Rapid Breathing

[Monstaf1sh]

Hi, ive treated my dat with praziqantel suspecting flukes after treating the water moments later he came out of his hiding spot and went straight to the top! My water parameters are all good so i ruled that out, his symptoms were scratching and rapid breathing, i thought now maybe he may be hit with a seconary infection and now ive put him in a quarantine tank and treated with promethysal and added salt a couple of days later.

He looks as if he has swollen gills and is still breathing heavily can anyone think of what to do? Could he have gill damage? I really really don't want to lose him.

Cheers.

 

[Cohazard]

If you suspect a secondary infection, try the mardel line of meds.

Specifically, look into Maracyn-2, and if conditions don't improve, try regular Maracyn afterwards.

The instructions says the treatment period is 5 days, but I read it should be pushed longer, and without ill effects. A target is 10days of treatment.

HTH

 

[ewurm]

I almost medicated my bass to death once. You may be over medicating. I would also add some aeration to the tank.

 

[Monstaf1sh]

Ive put plenty of aeration in the tank but its still breathing heavy looks as though his gills are swollen. he's suffocating any remedies for gills?

 

[Cohazard]

Are his gills extruding from behind the gill plate? Or does the gill area look swollen because the fish keeps it's gills 'spread' due to the heavy breathing?

I had some fish with the same symptoms recently, and Maracyn 2 seems to have worked. No heavy breathing anymore.

I also treated with Coppersafe at half dose, as a precaution.

 

[Monstaf1sh]

it looks like they are extruding from behind the gill plates. mouth is always open. i'll look into Maracyn 2, Thanks for replying i fully appreciate it

 

[Cohazard]

I just checked the booklet and it does mention that the meds treat swollen gills.

I wish you and your fish the best.

 

[Monstaf1sh]

cheers Cohazard, i'll try it out and keep my fingers crossed
Thanks for the help!

 

[soulFish]

FYI mine did not have swollen gills, he was just tired looking with no energy but had rapid breathing. I treated him with salt and a ellivated temp to 82 degrees.

 

[Cohazard]

cheers Cohazard, i'll try it out and keep my fingers crossed
Thanks for the help!

You're very welcome Dragonf1sh; oh and also look into treating for ich, since rapid breathing can also be caused by a major infestation of the gills. Ich is a common parasite that stresses the nerves of many fish keepers (in case you weren't aware). The good news is that it's easy to beat.

Coppersafe should work, but a less expensive route is the heat/salt treatment.


This includes gradually raising the temp of your aquarium to around 85F over the course of a few hours.

Then, add 1/4 tsp. per gallon of regular old table salt, once an hour.

After eight hours, you will have 2 tsp. of salt per gallon. Keep it that way for 2 weeks to a month (a full month being best).

So, after you do a water change, the water you add should be premixed with 2tsp./gallon of salt (a real PITA if you're treating large tanks).

After the month is over, do a normal water change to remove the salt.