1) pH - 8.3
NH3/NO2 - 0
NO3 - 5 (5 out of tap)
very hard Freshwater
2)180 gallon- 1 fahaka around 1.5" long
crayfish tank plumbed in with the tank / sump
3) Was fed 1-2 times a day. Was eating bloodworms, ghost shrimp, snails, market shrimp, clams, mussels, earthworms. ~30 percent water change weekly.
Melafix was used a couple weeks ago, because I noticed a scrape on his body. seachem metroplex used to treat IPs, last used over a week ago.
4)Recent changes- added new plants 2 weeks ago.
4) Aquarium has been set up for a about 4 months. It was fishless cycled using pure ammonia. Has been cycled for about 2 months.
I got the fahaka just over a month ago. He was around 3/4 inch long, in great shape. Was taking frozen foods right away. After the first week he was greeting us at the front glass and pretty active. One day I came home to find him in the overflow chamber in the corner of the aquarium. After then he was very thin between feedings and had stringy poo. So I used Seachem metroplex (metronidazole) to soak his food in. He would only eat snails soaked in it. Fed him a few good meals soaked in the meds, then went away for a weekend and he didnt eat for 2 days. He looked fine after those 2 days- not too thin. So I stopped meds. He continued to have stringy poo but wasnt fading away between feedings. So I held off on the meds. Late last week we was less active, but still eating fine. Monday he didnt eat, not interested in live snails tossed in front of him, so I went and bought live blackworms which he ate. Tuesday, Wednesday and today he has not eaten. Doesnt even look at the live blackworms placed in front of him...
I am not sure what else I can do except to continue to try and get him to eat and do more frequent water changes....
Any input or suggestions are appreciated.
Fahaka Stopped eating
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.
-
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: Fahaka Stopped eating
I know how helpless this must make you feel. I've had my share of disease & massive fish deaths this past year. Is he breathing, swimming normally?
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!"
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Sorry to hear that PP.
He seems to be breathing normally. And when he does swim around it seems normal. He has been spending most of his time laying on the sand (which gets stirred and vacuumed weekly) or rocks. Or hiding in java moss. I just did a water change and he was swimming around a bit.
He seems to be breathing normally. And when he does swim around it seems normal. He has been spending most of his time laying on the sand (which gets stirred and vacuumed weekly) or rocks. Or hiding in java moss. I just did a water change and he was swimming around a bit.
-
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: Fahaka Stopped eating
Sometimes they just go on hunger strikes. Try live earthworms.
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!"
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
I had been digging them up in my yard but it has been so dry lately I couldn't find any yesterday after digging several holes. I'll stop by a bait shop for some today.
If he was active and acting as he normally did, then I wouldn't be too concerned about him not eating...
If he was active and acting as he normally did, then I wouldn't be too concerned about him not eating...
-
pokeystar
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:41 am
- My Puffers: Fahaka aka Mr Big Puff
2 GSP Pickle and Noodle
My children name the fish - Location (country): Ireland
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Hi Kass I had similar fahaka difficulties recently here is the thread it might help http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/vie ... =3&t=35628
Prazantiquel in food was the final step.
Prazantiquel in food was the final step.
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Pokeystar- was it Prazi or metro you used last?
I bought some API general cure. It's ingredients are metro and Prazi. My plan was to try that. But he stopped eating before I could try it.
However, he just ate a ghost shrimp. Dropped it in front of his face and he couldn't resist it. He was a little slower than usual chasing it, but he was chasing it around.
I bought some API general cure. It's ingredients are metro and Prazi. My plan was to try that. But he stopped eating before I could try it.
However, he just ate a ghost shrimp. Dropped it in front of his face and he couldn't resist it. He was a little slower than usual chasing it, but he was chasing it around.
Last edited by kass on Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
pokeystar
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:41 am
- My Puffers: Fahaka aka Mr Big Puff
2 GSP Pickle and Noodle
My children name the fish - Location (country): Ireland
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Prazi was last. But it's been incremental improvements with differing approaches
-
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: Fahaka Stopped eating
Have you tried soaking his food in garlic?
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!"
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
I soak all his food in fresh (frozen) pressed garlic. Maybe I'll pick up some garlic guard, it might have a stronger smell to it.
He is still only interested in live shrimp... would live shrimp (cherry and ghost) soak up any meds?
Does anyone feed live leeches to their aquarium fish? These are usually available at bait shops around here and I was thinking of seeing if he'd be interested in them.
He is still only interested in live shrimp... would live shrimp (cherry and ghost) soak up any meds?
Does anyone feed live leeches to their aquarium fish? These are usually available at bait shops around here and I was thinking of seeing if he'd be interested in them.
-
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: Fahaka Stopped eating
Soak flakes in meds & feed the flakes to the shrimp.
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!"
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Metro or Prazi won't kill the shrimp? They are in same tank as snails...?
-
pokeystar
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Thu Apr 28, 2016 4:41 am
- My Puffers: Fahaka aka Mr Big Puff
2 GSP Pickle and Noodle
My children name the fish - Location (country): Ireland
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Don't feed all of them. Set up a separate container, clean but never having had detergents near it. Place the amount of shrimp you want to feed with the med soaked food.
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
I have an empty 3 gallon tank I will set up. Thanks.
-
kass
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 473
- Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Guelph, Canada
Re: Fahaka Stopped eating
Update:
I offered live shrimp that had consumed medicated flake food. But he no longer was interested in the shrimp. Monday he had a small bite of clam.
Today he is much more active, swimming around and acting as if he's hunting for food but he will swim by a snail and glance at it and not eat it. And he'll see a cherry shrimp and approach it but give no effort to catch it. He did eat a couple bites of medicated clam and market shrimp, and some blackworms.
I offered live shrimp that had consumed medicated flake food. But he no longer was interested in the shrimp. Monday he had a small bite of clam.
Today he is much more active, swimming around and acting as if he's hunting for food but he will swim by a snail and glance at it and not eat it. And he'll see a cherry shrimp and approach it but give no effort to catch it. He did eat a couple bites of medicated clam and market shrimp, and some blackworms.