Fish breathing heavy

[Perkthemacha]

I Have a blue tang and a green bird wrasse breathing very heavy. I suspect the blue tang has got flukes as it keep on swim against the current and dash towards the rocks. Now the wrasse is lying on the ground and blue tang hiding in rock breathing heavy. i dont have any medication ready. What should i do?

 

[Jekyl]

Sorry for your issues and that a reply took a while. Can you please post some clear white light photos of the fish and a short video? Here is a post that gives the relevant information that we need to help.

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Sharkbait19]

As said, a video (linked through YouTube) will help with diagnosis.
Are these new fish? How recently were they and/or the most recent addition added?
Swimming into the flow with fast breathing usually indicates velvet. For that, you need to treat all fish in qt with copper.

 

[Perkthemacha]

Sorry for your issues and that a reply took a while. Can you please post some clear white light photos of the fish and a short video? Here is a post that gives the relevant information that we need to help.

Some Helpful Hints When Posting or Responding to Threads in the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Section

Aquarium Fish Disease Problem Solving Determining the best course of action for a problem with your aquarium can be a difficult task. Even advanced aquarists will often need to seek the help of others for complicated or unique issues. Our intent here on Reef 2 Reef is to offer expert advice...

www.reef2reef.com

I Have a 300 gallon fish only tank. I have had a blue tang, a vlamingii tang for like a year. On january, i got a bird wrasse and 2 weeks ago i got a squirrelfish. I already notice my blue tang have something like flukes before i got the bird wrasse and squirrelfish. Last week, i added a stingray.

The blue tang has been dashing into the ground and the rock but i didnt worry much as he is quite healthy. 2 days ago, i noticed my blue tang started hiding and doesnt come out until i added food in the tank, whereas the bird wrasse swimming around but not eating anything. Last time the wrasse was quite fast with the food but now not touching it. Now the bird wrasse is lying on the ground breathing heavily and the blue tang hiding in the rocks.

I recently set up a quarantine tub and i managed to scoop up the bird wrasse but not the blue tang as he is hiding. I havent added medication in the tub but will try to ask for any good ones before buying. I planned to transfer all of my fish including the ray into the quarantine tub for a month in order for the flukes or any worm to die off. What do you guys think about it?

I saw three brands which treats flukes or internal fungal. Seachem paraguard, Hikari prazipro and Eiho prazigold. I think my lfs has only paraguard and prazigold. Which one is the best in killing the flukes and can allow the stingray to survive.

Attached below is the wrasse in the tub.

Any answer is greatly appreciated

 

[Jekyl]

Given your situation this might be an easier plan for you. However this only will treat if the condition is in fact flukes or ich. Must follow procedure to the letter though and can be done without use of a quarantine tank. My only concern is with the stingray as I'm not knowledgeable enough with them.

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2021 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Jekyl]

@Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Given your situation this might be an easier plan for you. However this only will treat if the condition is in fact flukes or ich. Must follow procedure to the letter though and can be done without use of a quarantine tank. My only concern is with the stingray as I'm not knowledgeable enough with them.

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2021 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

Stingrays don't tolerate full hyposalinity very well.

 

[Perkthemacha]

Stingrays don't tolerate full hyposalinity very well.

So i can move all the fish to the tub and do a hyposalinity on the tank?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So i can move all the fish to the tub and do a hyposalinity on the tank?

I'm not sure I understand - do you mean running hyposalinity in the tub with the fish? You can do that, but you'll need to manage the ammonia really well. That typically means doing a bio filter transfer of some sort.

 

[Perkthemacha]

I'm not sure I understand - do you mean running hyposalinity in the tub with the fish? You can do that, but you'll need to manage the ammonia really well. That typically means doing a bio filter transfer of some sort.

No just separating the fish and let the main tank run without a fish.

Bad news is today the whole fish is covered in white film and i think is velvet. Blue tang also died.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

No just separating the fish and let the main tank run without a fish.

Bad news is today the whole fish is covered in white film and i think is velvet. Blue tang also died.

True Velvet is fairly rare. The primary symptom is rapid breathing, not eating and hovering in water currents, with some fish dying before ever showing skin changes.

Velvet does not respond to hyposalinity though, neither does brooklynella (that disease does show as a white film on the fish).

 

[Perkthemacha]

True Velvet is fairly rare. The primary symptom is rapid breathing, not eating and hovering in water currents, with some fish dying before ever showing skin changes.

Velvet does not respond to hyposalinity though, neither does brooklynella (that disease does show as a white film on the fish).

So when i took out the blue tang, it was covered in a white film. I also notices a round hole at his left gill. What caused this hole

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So when i took out the blue tang, it was covered in a white film. I also notices a round hole at his left gill. What caused this hole

The hole in the skin can be from bacteria. The cloudy skin is tough for me to see on a dead fish.

What fish are left?
Are they showing symptoms?
Can you post a video?

 

[Perkthemacha]

The hole in the skin can be from bacteria. The cloudy skin is tough for me to see on a dead fish.

What fish are left?
Are they showing symptoms?
Can you post a video?

Theres still a squirrelfish and a vlamingii in the tank. I already moved the squirrelfish to the tub but not the vlamingii as it is too fast to catch. The squirrelfish has cloudy eyes. The vlamingii doesnt show anything on its body but now its still scraching against the rock and hiding. I will post a video later as its too much reflection on the tank.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Theres still a squirrelfish and a vlamingii in the tank. I already moved the squirrelfish to the tub but not the vlamingii as it is too fast to catch. The squirrelfish has cloudy eyes. The vlamingii doesnt show anything on its body but now its still scraching against the rock and hiding. I will post a video later as its too much reflection on the tank.

It wasn't clear to me - with the presumed flukes, have you begun any treatments? If you can't catch the fish, you can buy some time with a prazi treatment.

 

[Perkthemacha]

So at first I thought it was flukes, i didnt have the medicine to cure it so i will wait until the next day to buy it but when i saw the blue tang move very weirdly i decided the move it to the quarantine and saw it has a white film on it. After a few hours it passed. So with the white film present i now think that it is velvet.

I had begun some treatment on the quarantine. Its a 70litres tub and i added 5ml of cupramine into it yesterday according to the ratio 250ml treats 5000litres. But when i tested it today with a saliferr copper test kit, it shows that the colour is transparent which meant 0 copper level or little to none.

Attached pictures below are the blue wrasse which also died last night.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

3.5 ml of cupramine should have given you a full dose of 0.50 ppm according to the Seachem chart. Does your tub have any calcium based material in it (sand or rock)? That will absorb copper from the water. The other possibility is a faulty test kit.

The discoloration of the wrasses face is not a symptom of velvet or flukes. Was it like that before the fish died? If so, that may be a bacterial disease.

 

[Perkthemacha]

3.5 ml of cupramine should have given you a full dose of 0.50 ppm according to the Seachem chart. Does your tub have any calcium based material in it (sand or rock)? That will absorb copper from the water. The other possibility is a faulty test kit.

The discoloration of the wrasses face is not a symptom of velvet or flukes. Was it like that before the fish died? If so, that may be a bacterial disease.

Nope, the tub is empty. It only have 2 air stone inside pumping air out.

As for the wrasse, when it is in the tub the face discoloured into this type of colour.

I think it is faulty. It expires on this month.