Fast Breathing

[drag]

i have a small 30 gallon tank w/ 20 lbs of live rock 2 peppermint shrimp 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 small about 1" false percula farm born clown,and an anemone.

all nitrates and ammonia levels are good.

the clown seems to be breathing kind of fast ...? is this normal. he seems fine swimming all over the place and eating flake food ok , he attacks live brine shrimp. all sighs to mee look like has fine but the rappid breathing worries me. i was wondering what could effect his breathing?. my saltinity meter is a themometer combo so it give me a green safe range for fish and corals.( not extreamly acurate)
any help will be greatlt appreciated

 

[steelhealr]

First off, would invest in a dedicated refractometer to measure your 'specific gravity'. There are some very affordable ones online. IMO, specific gravity should be precise and 'not in a green range'. Especially since you have an anemone in your tank.

Clownfish have weird behavior sometimes....swim on their sides..swim on the surface....waddle...etc. If your clown appears to be without infestation and is eating...I would just keep an eye on it.

SH

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

The only times ive ever heard of rapid breathing in fish was because of ammonia poisoning, in which case the fish would be at the top gasping for air because the gills would be eroding away[which we know isnt the case with yours], and just not enough oxidation in the water. Both of which have to do with not getting enough air. So is the fish at the top a lot with its nose out of the water? If so, you will want to look into different methods for getting more oxygen into that water.

 

[Navarre]

I would look into oxygen as already mentioned. Salt water carries low oxygen and at higher temperatures and SG the oxygen is even lower. This means you need strong turnover and rich oxygenating equipment or your fish may well suffocate.