Starlicki Damsel and Tomini tang rapid breathing in quarantine

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

I received a Starlicki damsel and a Tomini tang from Divers Den on Friday. temp acclimated , matched the QT tank water to their water, and released. Saturday they were out and about and swimming well and eating. I did not take notice of their breathing Saturday. Today they are still eating fine, and for the most part swimming around (if I am not present, I setup a webcam to observe them), but I notice they are both breathing extremely rapidly.

The QT tank is a 20H with an Aquaclear 30. Also I have a sponge filter in one corner and two airstones on the back and side, so I really think I've got more than enough water movement and aeration in the tank. Ammonia tests at 0 on an API kit and shows zero on the ammoalert badge. I put some prime in the water just in case.

Here is a video of their behavior (sorry for vertical, I couldnt get them in view the other way). Around the 20 second mark you can see me put some food in the tank which they go right after. Around 40 seconds I zoom on the tang.

Any ideas? Do I wait this out some? Start Prazipro treatment?

jp_75 · Jul 2, 2017

I am no expert but would give them few days to get used to new space. At least they are eating....Good luck with them!

ebushrow · Jul 2, 2017

Do you have anything in the tank for them to hide in? Looked empty from the video ....Pretty vital part in not stressing new fish out, they need to hide a bit till they get comfortable. Pvc elbows work well.

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

Yea there is some black PVC elbows and a white PVC Tee. They seem to prefer being under that sponge filter though when I'm around. I've seen them move to the elbows on the webcam though.

4FordFamily · Jul 2, 2017

I agree - wait it out a couple days. Also, now that there is prime in the water, do a large water change before adding any medications like copper as it can effectively poison them.

ebushrow · Jul 2, 2017

trmiv said:
Yea there is some black PVC elbows and a white PVC Tee. They seem to prefer being under that sponge filter though when I'm around. I've seen them move to the elbows on the webcam though.

Ok...that's good....fish will always breath hard when stressed and being in s empty box of water would not help.

Since they are not swimming directly into the flow or flashing, just give it a day to see if things settle down....might just be due to acclimation.

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

OK, I'll keep an eye on them and see how they go. They are definitely eating well, so no concerns there.

ebushrow · Jul 2, 2017

trmiv said:
OK, I'll keep an eye on them and see how they go. They are definitely eating well, so no concerns there.

If you have some selcon you could soak the food as a vitamins boost which couldn't hurt.

Humblefish · Jul 2, 2017

I know you said you've already ruled out environmental factors (oxygen, ammonia); but that bio-media and sponge in the corner isn't doing much good unless it's being utilized inside a filter with water running through it.

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

I do not have any. I may order some though.

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

Yea those are extras. I was trying to jam two bio media packs and two sponges in the aquaclear basket and dropped the basket in the tank in the process. So by then the sponge bio media touched the QT water and were thus contaminated, so I wasn't tossing them back in the display. So so for now I dropped the bag in the corner, and stuck the sponge on an uplift air sponge filter, you can see the bubbles rising up the middle there. Also the aquaclear 30 has a sponge and another bio media in it.

Maritimer · Jul 2, 2017

Is there any medication in the tank at this time?

~Bruce

trmiv · Jul 2, 2017

No there are no medications

trmiv · Jul 3, 2017

Breathing on these guys had slowed way down today looking much more normal. Caught them both out and cruising about on the webcam. They promptly hid when I came in the room but eagerly came out to snack on some omega one kelp flakes and the tang is munching on a new life spectrum algaemax wafer.

Debating on getting some selcon. I haven't used it in years as I was never certain it was actually doing anything besides making my skimmer go crazy. I like to feed a variety of foods. In addition to the above I feed Larrys Fish Frenzy, Hikari Spirulina Brine, Hikari Seaweed Extreme pellets, Hikari mega marine frozen, freeze dried California blackworms and green and red seaweed sheets. Worth even picking some up?

Humblefish · Jul 3, 2017

trmiv said:
Debating on getting some selcon. I haven't used it in years as I was never certain it was actually doing anything besides making my skimmer go crazy. I like to feed a variety of foods. In addition to the above I feed Larrys Fish Frenzy, Hikari Spirulina Brine, Hikari Seaweed Extreme pellets, Hikari mega marine frozen, freeze dried California blackworms and green and red seaweed sheets. Worth even picking some up?

IMO; vitamins are never a bad thing to help boost a fish's immune system. I use Selcon, Zoecon, Vita-chem on a pretty regular basis.