Coral Beauty Fast breathing

[lionfissh]

I got a coral beauty 2 days ago and introduced him to the tank (first fish introduced). Acclimated him for about an hour. He seems to be doing ok... hes not too active and hides a lot which i know is normal for a fish in a new aquarium, but he breathes very quickly. I know it could be from ammonia poisening, but i checked ammonia and its at 0, and i have a powerhead pointed right at the surface of the water making pretty large ripples so i know the water is oxygenated.... what else can i do?? I dont wanna lose this guy.

I also have 2 peppermint shrimp, hermits, snails and some crabs in there and they are all doing fine.

[lionfissh]

anyone?? My salinity was pretty high could this cause it??

[JHemdal]

Just a couple of things -

Do you know the specific gravity of the tank the fish came from? Then, how high is "high" in regards to your specific gravity. Many pet stores keep their fish systems low in salt - if yours is really a lot higher, the fish may be literally dehydrated. That can cause rapid breahting, but you would also see that it suddenly looks a lot thinner than it did at the store, its eyes might even be sunken in.

Unless the surface tension of the water is being broken, you may not be driving off enough carbon dioxide - that can also cause a fish to breath rapidly - but you might also see issues with your shrimp as well.

Gill diseases are certainly a possibility....

Finally, I'm not a big fan of coral beauties - especially for new aquariums, they are actually much more delicate than many people realize.


Jay

[lionfissh]

well i have a pump (maxi jet 600) right at the surface of the water, and my sump puts out a ton of bubbles, unfortunately, so i know the water tension was broken, my salinity was BAD... like 1.031 or so... so i got some RO water and added it in, and im pretty sure i did it too fast cause before i started to add the RO water, he was breathing hard and all but he looked ok-ish, after i added the water i could tell he didnt like it too much. About an hour later the changes were obvious as he didnt swim straight and couldnt swim for too long. Could this also be the problem? I know fish dont respond too well to salinity changes, but my shrimp are fine so thats why im not sure. Any help is appreciated as i would like to add a fish this weekend.

[klepto]

Yeh- that is a very high salinity. A big swing like that could defiantly result in the stress your fish is suffering. It was probably housed in a tank with salinity around 1.023-1.026. Pick somewhere close to this range and keep things stable!

what did you bring your salinity to? if you change the salinity again- do it gradually to reduce the stress on your fish and other inhabitants. be sure that you are offsetting evaporation at least 3 times a day (add your RO gradually). mark a line on your sump or use some other indicator so you know exactly where your water level should be...or purchase an auto top off if you arent the type to keep up with topping up your tank.