HELP! New mocha storm clown breathing rapidly

[JRizz]

Hi I have had my new set up for 2 months. Bought a pair of mocha storm clowns acclimated an hour.

Day 2, I come home late from work and the smaller of the pair is swimming mid to mid high tank height in the same spot and is breathing irregularly. The bigger clown is swimming around the tank normally.

All parameters are normal.

No signs of any outer physical symptoms either. What could it be?

I also have soft corals and a rainbow bubble tip anemone, that thrive all day everyday.

 

[DaveK]

When it comes to something like this, there are three major areas to check.

1 - The tank is not correctly cycled. Look for any ammonia or nitrite reading other than 0.
2 - The clowns have one of the various parasite diseases that are common in the hobby. SW Ich, velevt, or clown fish disease are the most common ones. Not all diseases are obvious.
3 - The clowns were in poor shape to begin with. Many clowns being sold today are not in very good shape and are prone to problems. Always check them out carefully.

Other possible causes are the fish not being acclimated correctly, getting in a fight with something or the fish is stressed.

Please post your exact parameter readings. What is normal to you might indicate a problem to someone else. Also, it tells us what you tested.

It's kind of hard to give an exact solution, because there are so many possible causes. Please tell us more about your system.