Longnose hawkfish not eating and barely moving

GHOSTLY · 2026-10-16T20:10:44-0400

Since hes been introduced 2 months ago hes been perfectly fine but since yesterday around 8pm I noticed he hadn't moved and is breathing super heavy. He's constantly been resting and completely lethargic. All my other fish are fine and eating but He's going downhill super quick. Anyone know what could be happening?

fishguy242 · 2026-10-16T20:24:50-0400

Have you seen it eat ? what ? please post a 30 sec video of breathing under white lighting
#fishmedic

GHOSTLY · 2026-10-16T20:32:23-0400

fishguy242 said:
Have you seen it eat ? what ? please post a 30 sec video of breathing under white lighting
#fishmedic

I just tried feeding and it hasn't. Just happened last night but prior to that he was fine. Ive ruled out parameter swings and stray voltage

fishguy242 · 2026-10-16T20:40:32-0400

fishguy242 said:
Have you seen it eat ? what ? please post a 30 sec video of breathing under white lighting
#fishmedic

You didn't answer my questions .

GHOSTLY said:
I just tried feeding and it hasn't. Just happened last night but prior to that he was fine. Ive ruled out parameter swings and stray voltage

GHOSTLY · 2026-10-16T20:49:47-0400

fishguy242 said:
You didn't answer my questions .

It hasn't ate since this happened. I feed mystis, pellets, brine, and occasionally thin chopped krill as dessert. Usually for him its mystis

Fish Fan · 2026-10-16T21:04:23-0400

I can't personally make out much from the video, but I see you report that this fish is breathing heavily. Did you add any new livestock additions recently?

Jay Hemdal · 2026-10-16T21:04:54-0400

GHOSTLY said:
It hasn't ate since this happened. I feed mystis, pellets, brine, and occasionally thin chopped krill as dessert. Usually for him its mystis

The video isn’t clear enough to see any detail. Water quality issues affect all fish to some degree, and stray voltage is a red herring, it won’t cause this.

A strike injury from hitting something can cause this, but so can some diseases.

GHOSTLY · 2026-10-16T21:26:39-0400

Fish Fan said:
I can't personally make out much from the video, but I see you report that this fish is breathing heavily. Did you add any new livestock additions recently?

He was the newest addition apart from 1 coral that I got from the same tank he was from.

Jay Hemdal said:
The video isn’t clear enough to see any detail. Water quality issues affect all fish to some degree, and stray voltage is a red herring, it won’t cause this.

A strike injury from hitting something can cause this, but so can some diseases.

I did get a new wavemaker but I have it wrapped in foam and he was exhibiting symptoms before. He's moved a little bit within the last 24h. Hes currently on a small rock but he's showing the same behavior

Jay Hemdal · 2026-10-16T21:46:18-0400

GHOSTLY said:
He was the newest addition apart from 1 coral that I got from the same tank he was from.

I did get a new wavemaker but I have it wrapped in foam and he was exhibiting symptoms before. He's moved a little bit within the last 24h. Hes currently on a small rock but he's showing the same behavior

The issue with disease is that although they often show up in one fish first, they generally spread. The most common disease that causes rapid breathing and not eating is velvet. However, I would expect other fish to be affected by now.

That doesn’t leave much to go on. Can you try for a clearer video? However, I’m going offline for the night, and the way the fish looks, it may not make it until morning…..

mcarroll · 2026-10-16T23:03:15-0400

Guessing too, but IMO he's been bonked and trying to recover like Jay surmised.

Didn't seem like breathing was that off in the vid to me, but it's not the greatest angle to see that.

GHOSTLY · 2026-10-16T23:56:26-0400

mcarroll said:
Guessing too, but IMO he's been bonked and trying to recover like Jay surmised.

Didn't seem like breathing was that off in the vid to me, but it's not the greatest angle to see that.

Jay Hemdal said:
The issue with disease is that although they often show up in one fish first, they generally spread. The most common disease that causes rapid breathing and not eating is velvet. However, I would expect other fish to be affected by now.

That doesn’t leave much to go on. Can you try for a clearer video? However, I’m going offline for the night, and the way the fish looks, it may not make it until morning…..

Luckily he moved to a spot closer but looking from the body i dont see any injuries