Fish breathing very rapidly

[rdefino]

I have a 75gal FOWLR. I have a purple tand, small lion, gobie, figi puffer and a stars & strips puffer and a snowflake eel. I did a water change last night (15gal). I used RODI water and now I see today they are breathing very rapidly. I tested the water and everything seems fine. Just the nitrates are between 20 - 50ppm. Anything that i can do?

[seaham358]

Do more water changes... Thats a large bioload... What type of set up do you have.. Lr, skimmer etc... Adding a refugium would also help you out with nitrate removal. How long did you mix the water before you added it to the tank and was it up to temp.

[rdefino]

The temp is 80. 100lbs of LR. Mixed the water for 24hrs. I have ocean clean filter and a aqua c protien skimmer.

[Salttanker]

Yes, those nitrates are caused by your messy eaters there. Water changes and cut back on the feeding for a couple of days should help.
See if you can pre-mix your water 48 hours in advanced on the next batch. Was the SG off when you mixed it, or was it close to what they are currently living in?

Mike

[rdefino]

The SG was dead on to what they are living in now. I'll cut back on eating, because they won't even eat.. Why did it start right after a water chage. They wee eating and everything seemed fine just before the water chage. What gives?

[Salttanker]

Are you using a hydrometer for measuring the salinity with? Sometimes they can be out of balance with the swing arm. Try pointing your powerheads at the surface of the water for more agitation if you haven't already.

Mike

[rdefino]

I'm using a refractor and the power heads are pointing at the top already. But today they are doing much better. Thier breathing has slowed and they are acting more normal. I watch and see. Thabks for the help.

[quarryshark]

How long ago did you add them? if recent, what was your acclimation procedure?

[I'MAFishLUVR]

Your fish probably went into shock as a result of the waterchange. The most likely scenario is the temperature and properties of the replacement water were too different. Next time make sure they all match or come close before you add the replacement water and things should be better for your fish. Best of Luck!

[quarryshark]

Your fish probably went into shock as a result of the waterchange
What is the PH?

Doubt that. A 20% water change would not send a fish into shock.

Watch out just in case for any signs of ich too. Sometimes they start breathing heavily because ich has reached their gills. But it seems like your fish are recovering from a stress, related to a water change.

Do you normally run the replacement water in a powerhead in a bucket overnight before you change?