Pea Puffer breathing heavily

[pbartholme]

Hi guys,
I have a dwarf puffer that I have had for around 3-5 months now. I have just been keeping her in a 2.5 gal with two nerite's (this is a temporary tank I don't wanna hear it). Anyways, I re-decorated her tank yesterday which included taking her out, putting her in a separate setup (which was a heated bucket with some of her tank water and fresh water; since the process takes awhile), then I placed her back in the tank after the refurbishing. When I put her back in she was definitely nervous from all the commotion and was kind of hiding out. But now I am noticing her breathing heavily. She is still active and doesn't seem sickly but the breathing is definitely not normal. Have any of you experienced this with your puffers?
- also just like to add that I kept the prior filter and everything to keep the same beneficial bacteria, since I had to take out about 90% of the water.

Tank Info:
2.5g Fluval
2 nerite's
- fully planted
- fully cycled (prior to putting her in)
- slow flow

Ammonia: 0.15-0.25ppm (not anything too crazy but definitely worth another water change)
Nitrate: 5.0ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
pH: 7.2

 

[foxgirl158]

If it’s temporary, why have you had the fish in it for 3-5 months?
I think most puffers eat snails, so don’t be surprised if your nerites become snacks.
Your problem is your high ammonia and nitrite, even a small amount of these can kill your fish very quickly. Do you dechlorinate your water? If so, with what?