Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
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.
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
I'm pretty sure it's not too serious, but my red congo puffers pectoral fins went from clear to bright red. I know that it's a RED Congo puffer, but since I bought him his find were transparent. The pH was pretty high, but nothing else was wrong, so I added some acid buffer. Here's the list:
1. pH 9.0
Nitrate 0.3
Nitrite and Ammonia 0
2. 28 gallon custom hex, only tank mates are horned Nerite snails and some red cherry shrimp(food)
3. I feed him 1 earthworm and human shrimp per week, and I add 2 red cherry shrimp to the tank every few days. I change the tank water 50% every other week. I use basically every type of conditioner from API and Tetra.
4. No recent changes in the tank, but I added an African lily pad around a month ago.
5. The aquarium has been set up for around 6 months, and I cycled it by using an old filter, adding Tetra QuickStart, and letting it run for a week with snails and shrimp before I added the puffer.
1. pH 9.0
Nitrate 0.3
Nitrite and Ammonia 0
2. 28 gallon custom hex, only tank mates are horned Nerite snails and some red cherry shrimp(food)
3. I feed him 1 earthworm and human shrimp per week, and I add 2 red cherry shrimp to the tank every few days. I change the tank water 50% every other week. I use basically every type of conditioner from API and Tetra.
4. No recent changes in the tank, but I added an African lily pad around a month ago.
5. The aquarium has been set up for around 6 months, and I cycled it by using an old filter, adding Tetra QuickStart, and letting it run for a week with snails and shrimp before I added the puffer.
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
- 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: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
pH of 9.0 is quite high, but bear in mind that any sudden change in pH can be harmful, possible more harmful than the high pH itselfpufferjw wrote:I'm pretty sure it's not too serious, but my red congo puffers pectoral fins went from clear to bright red. I know that it's a RED Congo puffer, but since I bought him his find were transparent. The pH was pretty high, but nothing else was wrong, so I added some acid buffer. Here's the list:
1. pH 9.0
Nitrate 0.3
Nitrite and Ammonia 0
2. 28 gallon custom hex, only tank mates are horned Nerite snails and some red cherry shrimp(food)
3. I feed him 1 earthworm and human shrimp per week, and I add 2 red cherry shrimp to the tank every few days. I change the tank water 50% every other week. I use basically every type of conditioner from API and Tetra.
4. No recent changes in the tank, but I added an African lily pad around a month ago.
5. The aquarium has been set up for around 6 months, and I cycled it by using an old filter, adding Tetra QuickStart, and letting it run for a week with snails and shrimp before I added the puffer.
are you using liquid test kits or strips?
no water conditioners are necessary in a well maintained, properly cycled tank
toss them!!!!
red fins may be the signs of irritation from chemicals
my recommendation is to do a 50% water change now with NO CONDITIONERS (other than "Prime" for de-chlorinating the new water)
then do a 50% change every day for several days
in the long term, a 50% water change should be done on a weekly basis
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
Ok, thanks for the input. Yeah I only add the Slimecoat, pH balancer, etc. when I change the water. I will perform the recommended water changes.
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
- 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
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Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
Forget the pH stuff. It will only cause up & down swings. What's the pH of your tap water?
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!"
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
My tap water is 7.7.
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
To eieio
I forgot to tell you I use electronic testers.
I forgot to tell you I use electronic testers.
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
- 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: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
What substrate are you using?
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!"
- 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: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
do you have a liquid test kit that you can compare your electronic readings to?pufferjw wrote:To eieio
I forgot to tell you I use electronic testers.
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
Thank you both, I forgot to tell you that I lowered the pH and after a few days his fins went back to normal.
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
- 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: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
I don't see how that would make a difference. Maybe just a coincidence?
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!"
- 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: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
a pH of 9.0 is 100 times more alkaline than a pH of 7.0 (7.0 is considered to be neutral for a freshwater aquarium)
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=61
that could, indeed, be the cause of irritated fins, blood vessels, and gills
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=61
that could, indeed, be the cause of irritated fins, blood vessels, and gills
"I plan ahead. That way, I don't have to do anything right now!"
- pufferjw
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 379
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2015 9:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Duboisi Puffer
Red Congo Puffer
Striped Redeye Puffer
Dwarf Puffer
Have Owned:
Amazon Puffers - Location (country): USA
- Location: Boston/Chicago
Re: Red Congo Puffer's Pectoral Fins
It seems as though that was it. Thanks again for your help.eieio wrote:a pH of 9.0 is 100 times more alkaline than a pH of 7.0 (7.0 is considered to be neutral for a freshwater aquarium)
http://www.liveaquaria.com/PIC/article.cfm?aid=61
that could, indeed, be the cause of irritated fins, blood vessels, and gills
220 Gallon - 1 Super White Leopoldi Stingray
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer
55 Gallon Planted - No Fish
29 Gallon Planted - 1 Duboisi Puffer
29 Gallon - 1 Red Congo Puffer