# Frontosa still breathing heavy



## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

It has been almost a week now and my Frontosa still continues to breathe heavy
I have placed him in a MED tank and started treating with epsom salt but also treating with METRO as I noticed white string poop from him

The strange thing is that the fish eats. He ate in the regular Tank and also in the MED tank

What could be possibly causing him to be struggling to breathe. It cannot be stress now as he is the only one in the Med tank with lots of hiding spots


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Anybody...the fish looks like he is gasping for air...but seems fine otherwise
He is not at the surface...he is mostly on the bottom swimming from spot to spot....he eats

I am treating with Metro but not sure if this is what treatment it needs


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

plug said:


> Anybody...the fish looks like he is gasping for air...but seems fine otherwise
> He is not at the surface...he is mostly on the bottom swimming from spot to spot....he eats
> 
> I am treating with Metro but not sure if this is what treatment it needs


What is the temperature of the Hospital tank and what kind of filter & water circulation do you have in there?


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## chopsteeks (Jul 23, 2013)

Ph is good ?


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Tank is 10 gallon tank
temp is 78 f
ph is 7.8
filter is an AC 20 
circulation is good

The fish shows the same in the MED tank as it did in the main tank

I moved it to this tank thinking it may have been stressed from the other fish in the main tank but it behaves the same

Always struggling to breathe...but when food is in it actively feeds and seeks out food...

I don't want to lose this fish but am at a loss as to what to do

what causes a fish to breathe that way its gills all open with each breath as well as its mouth opening and closing as it breathes


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

plug said:


> Tank is 10 gallon tank
> temp is 78 f
> ph is 7.8
> filter is an AC 20
> ...


OK, I see from your sig that you know what you are doing so for sure you have the basics covered.
I am wondering if he maybe has a parasitic or bacrerial infection causing him to breathe heavily.
Without any other symptom, its hard to suggest anything assuming that aeration, temperature and water chemistry is good.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Yes I am at a loss as I don;t want to just start throwing all medications at it without knowing for sure

I will continue to do daily 25% water changes and adding the appropriate salt back in

I am not sure if I should continue with the Metro or not

I may continue the Metro treatment for 3 more days and then stop it and also not feed the fish for the next couple of days

Open to any ideas as this is a beautiful fish and don't want to lose it


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

plug said:


> Yes I am at a loss as I don;t want to just start throwing all medications at it without knowing for sure
> 
> I will continue to do daily 25% water changes and adding the appropriate salt back in
> 
> ...


We've all been there, it's very frustrating. Do the best you can and you might as well complete your current Met treatment cycle.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Thanks for the reply

Below are 2 short videos of the fish in question

They are close ups of the fish so maybe someone can recognize something

He was acting the same way in my 125 Gallon Tang tank...he would eat but always look like he is struggling to breathe


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I don't remember if this has been asked before but has this fish acted this way from the 1st day you got him?


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

I dont think so but cannot remember for sure

It was shortly after I had him that I really started to notice, so there is a chance that the fish was like that from the start...

I honestly don't remember

If he was like that from the start I wonder what I should do or is this going to end bad...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I wonder if there is some type of birth defect or something that is not allowing him to breath normally so the rapid breathing is allowing him to have enough oxygen flow to stay alive.

Can you tell if his gills are similar in shape and color to the other Frontosa?


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

Do some research on Gill Flukes.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

I think I will start treating with Prazipro

I really don't see any difference in the gills of this fish as compared to the other fish's gills

Anyone know if prazipro can be used in conjunction with Metro?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

plug said:


> Anyone know if prazipro can be used in conjunction with Metro?


I wouldn't recommend it based on some quick google results.


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Well I am really in a quandary now as to what course to take

Continue with the Metro and Epsom Salts treatments doing daily 25% water changes and readding appropriate metro and epsom doses, or switching to Prazipro

I am at a loss


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

You've been treating for 7-10 days with metro and epsom correct? That's the usual treatment length so, I think you should be good to switch meds. Assuming that the water is relatively new and low in nitrates, you can perform a large water change, keeping the epsom at the same level when adding the new water. Run carbon for ~24 hours. Remove carbon before adding the prazi.
The fish is still eating and defecating normally?
If at the end of the prazi treatment the fish still behaves the same and is readily eating and defecating normally without any other adverse symptoms, I'd leave it as it is and chalk it's behavior up as being unique to this fish.


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## Mudkicker (Apr 2, 2003)

"Part of the host fishes' response is to secrete additional mucus. If there are many flukes, they can damage the gill lamellae, making them swell or even fuse together. A chronically affected fish gasps laboriously, perhaps with one gill closed and not functioning, but it is unlikely to die from gill flukes directly. Chronic infestation may cause the gill covers to stand permanently open, like a door left ajar."
-taken from skepticalaquarist.com-


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

This will be day 5 today of my Metro and Epsom salt treatment
I will continue for 7 days and then on day 8 will do a 50% water change and run some carbon for a day and then day 9 will start the Prazipro treatment

I really appreciate everyone trying to help me save this fish

I will continue to update posts and hopefully am able to save the little guy, and maybe my journey may help someone else who runs into a situation like this


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## plug (Nov 10, 2013)

Unfortunately I found my fish dead today when I came home from work

Too bad I will never know what he died from and what caused his difficulty in breathing

Thanks to all who offered advice and help


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I'm sorry for your loss! It's difficult when you try so hard to get them back to health, lose them and still not know exactly what the problem was.


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