# Fish "gasping" for air



## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

I have a 150 gallon tank willed with all male haps/peacocks/synodontis. I noticed that one of the new fish I bought a couple of months ago (maybe Protomelas Ornatus, though I could be mixing the ID up with something else) was just hanging out in a corner "gasping" for air. Occassionally he will move open and close his mouth rapidly, almost as if he is eating something. I don't see any outward signs of damage or disease and I haven't seen him bullied in any way. He doesn't hang out at the surface but usually will just stay in the corner of the tank away from the crowd. I have seen him flair his fins up sometimes, which isn't out of the ordinary. I will admit that my nitrates were high when I noticed due to my schedule interfering with cleaning the tank, probably about 40+ ppm. I have done two water changes over the last two days and my readings today are:

Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 10 ppm
PH: 8
Temp: 82

None of the other fish are showing any issues and its all business as usual. Last night all the fish ate except for the sick one. Any ideas other than maintaining clean water and hope he pulls through?

Here is the best picture I could get on my phone this morning:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Sometimes getting water too clean to fast will cause a reaction in fish...even death. That's one possibility. If that's the case he should be fine in a couple of days.

What is the total GPH of your filters? Low oxygenation would cause him to gasp at the surface, but it's worth checking into.


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## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

The gasping was actually happening before I changed the water and was what prompted my daily changes. To be honest I am not sure how much actually GPH I have in the tank, I have a sump setup with a magdrive 9.5. The thing is that he isn't gasping at the surface, he is just hanging out at mid level constantly opening and closing his mouth, other than the odd case where he all of a sudden does it really rapidly almost like he was eating or something.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Still could be the change in the water.

Google tells me magdrive 9.5 is 950 GPH. That's about 6X turnover for your tank, which is adequate but some people like as much as 10X. How much surface disruption do you have? You can tell if it is oxygenation by adding a spare filter for a day and seeing if things improve.

Otherwise, in the absence of other symptoms we have no clues. Monitor and see what happens.


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## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

OK. Just to be on the safe side I repositioned the return jets to get some more surface agitation in case that is the problem. I guess time will tell. If I see any other symptoms then I will report back.


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## apollo240 (May 16, 2013)

Im kind of confused. Dont all fish open and close their mouths a little when swimming? Im new btw


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

A little, but when they look like they are gulping it and struggling there is a problem.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Gasping for air can also indicate an overly stressed fish.

Although it does sound like the water changes are in order, have you noticed any aggression towards this fish in particular?


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## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

I have never seen any aggression towards this fish and no nipped fins or damage as far as I can tell. Honestly, it seems like all the other fish couldn't care less about this one, but I do realize that just because I don't see it doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I tried to take a quick video of him to make sure there isn't some indicator that I am missing, but all that results in is him flaring his fins and swimming away, although always against the back wall and not among the other fish. I did notice him hang out at the surface gasping briefly last night, but since then he has always been about mid level in the tank but still exhibiting the same behavior.


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## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

I actually had another thought. I have a second all male tank that is 75 gallons and overall those fish are much less aggressive than any of the fish I have in the 150. Would it be worth it to try and net this one out of the 150 and move tanks to see if it is an aggression/stress issue? Or would the stress of moving tanks be too much of a risk for him in this current state?

Thanks for the advice.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

If you are going to net him I'd put him in the hospital tank alone, not in a new tank which would increase his stress. Also unless you are adding a bunch of fish at the same time, they would probably pick on him anyway. Plus if he DOES have a disease you would have exposed both tanks.


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## Funagi Wasabi (Oct 15, 2012)

I thought I would post a quick update. A day or two after I posted I noticed a trail of stringy white poop, so my first thought was to treat the tank with Metronidazole. I have treated per the manufacturers instructions and have seen some improvement, but the improvement has now stalled. The fish no longer gasps and no longer hides in the back of the tank. However, when it comes time for feeding he will try and eat and spit the food back out, which I know isn't the best sign ever. No other fish is showing signs, I do my best not to overfeed, and I am using a quality pellet food for cichlids. Any idea on what to do from here? I could go buy some more doses of metro, or I am open to any other suggestions. As it is, this is still the only fish in the tank that is showing any signs of anything.


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