29 Gallon Tank Guppy breathing too fast -- stressed?

My tank has been running for about a month now, and I noticed one of my two guppies has been breathing really fast since last week.

stocking:
female betta x1
male guppies x2
glo danios x6
neon tetras x10

The tank is 29 gallons and cycled (0, 0, 2.5).

All the other fish are breathing normally. I have been treating for ich the last 2 weeks and had the heat up to 87 degrees. When I first noticed my guppy breathing fast, he was just staying in one spot near the surface. After some research and ruling out ammonia/nitrite poisoning (both were 0), I figured he was just stressed from the high heat and maybe from low oxygen in the tank, so I brought the heat down to 84. Now he's moving around and acting/eating/pooping as normal, but he's still breathing fast I'm working on slowly bringing the heat back down to 79, but do you think there may be something else wrong?

Thank you in advance!

 

Did you add an airstone or already have one?

 

No, I haven't added one. I did consider it, but I wasn't really enthusiastic about shelling out $20 for an air pump so I figured the hob filter would be able to do the trick. However if it's necessary, I can get one!

 

Might be. Is often reccomended when raising temps.

 

No, I haven't added one. I did consider it, but I wasn't really enthusiastic about shelling out $20 for an air pump so I figured the hob filter would be able to do the trick. However if it's necessary, I can get one!

At 87 degrees, there's really not much oxygen available in the water, especially for fish that typically prefer slightly cooler water (like your guppies, danios, and neons). Unfortunately, I'd definitely consider it a necessity.

It's a bit late now, but I really wouldn't recommend treating ich with heat anyway. There are medications (and salt) that do are far more effective against many more strains of ich, and they're generally much less stressful on fish. Heat only kills a few strains of ich (at temps that won't kill fish), and just makes the other strains move through their life cycle faster. Which can cause treatment with medications to be more effective faster, but at the cost of added stress to the fish as oxygen levels quickly deplete. Just for future reference

 

Thank you both! I will look into getting an airstone. I do actually use aq salt as well, I just didn't mention it as I regularly add some with water changes!

 

Thank you both! I will look into getting an airstone. I do actually use aq salt as well, I just didn't mention it as I regularly add some with water changes!

Aquarium salt will treat ich at around 1 tbsp per 2 gallons for most strains, although some require 1 tbsp per gallon. I usually treat at that level for two weeks, and then water change it out.

I'm not sure I'd be using aquarium salt 24/7, even with low levels, but that may be a discussion for another thread it's debated on whether or not it can cause salt-resistant diseases and damage kidneys long-term. Regardless, I doubt it's causing your issues now.

 

Thank you for the information ChrissFishes01
Update: I haven't been able to get the air stone yet, but I will be going to petsmart tomorrow. For now, I noticed his tail started drooping, so I just moved him to a 1 gal quarantine tank so I can observe him better.

Because he's the only one acting weirdly, I'm inclined to believe that he's stressed although I don't know what from.
Also I have the temp back down to 78/79

 

He's still breathing fast despite being in fresh (and cooler ~75/76 degree) water all by himself. Any ideas? :/

 

He's still breathing fast despite being in fresh (and cooler ~75/76 degree) water all by himself. Any ideas? :/

Can you post a picture and (preferably) a video of him?

Have you tested the water in the QT tank? 1 gallon of water will become fouled really quickly, unless you added a cycled filter onto it or something.

Is there any sort of circulation in the QT? An airstone or a filter? Without surface agitation, oxygen levels will drop through the floor in the tank.

 

Thank you for your response, I was planning to take a video when I returned from my errands, but he passed away I appreciate your help!!