Fish breathing quickly

[ryan820]

I came home tonight to find my bicolor blenny breathing quickly and my six line nowhere to be found...I later found him in his cave breathing quickly too. They both look pale but are moving and responsive for now. My two clowns are swimming seemingly fine. The inverts and corals also appear to be fine, open and active.

I tested the water, ph 8.4, salinity 1.024, ammonia and trates and trites undetectable.

Things I've change in the tank....added 7 asteria snails over the weekend. Glued and epoxied (a marine/water variety) a few small frags over the weekend. I replaced a powerhead today.

Any ideas? Afraid my two guys are on their way out but I don't know why and why aren't the clowns affected?

I run 6 t5 bulbs, a skimmer and several power heads and a HOB filter but without the actual filters and use a sock with carbon instead. I can't think of anything else I would have done to the tank that would cause fast breathing in twos of the four fish. I just hope I didn't wake up to two dead fish and two more fast breathing fish.

Hoping you guys can help.

 

[spstimie]

I replaced a powerhead today.

If everything is running fine. Unplug this. Maybe stray voltage.

 

[ryan820]

I have unplugged the powerhead and will remove it this morning. It seems odd that fast breathing is caused by stray voltage but I have no idea what else it co uld be...and why half of the fish are fine but these two are not. I'm still open to suggestions.

 

[lorilynne]

I have a grounding probe you could use.

My only thought was wondering if the glue/epoxy lowered available oxygen, and they are reacting to this... if that is the case, then the powerhead may help a bit (with a grounding probe, just in case)...

A partial water change never hurts...

Is it possible your water temp fell too low? (with all the rain and cooler temps..?)

Do you have an alk test? Another thought is your alkalinity too low (from personal experience...) You are also welcome to swing over and grab my alk tests (api, hanna)

I am working from home this morning -so any time is fine

Lori

 

[saltySamurai]

Ryan - don't know why, but could O2 be low for some reason? I have a 4 part O2 test kit that you can try - it might help rule out O2...

I'm WFH today too...

 

[saltySamurai]

It seems odd that fast breathing is caused by stray voltage

I know that after I brushed against a live 120v line and felt some stray voltage my breathing was a little fast afterwards.... So was my wife's, now that I think about it, and she didn't get any of the stray voltage...

 

[ryan820]

At this point it would seem like anything is possible. I never used the epoxy or glue before so I guess either one could be causing it. What baffles me is that the clowns and inverts are unaffected. Everyone but these two seem like business as usual...though I know that can change!

I will do a water change here soon...still getting the wee one her breakfast. But I have the salt mixing and heating up now.

I don't think the temp is to blame....both thermometers are within a degree of one another and it says 77 right now. Last night it was a bit higher at 78.

I did my standard tests last night and they came up great. I haven't been testing in a while so I was curious if things changed but nope...still good water.

Also, no change in skimmate. So I will do the water change soon and change out the carbon, too.

Lori I'll give you a ring after I do those things... I hate when this stuff happens....bums me out!

 

[ryan820]

Ryan - don't know why, but could O2 be low for some reason? I have a 4 part O2 test kit that you can try - it might help rule out O2...

I'm WFH today too...

Anything is possible, o f course...it's just a strange to have the clowns looking fine. But maybe they react differently to low ox? I can't figure out what has changed...the top of my tank has plenty of ability to exchange gases and there is a fan, too.

I'll hive you a ring too when the water change is done. Thank God for Sesame Street! It's allowing me to get work done while the wee one is entertained!

 

[dv3]

I have unplugged the powerhead and will remove it this morning. It seems odd that fast breathing is caused by stray voltage but I have no idea what else it co uld be...and why half of the fish are fine but these two are not. I'm still open to suggestions.

the fast breathing is just a sign of stress which could be caused by stray voltage or just about anything that stresses the fish

 

[ryan820]

the fast breathing is just a sign of stress which could be caused by stray voltage or just about anything that stresses the fish

Makes sense that it would be stress caused by something like that... So if I turned off the power head last night and they're still struggling, could they still just be recovering or perhaps the stray voyage is coming from something else?

Could be coincidence, but, both fish 'live' near the new power head... The blenny's cave is just under it and the six line hangs out in a larger cave next to it. But I don't want to talk myself into just this one possibility...

Would a water change only worsen the stress? Perhaps I should test first for ox, alk etc?

 

[dv3]

i think you can rule out stray voltage for the ph since you unplugged it but there are so many things that can stress a fish anything i say would be a wild guess ...best to just test everything and try and think of anything else that may have changed recently

 

[ryan820]

Ok....ox level is about 7 ppm for my water, which according to my temp and salinity and the chart the test came with, is right on target.

Alk is 129 ppm but I have no idea if that is good or not. But I think that comes to just over 7 dKH.

Calc is 420.

That's all the tests Ive got....fish still look tom be struggling, but clowns, inverts and corals seem normal.

