Please Help With Ollie!

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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Read this before posting!!

Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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eieio
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and.......
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RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

Please Help!
Ollie has not eaten for 17 days, since we moved to a different state
here are the particulars:
20 gallon tank, as always
no other inhabitants
pH @ 7.6
NH3 @ 0
NO2 @ 0
NO3 @ 5.0
GH @ 143.2
KH @ 196.9
Temp @ 78 degrees
two water changes in the last two weeks, using Prime
all of these readings and conditions are consistent and in line with the chemistry before moving
all of the other fish in the other two aquariums are doing fine.............
i have not been able to get Ollie to eat anything since we moved
for a while, i figured it was the stress of the move, so i partially covered his tank, and on a daily basis, offered him all his favorite foods
(earthworms, crickets, defrosted frozen shrimp, feeder guppies) - no interest
yesterday, i noticed the white areas, especially on the inside of his lower lip
today i noticed that the pink tissue behind his lower lip (where our tongue is) seems swollen and mishapen
also in the last couple of days, he seems reluctant to bury in the sand, which may be due to the irritation in and around his mouth
i have Melafix on hand, which i'm adding now
any thoughts?
Please help!







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chuckfriedrice
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by chuckfriedrice »

Im new to the site , and in no way an expert but you didnt mention what water your using ! Is it possible thats a place to check , not sure if your using tap or filtered water ! I hope you get some better help to help out Ollie!
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Flutter
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by Flutter »

White is tough as it can easily be bacterial or fungal. Do you have Pimafix as well? If so I'd add that too along with an airstone.
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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

chuckfriedrice wrote:Im new to the site , and in no way an expert but you didnt mention what water your using ! Is it possible thats a place to check , not sure if your using tap or filtered water ! I hope you get some better help to help out Ollie!
good thought, and i forgot to mention that since moving, we are on well water, rather than city tap water
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

Flutter wrote:White is tough as it can easily be bacterial or fungal. Do you have Pimafix as well? If so I'd add that too along with an airstone.
thanks Flutter!
i just got back with a bottle of Pimafix, and i have added the appropriate quantity and an air stone :)
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by Pufferpunk »

My 1st thought was that you might have different water that he hasn't adjusted to. IDK if that white is supposed to be part of his mouth or not. I do have to say, that is the best macro shot of a puffer's mouth, I've ever seen! how did you get him to pose for that?

I'm linking RTR to your thread.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

Pufferpunk wrote:My 1st thought was that you might have different water that he hasn't adjusted to. IDK if that white is supposed to be part of his mouth or not. I do have to say, that is the best macro shot of a puffer's mouth, I've ever seen! how did you get him to pose for that?

I'm linking RTR to your thread.
thanks Pufferpunk
the well water is a difference, and per the API test kit results, is surprisingly similar to the water he has been used to for many years in Los Angeles
the white is definitely something new
the pink tissue behind it looks unusual to me too, seems somehow irregular
thanks, too for your comment on the macro shot
i think Ollie knows that we need some help and support with this, and he has been more cooperative than his usual grumpy self
Ollie has been with me for nearly six years now, he's really my little desk buddy :)
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hadla
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by hadla »

what are NH3, NO2, NO3, GH, and KH?? i feel so dumb... sorry i cant help with the puffer, eieio, but i just noticed your dp(s) names and i love it! the whole (something) puff thing!
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

hadla wrote:what are NH3, NO2, NO3, GH, and KH?? i feel so dumb... sorry i cant help with the puffer, eieio, but i just noticed your dp(s) names and i love it! the whole (something) puff thing!
thanks hadla......
it was great fun to name the DPs
sadly, Cream Puff is the only DP left, and she lives in a 10 gallon tank across my desk from Ollie
NH3 is the chemical name/abbreviation for "ammonia"
NO2 for "nitrites"
NO3 for "nitrates"
GH for "general hardness"
KH for "carbonate hardness"
:)
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hadla
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by hadla »

eieio wrote:
hadla wrote:what are NH3, NO2, NO3, GH, and KH?? i feel so dumb... sorry i cant help with the puffer, eieio, but i just noticed your dp(s) names and i love it! the whole (something) puff thing!
thanks hadla......
it was great fun to name the DPs
sadly, Cream Puff is the only DP left, and she lives in a 10 gallon tank across my desk from Ollie
NH3 is the chemical name/abbreviation for "ammonia"
NO2 for "nitrites"
NO3 for "nitrates"
GH for "general hardness"
KH for "carbonate hardness"
:)
oh ok, thanks for clearing that up =P but i thought water hardness and ph were the same thing...
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

hadla wrote:oh ok, thanks for clearing that up =P but i thought water hardness and ph were the same thing...
pH is the measure of the acidity of the water
KH is the measure of carbonate & bicarbonate ions/minerals in the water ( water with low carbonate levels will tend to be acidic)
GH is the measure of calcium & magnesium ions/minerals in the water
the API test kits come with further explanations & instructions regarding these subjects
by keeping a log of my test results & water change schedule, i've noticed that the longer the intervals between water changes, the lower the KH levels go, and the more acidic the water becomes
so there definitely seems to be a direct relationship between water hardness and acidity, though they are not actually the same thing
with regular water changes, all of these measurements should remain in balance
as Pufferpunk always says:
:) " You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes..." :D
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
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hadla
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by hadla »

ok, thanks again =P

duh, i could have looked up the abbreviations myself on my test kit!

oh, my kit only explains Ph, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate... and it is the api freshwater master test kit... are the newer test kits better? this one seems to be from 2007 or 2008, but I didn't want to just throw it out...
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xrayjeeper83
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Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by xrayjeeper83 »

thats all my test kit covers
RTR wrote:Fahakas do not have tank mates, they may have swimming food reserves.
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eieio
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1033
Joined: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:34 am
My Puffers: *
The Congo Puffer:
"olivia"
and.......
The DP:
"cream puff"
RIP cream puff :-(
Location (country): U.S.A.
Location: Prescott, Arizona

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by eieio »

hadla wrote:ok, thanks again =P

duh, i could have looked up the abbreviations myself on my test kit!

oh, my kit only explains Ph, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate... and it is the api freshwater master test kit... are the newer test kits better? this one seems to be from 2007 or 2008, but I didn't want to just throw it out...
my API "Freshwater Master Test Kit" booklet is dated "2000" :shock:
though they included GH & KH, they didn't include the test kit or info for nitrates :?
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
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hadla
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1626
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:33 pm
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My Puffers: 2 gsps and a big Stars and stripes
Location (country): California
Location: Sacramento, CA
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Contact hadla

Re: Please Help With Ollie!

Post by hadla »

eieio wrote:
hadla wrote:ok, thanks again =P

duh, i could have looked up the abbreviations myself on my test kit!

oh, my kit only explains Ph, high range pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate... and it is the api freshwater master test kit... are the newer test kits better? this one seems to be from 2007 or 2008, but I didn't want to just throw it out...
my API "Freshwater Master Test Kit" booklet is dated "2000" :shock:
though they included GH & KH, they didn't include the test kit or info for nitrates :?
oh ok, that makes me feel better lol, so the older ones included that info...
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
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