Heavy breathing

acomps · 2026-07-09T18:40:34-0400

Hello I just got a scribbled angel fish and blue face angel. For the first few days they were breathing fine and eating fine. Now on day 5 the scribbled is breathing heavy. He is still eating though. It’s hard to tell from the video but if you can tell. I just introduced them to coppersafe after i saw the breathing issue with ruby rally pro at the same time. Any suggestions or is this the right way? Fully cycled qt tank with new water. No ammonia etc

acomps · 2026-07-09T18:42:12-0400

acomps said:
Hello I just got a scribbled angel fish and blue face angel. For the first few days they were breathing fine and eating fine. Now on day 5 the scribbled is breathing heavy. He is still eating though. It’s hard to tell from the video but if you can tell. I just introduced them to coppersafe after i saw the breathing issue with ruby rally pro at the same time. Any suggestions or is this the right way? Fully cycled qt tank with new water. No ammonia etc

He is scared of my phone otherwise he is swimming normal and out and about.

vetteguy53081 · 2026-07-09T18:46:14-0400

acomps said:
Hello I just got a scribbled angel fish and blue face angel. For the first few days they were breathing fine and eating fine. Now on day 5 the scribbled is breathing heavy. He is still eating though. It’s hard to tell from the video but if you can tell. I just introduced them to coppersafe after i saw the breathing issue with ruby rally pro at the same time. Any suggestions or is this the right way? Fully cycled qt tank with new water. No ammonia etc

Unfortunately, these videos were of little help. Will need glass clear and lighting brighter to clearly see fish
I noticed the heavy breathing and see milky water and debris on the bottom suggesting possible elevated ammonia along with a need for vacuuming of tank bottom and 20-25% water change
Test ammonia with a reliable test kit.
How are you testing water and are you treating tank with any medication? Ruby Rally while safe does not address ich of flukes and suggested would be coppersafe at 2.25ppm

vetteguy53081 · 2026-07-09T18:47:02-0400

acomps said:
He is scared of my phone otherwise he is swimming normal and out and about.

Suggested is to leave phone stationary such as a tripod and walk away as they will be less spooked

acomps · 2026-07-09T20:57:54-0400

vetteguy53081 said:
Suggested is to leave phone stationary such as a tripod and walk away as they will be less spooked

I will try that. I used an ammonia test kit. Tank is fully cycled with new water so I know that’s not the issue. I’ll just stay the course with copper. I will try and get a better video. The tank is clean I just vacuumed it today it might be a slight amount of sand.

Jay Hemdal · 2026-07-09T20:59:38-0400

acomps said:
Hello I just got a scribbled angel fish and blue face angel. For the first few days they were breathing fine and eating fine. Now on day 5 the scribbled is breathing heavy. He is still eating though. It’s hard to tell from the video but if you can tell. I just introduced them to coppersafe after i saw the breathing issue with ruby rally pro at the same time. Any suggestions or is this the right way? Fully cycled qt tank with new water. No ammonia etc

What is the coppersafe level?

I’d up the aeration to help for the time being.

You may need to dose praziquantel for flukes while running copper. I try to avoid that, but scribblers are prone to flukes.

vetteguy53081 · 2026-07-09T21:32:41-0400

acomps said:
I will try that. I used an ammonia test kit. Tank is fully cycled with new water so I know that’s not the issue. I’ll just stay the course with copper. I will try and get a better video. The tank is clean I just vacuumed it today it might be a slight amount of sand.

What type/brand ammonia test kit?
Coppersafe or cupramine and at what level PPM and how are you testing copper level ?

acomps · 2026-07-09T22:24:37-0400

vetteguy53081 said:
What type/brand ammonia test kit?
Coppersafe or cupramine and at what level PPM and how are you testing copper level ?

API test kit for ammonia. Copper safe I am ramping up. Probably 1.8 now. Will get to 2.25 as suggested tomorrow. Will try prazi in a bit too.

vetteguy53081 · 2026-07-09T22:47:23-0400

acomps said:
API test kit for ammonia. Copper safe I am ramping up. Probably 1.8 now. Will get to 2.25 as suggested tomorrow. Will try prazi in a bit too.

A few concerns here..... API is known for false readings and perhaps the worse kit you can use. I suggest Hanna or salifert brand especially with need for accuracy with type of fish you have. Ramping allows a given disease to take hold of the fish- get to level 2.25ppm ASAP and use Hanna brand copper test to monitor level

acomps · 2026-07-10T07:29:08-0400

vetteguy53081 said:
A few concerns here..... API is known for false readings and perhaps the worse kit you can use. I suggest Hanna or salifert brand especially with need for accuracy with type of fish you have. Ramping allows a given disease to take hold of the fish- get to level 2.25ppm ASAP and use Hanna brand copper test to monitor level

Ok I’ll get Hanna ammonia kit. It is still a cycled tank with new water. I’ll get it up to 2.25 asap. Thanks for your help as always gentleman

acomps · 2026-07-10T10:22:32-0400

Ok here are better pictures and videos. Copper is up to 2.25. My concern with the breathing is the redness on the mouth. Again eating fine and swimming fine. Could this be bacterial? Stay the course? I have copper along with ruby reef pro. Thank you

Jay Hemdal · 2026-07-10T12:31:23-0400

acomps said:
Ok here are better pictures and videos. Copper is up to 2.25. My concern with the breathing is the redness on the mouth. Again eating fine and swimming fine. Could this be bacterial? Stay the course? I have copper along with ruby reef pro. Thank you

I'm really surprised to see it eating so well - I've had adults of this species develop mouth injuries that looked like this and they would stop feeding....still, take what you can get I suppose!

The red mouth is not a symptom of flukes, nor of protozoan infection. It's either an injury, or an injury with an associated bacterial infection. I can't tell you if the rapid breathing is a symptom of that or not.

I would discontinue the Rally Pro. You might consider dosing with Kanaplex, but be careful of any subsequent ammonia rise.

acomps · 2026-07-10T13:24:06-0400

Jay Hemdal said:
I'm really surprised to see it eating so well - I've had adults of this species develop mouth injuries that looked like this and they would stop feeding....still, take what you can get I suppose!

The red mouth is not a symptom of flukes, nor of protozoan infection. It's either an injury, or an injury with an associated bacterial infection. I can't tell you if the rapid breathing is a symptom of that or not.

I would discontinue the Rally Pro. You might consider dosing with Kanaplex, but be careful of any subsequent ammonia rise.

Will do with the kanaplex. Do I still do copper and kanaplex at the same time? Or just the kanaplex until the issue is resolved