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Hi,

Noticed one of my 4 Tri's breathing rather quickly today. Inhaling and exhaling twice per second. Water tests (pH= 8.0, NH3= 0, NO2= 0.1 to 0, NO3= 5) are all pretty good, temp 28C. Last water change was 25% a few days ago.

I have had Ich in my tank, but that was back in Feb 2005. Both trilineatus, and paleatus have been flashing since shortly after I got them which if I remember was March or April 2005.

Trying to figure out what could be causing the rapid breathing.

Thanks ahead of time.

FOTB

There are different things which could cause the heavy breathing. The fish may have burned a lot of energy before you noticed its increased respiration, doing something like hunting for food or rushing to the surface for air. Another possible cause is that the fish has recently been stressed for some reason, perhaps it was attacked by a tankmate or got itself wedged into a tight space. Lastly, poor water quality is always a possibility. If there is any nitrite present in your tank, that may well be the cause of this trouble. Maybe try doing a water change a bit sooner than usual to see how it affects the fish? Did you only notice the higher respiration on one occasion, or has the fish been acting the same every time you looked at the tank?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

sirbooks,

No changes yet in the Cory's breathing, still very rapid. This is going on for the third day now continuously. However, still readily eats flaked food with it's other tanks mates (even ate some frozen brine shrimp yesterday), looks healthy overall, and no sign of being a loner. So those are all positive signs.

My water changes are now 25%-30% once a month, give or take a few days with top-ups as necessary. Maybe should I try going back to a bi-weekly schedule of 30%-40%? The only liquids I add are Aqua Plus with water changes, Sera's Florena once a month, and Cycle once a month.

My one female Krib acts like she's Queen Crap of Turd Island! lol, and will take a good run at the Cory's from time to time if she's cruising around and happens to come across one. So there's no ruling out that possibility.

Cory's are known for taking a fast run to the surface to grab some air. And sometimes mine will shoot right out of the water and hit themselves on the glass lid... I can actually hear them hit the glass. So could that have had something to do with it?

I'll continue to keep a watchful eye on this one. Maybe even take a short video, and include it with my next post?

Thanks for your input

Well, seems like if something had stressed the fish out earlier then it would have recovered by now. I'm guessing that something is bothering the cory. Even if the fish had been attacked by your krib, it would have forgotten all about it fairly soon afterwards.

Your fish would all appreciate more frequent water changes, so I'll encourage doing them at least bi-weekly. They are great for maintaining the health of an aquarium and its inhabitants. Water changes can speed the recovery of infected or injured fish, and just promote better health overall. No harm in doing them more often.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."