Hi Guys, I just noticed some spots appeared on the (white) belly of my Figure 8 puffer. They are fairly light in color and maybe 2mm in diameter and they are all on the back half (or maybe even third) of his white belly. Is this a symptom of a known malady and how do I treat if he is sick?
He is still behaving just fine, looks happy as can be and active. Eating just fine still.
Info:
Figure 8 Puffer (first puffer, had him for ~ five weeks now I think)
20 Gallon tank, dedicated just for him. Aquarium sand substrate and LOTS of little caves etc.
Feeding: red wrigglers, nightcrawlers (from pet food supplier), live snails, frozen shrimp
SG is about 1.06 but have been using AQUARIUM salt, I just found something that said we need to use "marine salt" instead? I'll go ahead and purchase some but if someone can tell me why this is I'd appreciate it!
Water quality: Not great, but doing daily water changes 25-50%. Started tank with 100% water from several of my other cycled aquariums and let it run for a few days, filter was NEW so not cycled. Substrate was new also, not cycled. Plants and caves etc. all transferred from cycled tanks. Excellent filter, overkill for this tank.
Water Temp is currently 75 degrees Fahrenheit / 23.9Celcius
I know that cheating on the cycled tank wasn't good but we are guilty of the usual problem; Pet store employees said this guy didn't need any special care and could just go in our semi-aggressive or our aggressive fresh water tank. Once we got him home we put him in with the semi-aggressive but at least were wise enough to look him up and learn about care. The result of that research was getting a new dedicated tank set up for him ASAP with brackish water and also special food considerations. We love this little fella so we are doing the best we can for him on such short notice.
Thanks guys!
Figure 8 with spots on belly
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.
Figure 8 with spots on belly
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Last edited by VairGirl on Wed Jan 27, 2016 12:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Figure 8 with spots on belly
Possibly it's spines. Any way to get a clear pic?
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!"