Mandarin acting strange and breathing heavily through gills and mouth

[BirdFish5000]

Tank is 4 years old; very heavy pod population
Mandarin is just about 2 years old, has been growing rapidly since I got her two years ago, and is quite fat.

Today at feeding time, I noticed she was just sitting in one spot on the sand, breathing heavily through her gills and her mouth. Every now and then she'd quickly dart to a new spot, and sometimes swim up and down the back wall. This struck me as very odd because usually she is just calmly scooting along the sand and rocks, pecking away at pods constantly.

I was able to, with some effort (cue yakkity sax music), get her netted out and gave her a methylene blue bath. She tolerated that just fine. I put her back into the tank in an isolation box, both for easier observation and just in case I need to get her out again.

I have attached both a photo of her, and a video of how she's breathing. Would greatly appreciate advice on what you folks think might be going on.

 

[BirdFish5000]

I should note that all of the other fish in the tank are behaving 100% normally.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Mandarin May be approaching life expectancy . Has it been losing its appetite a few weeks?
Any skin blemishes developing?

I should note that all of the other fish in the tank are behaving 100% normally.

 

[BirdFish5000]

Two and a half years is not approaching lifespan for a mandarin. No appetite loss; has been eating very well every day until today.

No visible skin blemishes.

 

[Jekyl]

Two and a half years is not approaching lifespan for a mandarin. No appetite loss; has been eating very well every day until today.

No visible skin blemishes.

Any new additions or chance of aggression?

 

[BirdFish5000]

No new fish in a few years; no new corals in three plus months. I do have a starry blenny that has shown aggression to a firefish, but I haven't <seen> aggression toward the mandarin.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Tank is 4 years old; very heavy pod population
Mandarin is just about 2 years old, has been growing rapidly since I got her two years ago, and is quite fat.

Today at feeding time, I noticed she was just sitting in one spot on the sand, breathing heavily through her gills and her mouth. Every now and then she'd quickly dart to a new spot, and sometimes swim up and down the back wall. This struck me as very odd because usually she is just calmly scooting along the sand and rocks, pecking away at pods constantly.

I was able to, with some effort (cue yakkity sax music), get her netted out and gave her a methylene blue bath. She tolerated that just fine. I put her back into the tank in an isolation box, both for easier observation and just in case I need to get her out again.

I have attached both a photo of her, and a video of how she's breathing. Would greatly appreciate advice on what you folks think might be going on.

Sorry, the video is really out of focus. I could see the breathing rate (way too fast) but nothing else regarding its body condition. I just got the sense that it is pretty small/slightly built for a two year old mandarin - was it a Biota tank raised one that started off small?

The rapid breathing is either an indication of gill disease or a systemic problem - which could be a whole bunch of things. I wouldn't expect the methylene blue dip to do anything but provide a bit of relief during the dip itself.

You could try a hydrogen peroxide dip, that would give temporary relief if it is bacterial or protozoan in nature, but I can't say how the fish will tolerate that, depends on how weak it is. The dip would be for 30 minutes, 150ppm hydrogen peroxide dip (in saltwater). The dose of 3% hydrogen peroxide is 19 ml per gallon of tank water in the dip bucket. If the fish survives, and then improves in a day or so, you can pretty much conclude that it is an infection and then you can decide to move the fish to a treatment tank and address it more thoroughly. If no improvement is seen, the issue is more likely systemic and internal, and there really isn't anything you can do about that.

Jay

 

[BirdFish5000]

Yeah, my apologies for the lack of focus, the camera just wouldn't correct itself.

Yes, this is a mandarin; arrived to me at about 1/2" in size - <tiny>. She is definitely quite fat, though she isn't very long.

I appreciate the advice, and I will let you know how it goes.

 

[BirdFish5000]

Meant to say this is a Biota* mandarin up there, but I'm sure you understood that.

I just finished her minute h2o2 dip. She was sedate for most of it, but she started getting very stressed, darting around and breathing very heavy at the 25 minute mark, so I put her back in her in-tank isolation box at that point.

I'll update either as changes happen, or tomorrow, depending.

 

[BirdFish5000]

Well, unfortunately I found her passed away this morning. I appreciate you folks trying to help.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Very sorry to hear.

Just watch the remaining fish's respiration rates very closely over the next two weeks, just to ensure that this was not an contagious issue (I doubt it was, but you want to be careful).

Jay

 

[BirdFish5000]

I certainly will. Thank you for trying to help, Jay.