fast' and is there anything new in the tank recently not quarantined. As already said it's unlikely to be ammonia or O2 if all of the other fish are fine. If stress - there should be something new in the tank causing it?

I did order a batch of snails I've been quaratining in a 10gal. I did take 4 of the turbo snails out of quaratine early because I was scared of spiking ammonia because there huge which I know is dumb but I wasn't properly prepared. I have seen my cleaner shrimp go after my blenny numerous amount of times on the rocks but that's about it for aggression.

 

[jadedog]

PS - just saw this - I would guess that the clowns may be scaring it if they are marking territory to breed, etc - and aggression is not always seen when you're standing in front of the tank. However, Usually In my experience, all fish will at least try to come out for feeding - so whether it's a disease or aggression - it makes sense to isolate the fish.

Maybe this can be it? My blenny always swims into the corner of the clowns but I've never seen them nip at him. Maybe they finally did? Im gonna try to observe for the night I will probably have to rip all the rocks apart unfortunately to get him out but I will if needed.

 

[jadedog]

Also can I look for him with a flashlight in the rocks or will I just further stress him? The lights dont turn off until 10pm in my tank

 

[BryanM]

Maybe this can be it? My blenny always swims into the corner of the clowns but I've never seen them nip at him. Maybe they finally did? Im gonna try to observe for the night I will probably have to rip all the rocks apart unfortunately to get him out but I will if needed.

Vetteguy's recommendation, but I will repost it, is to take your cell phone, set it up to video the camera, and walk away for 30 minutes. Come back, collect it, and review the footage. The fish know when we're watching :)

Could do this during feeding as well, might catch someone being a jerk.

As for tearing apart the rock, I feel for ya. I had to do that months ago to rehome two fish. Totally sucks.

 

[jadedog]

Vetteguy's recommendation, but I will repost it, is to take your cell phone, set it up to video the camera, and walk away for 30 minutes. Come back, collect it, and review the footage. The fish know when we're watching :)

Could do this during feeding as well, might catch someone being a jerk.

As for tearing apart the rock, I feel for ya. I had to do that months ago to rehome two fish. Totally sucks.

Ok i will definitely do this I've always thought I've gotten lucky with my clowns because they have been so peaceful but maybe I was wrong. They've been together for a couple months now to but I guess things can happen if this is the case.

 

[jadedog]

This video kinda sucks but if you look close you can see the rapid breathing

 

[jadedog]

This video kinda sucks but if you look close you can see the rapid breathing

 

[vetteguy53081]

Also can I look for him with a flashlight in the rocks or will I just further stress him? The lights dont turn off until 10pm in my tank

Yes, and doo not try to catch him as it will stress the fish out even more

 

[MnFish1]

I would just say - if you don't catch him and he is not eating - and he is being stressed by the clowns - he might find a new place - he might be killed. If it's an illness (unlikely) in my mind those are 2 reasons to consider removing the fish. However - your plan of waiting overnight makes sense - it's not an emergency to do it.

 

[MnFish1]

PS - I cannot see the video - it would be nice if you could upload it via YouTube. Thanks. Let us know when you find him

 

[MnFish1]

PPS - just a reminder - if fish are being stressed/chased, they often jump - and end up on the floor - just making sure you have some kind of lid in place.

 

[jadedog]

I would just say - if you don't catch him and he is not eating - and he is being stressed by the clowns - he might find a new place - he might be killed. If it's an illness (unlikely) in my mind those are 2 reasons to consider removing the fish. However - your plan of waiting overnight makes sense - it's not an emergency to do it.

Can fish change behavior suddenly? I've always seen the bicolor blenny swim into the clowns corner and hover peacefully with no retaliation from the clowns. Its been this way for two months my bicolor kinda runs the tank. Its also very lightly stocked. It also makes me wonder because my bangai cardinal is always in my clowns corner without any problems. I've never seen my clowns nip at any fish but I guess it could happen when I'm not around. When I get a chance I'll upload the video to YouTube

 

[MnFish1]

Yes - behavior can change suddenly. Additionally some of the smaller fish do not have extremely long life expectancies. Bicolor angels can also be an issue. However, you are correct it's not all that common for little fish to be beaten up in my experience - mainly because they have multiple places to escape. If your cardinal is still with the clowns - it maybe drops aggression down a notch - but sometimes it's fish specific.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Can fish change behavior suddenly? I've always seen the bicolor blenny swim into the clowns corner and hover peacefully with no retaliation from the clowns. Its been this way for two months my bicolor kinda runs the tank. Its also very lightly stocked. It also makes me wonder because my bangai cardinal is always in my clowns corner without any problems. I've never seen my clowns nip at any fish but I guess it could happen when I'm not around. When I get a chance I'll upload the video to YouTube

Clowns are the devil's child. To see if this is truly occurring, Next time you go to feed tank, set your cell phone on video mode for about 30 mins and drop a little food and walk away - YOU MUST walk away as they know youre there. Often the aggressor is a bully at feeding time.
Review the video and see if there is an aggressor