Flame Dead.. Fish Breathing Heavy.. HELP!

[ChrisN87]

The flame angel is dead. All the other fish are breathing heavy.

Nitrite 0.50-
pH 8.0-
Ammonia- 0.25
I am doing a HUGE water change. Think I could save them?
Spotted Puffer.Burssa Trigger.Tomato Clownfish.Velvet Damsel.....

Uhhhhhhhh

[ChrisN87]

Someone said they might be gasping for air because one is at the surface gasping. I took the venturi system from a powerhead, and laid it outside the tank...

[Elmo18]

ChrisN87,

How long have you had the tank setup before adding the two fish??
I saw your post on feeding flame angel and bursa trigger, too. Did you just get these two fish ??

When the flame died, you should haev looked at his scales to see if there was any white spots, or anything abnormal on the skin. If this is a fish only system, and there is white spot, treat it immediately.

Fish breathe heavily because there is not enough oxygen. The most common of this is if the fish is laying on its side on the BOTTOM of the tank, and breathing heavily. Usually they don't have enough energy to stay up there on the top.

My flame did that when I first put him in. He would lay down under a cave on his side, and breathe heavily. After I turn the lights on for about 2 hours, he is back to normal and never seen him do it again.

Please keep us updated. Any other signs of parasites?? I'm very sorry for your loss.

Regards,
Ilham

[Rin]

ChrisN87,

The water change is a good idea. You need to figure out why your ammonia spiked. We also need more information about your tank. The software update on reefland has destroyed all the old profiles.

Size, Setup, How long, etc.

Breathing heavy means that the fish are not getting enough oxygen or they are stressed--ie, fear. Parasites on the gills can cause this, improper aeration can, too. A sudden die off of algae or flatworms or something similiar can also depleat a tank of oxygen.

Do you use a sump? Do you use a power filter? Very rarely, a power filter can get a buildup of deadly bacteria that are detrimental to the fish.

Did you recently medicate with an antibiotic?

Is the equipment working fine? Do you use a grounding probe?

Did you put fertilizer down in your yard and the go into the tank without cleaning up?

Do you use fabric softener on your clothes?

Etc, etc...

[ChrisN87]

All the fish are fine.
I have a powerhead moving the surface of the tank. Before it was smooth as glass.

I couldn't really see the flame. My hermits chewed him up after he died.

Thanks!!!
Chris Noonan