[puffergirl]

I have a coral banded shark and I think she is dying. She is lying on her side and breathing really hard. I don't know what could be doing that to her. The water is perfect, she's been eating, and the other fish are fine (knock on wood). Help!!!!!

[Frag Hag]

Welcome puffergirl!

Sorry to hear your coral banded shark is ailing!

Probably going to need a bit more information, ie: exact parameters, including ph, temperature, size of tank, how long shark has been in tank, tankmates/any recently added tankmates, etc. (and if possible, pics. we love pics!), before someone can offer a suggestion.

Shay

[puffergirl]

She is in a 140 gallon tank and has been in there for about a year. The water is perfect. The ammonia level is at 0, Nitrite is at 0, Nitrate is at 0, and the ph is 7.8. The water is about 78-80 degrees. She is in ther with a porcupine puffer and two tangs. They have all been in there together for about a year. No newly added fish are in that tank. What is going on??? I didn't think she would make it until this morning. She moved to the other side of the tank and her breathing seems to have slowed down. I don't know if that's a good thing though.

[leebca]

Can you perform a very large water change? If you can, try to change out more than half the water.

What was the shark eating? What did it last eat? How often do you feed the shark?

You've probably racked your brain already, but think about any change that has recently occurred. Are you using the same source water? is that water good?

Although you test for ammonia and nitrite, there are dozens of other things in the water that we don't have test kits for that can affect the health of our marine life, over time.

I'd like to know more about your system -- water turn over per hour, type of filtration, what are you using for a biological filter, additional equipment (skimmer, reactors, filters, etc.)

You say they've been in there for a year? Is that when you acquired the aquarium/system? How long have you had the shark? What is the size of the shark? Has it grown in length and bulk since this last year?

[puffergirl]

Well, she didn't make it. I pulled her out of the tank this morning.

[Frag Hag]

puffergirl,

I'm sorry for your loss. It is so easy to get attached to our finned friends, and it really bites when they die.

Shay

[puffergirl]

Thank you Shay