Emergency!
Forum rules
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.
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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I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Emergency!
So I came home with some shrimp to feed my porcupine, and I apparently gave him more than he could handle. He was absolutely fine before this, but afterwords he would either be blown by the powerheads like nothing or stuck to the sides of them. He was still alvie but couldn't swim, couldn't stay straight and appeared to have trouble breathing. I could see shrimp coming out of one of his mouth and one of his gills. I grabbed some tweezers and tried to pull it out of him, to no avail mostly. About five minutes later he seemed to be able to get a little bit out of his mouth, and I again grabbed the tweezers and pulled it out. It didn't seem to help very much. I'm at a loss right now and I'm afraid he won't make it much longer. Suggestions?
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32773
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
How is he now?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
Laying, not doing anything at all... No gill movement, no fin movement, no eye movement... I tapped him a couple of times with the net because I knew he was gone, but he still has a little life left in him.. I just have no clue what to do.
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I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
Oh.. when I tapped him with the net he just rolled as if he was dead... I picked him up with my hand to be sure...
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32773
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
I find his behaviour very odd... He should be able to handle a little overeating.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
I would think so too, but it was sticking out of his mouth and one of his gills and he went from full of life to lifeless in a matter of minutes.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32773
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
Can you try to burp him?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
I did, but nothing.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32773
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
I feel terrible for you! Maybe he just needs to rest after his large meal.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
I guess at this point I can only hope for the best.
-
I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
Didn't make it through the night.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32773
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
So sorry... That's amazing overfeeding killed him so quickly. So sorry for your loss...
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
Stratters
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 423
- Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
- Location (country): Louth, England
Re: Emergency!
I'm so sorry, poor little guy.
And a good warning for all of us about the immediate dangers of over feeding
And a good warning for all of us about the immediate dangers of over feeding
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
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hadla
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1626
- Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2007 8:33 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 gsps and a big Stars and stripes
- Location (country): California
- Location: Sacramento, CA
- Contact:
Re: Emergency!
sorry to hear that... Maybe he had choked on it? If that's possible...Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. -RTR
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I.Puff.Too
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 310
- Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 12:52 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Charleston, SC
Re: Emergency!
Thanks everyone. Yeah, the shrimp sticking out of his gill makes me think he choked/couldn't breathe. It was pretty horrible not being able to do anything. Big lesson learned, but a horrible way to learn it. I'm guessing he couldn't tear it up since porky's having crushing plates.. idk.. it hurts either way.