worried.

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.
dustin808
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

worried.

Post by dustin808 »

nitrate- 20
nitrite- 0
hardness-75
alkalinity- 40
ph- 6.8
temp 76
my puffer seems like he has air inside him, everytime he lays down he has to swim his bottom half back down. i came home from work and he was belly up on the bottom i tapped him with the net and he sprung back to life. he is in a 20g long, 3 inches sand, lava rocks with hiding places, and live anacharis, using a 30gal filter. there was also about 10 small guppies, shrimp and 2 crayfish. i just bout him 2 days ago.
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scpion
Fahaka Puffer
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Re: worried.

Post by scpion »

Not too sure what's wrong with him but u seems to introduce him to a "food" tank. All the existing stocks are a puffer favourite food..
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
dustin808
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

ya he ate almost everything and popped alot, hes swimming around now just conner to conner. man i hate having sick fish so worried :/ but hes kind of darker now so i think he might be stressed for some reason. should i buy prime or something like that ?
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scpion
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 672
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:57 am
My Puffers: 23in Mbu, donated to SEA Aquarium
4in Fahaka 150g
Location (country): singapore

Re: worried.

Post by scpion »

Erm.. Shouldn't u be using prime already? So how do u dechlorinate your water? Prime will only do just that and render the ammonia "harmless". Its does not have any medical properties. Have u treated him for IP?
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
dustin808
Puffer Fry
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

i used water from my guppy tank, i havent treated him for IP im assuming the guy i bought him from might have done it. what is IP lol??
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scpion
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 672
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 10:57 am
My Puffers: 23in Mbu, donated to SEA Aquarium
4in Fahaka 150g
Location (country): singapore

Re: worried.

Post by scpion »

Btw, I would not have all the "food" in there. I will only put in enough for 1 feeding and would expect him to be able to finish it. Having everything there could mean he might overeat or simply "playing" with him and contaminate the water unnecessarily.
I am not a Troll, I am just pissed..!
dustin808
Puffer Fry
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

ya i removed alot of guppies and cleaned the bottom, i dont wanna put the net inside anymore he might get stressed more. all left in the tank is a few guppy fry. man i hope hes gonna be ok:/
dustin808
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

he seems to be breathing heavy
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Re: worried.

Post by Pufferpunk »

He must have swallowed some air. You'll need to burp him. Net him & grab him by tail, with his head up & shake him back & froth, until the air comes out. Keep his head underwater.
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!"
dustin808
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

ok heres the scoops, puffs looks like hes about to burrow then he flips on his back it looks like hes staring at the ground with his back arched. any ideas on what this could be?
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32776
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: worried.

Post by Pufferpunk »

Air in his belly.
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!"
Nuclear_Glitter
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Location: North Carolina, USA

Re: worried.

Post by Nuclear_Glitter »

Do as PP said. When you put him in the tank did you expose him to air?
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
dustin808
Puffer Fry
Posts: 45
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2011 1:17 am
Location (country): honolulu

Re: worried.

Post by dustin808 »

i didnt expose him to air at all. theres about half of in of air at the top of the tank, he seems to be doing better. now hes just putting his nose in the sand and tail in the air.
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Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32776
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: worried.

Post by Pufferpunk »

IHe will not be able to expel this on his own. You MUST 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!"
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32776
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: worried.

Post by Pufferpunk »

He will not be able to expel this on his own. You MUST 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!"
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