Maybe my blenny and six line went on a bender last night...

 

[ryan820]

Water change is under way. I have my ATO pump sending in the new water now (it's slow but lessens any shock the tank might face if the water isn't as perfect as I think it is). Fish still look pitiful, the rest look fine.

 

[bsharpe]

Ryan
How are the fish? Did you figure it out?

 

[ryan820]

Ryan
How are the fish? Did you figure it out?

No real improvement. My blenny is still in his cave and I can clearly see he's breathing quickly...at least faster than normal for him. My six line I. Cannot see any more. I saw him moving around a bit in his cave and he had all of his fins flexed like he was showing off for someone but still breathing quickly. The water change is about half way there and non signs of improvements.

I tested the ph in a bucket of water...figuring if there is a stray voltage, I may feel it myself and nothing...operated fine and no shocks. I. Did the same within my other power heads.

I'm at a loss...can't think of anything else new that happened.

I ask the forum this question though...is is possible one of the corals did somethingto the water? Stinging cells, spawning etc that affects fish negatively but perhaps not clowns, since they are generally immune to such things? I have no evidence except for some weird string-like goo in the water but it didn't seem overly excessive and I've seen it passing before. I imagine if there was chem warfare going on, it wo uld be my corals ailing and not the fish.

Still listening to possibilities.

 

[Cake_Boss]

You may not feel the stray voltage in the water depending on your skin. I didn't feel it when my par38 was in the water the first time, when it fell in again (I know, I know) and I reached to get it out, my hand clenched the light uncontrollably. My water was cloudy, corals were secreting slime, and fish hiding. I suggest going to your local Harbor Freight Tools and picking up a $3 multimeter. Use that to accurately test your water.

 

[ryan820]

You may not feel the stray voltage in the water depending on your skin. I didn't feel it when my par38 was in the water the first time, when it fell in again (I know, I know) and I reached to get it out, my hand clenched the light uncontrollably. My water was cloudy, corals were secreting slime, and fish hiding. I suggest going to your local Harbor Freight Tools and picking up a $3 multimeter. Use that to accurately test your water.

Thanks for your input. I never even considered a stray voltage before so I figured I would try to see if I could detect it...guess not. I did move the other power heads around recently so I suppose everyone is suspect though I'm not sure that is the issue. But I have to ask, if there is a stray voltage, would more than just two fish be affected? Corals, inverts etc? The inverts, such as the cleaner shrimp, scour tank so I'd imagine they'd fall victim to the situation, too.

As for the multimeter.... Is that the same thing you use to test if an outlet or wires etc are live? If so I have one of those...I have an old house so I use it a lot due to upgrading!

I'm at work now, so the fish are on their own. I've done what was possible given the time and ideas people gave...so if there is another issue, I know neither what it is nor how to fix it. I did wish them luck, though....that's something... :0(

I should mention, Lori gave me a stray voltage probe that I installed...no idea where to place it but it is in there and is grounded.

 

[lorilynne]

How are they doing?

Seems like your water params aren't the source...(though on a side note, I personally like to see the alk higher...I don't think this is your issue, or that you should change anything until things settle out...)

Anything environmental? New cleaner used in the room, or anything like that?

Maybe they just get nervous being watched. :-> (Okay, lame joke)

I think you have done all you can, and now it is time to have a Margarita (by the way, can I get that green salsa recipe??) and employ the toughest of all hobbyist-traits...patience/time... (of, and of course, keep wishing them luck! That was a great idea!)

 

[ryan820]

No updates yet, as I'm still at work. I asked for updates from the wife but I'm sure Anna has her too busy to do that.

As for cleaners etc... I thought of that but couldn't come up with anything. I even keep my test kits in a different location to prevent any chemicals from getting into the dt. As for house cleaners, I can't be certain but I don't remember using anything out of the ordinary and honestly, we don't use much more beyond simple water to clean most things.

I even thought of maybe I had a toxin on my hands when I fed them, and that is possible but I haven't used anything chemical like such as oils or solvents etc. I'm really at a loss. I've been feeding the same flake food for a few months now and also reef chili a few times a week and on occasion, sinking pellets. I had my arm in the tank a lot this weekend but I always wash my hands and tank arm (I always use my right arm when sticking my arms in the tank so it's my tank arm!).

It isn't easy watching any animal suffer and being powerless to help them. But I feel I've done as much as I could so like you said, time to be patient.

 

[ryan820]

Got home to find my six line and blenny still alive but still breathing quickly. They're color looks a little better than last night, too but they do not look like fish enjoying their evening.

The six line was out and swimming around and even messed with the clowns a bit like he normally does so I take that as a good sign. The blenny also came out of his cave to what we believe was eat a flake or two but I can't be sure as it was so quick.

Still at a loss here...but going to bed...had one of those days where everything seemed to want to be off a little.