Fahaka Puffer--quite sick.

[Fhkpffr]

First post...hello...

My fahaka puffer has been sick for about 1 1/2 months.

He is getting scrawnier by the week, while he used to be a gluttonous pig, constantly begging for food every moment. Initially I saw him scratching against the gravel, and had some visible scarring from doing so. Also very cloudy eyes. I moved him into his own 65 gallon tank, and treated it with melafix for 1 1/2 weeks. During that time he pretty much stayed buried, and came out to swim only a few times.

After the melafix didn't seem to work, I thought it could have been some sort of parasitic infection, so I treated the tank with some stuff called Prazi Pro. After a couple days of that, he seemed more active, and even ate once during this time. After two weeks, he started hiding again, and not looking good at all. To top it off, I had to leave for a week. When I got back, his mouth and around his eyes were reddish, and the horrible looking white scab on his back was there, as you see in the pictures.

http://i.imgur.com/RyBhT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pqUUK.jpg

Used API Test kit just a few moments ago for this.

pH - 8.0
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrite - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
KH - 15 drops
Salinity - Currently don't have a way to test this, but I keep about 2-3 Tbs per 10 gallons in it at all times.

Tank Size - 65 gallons
Inhabitants - Two silver dollar fish, each about 3 inches long. They're just there temporarily. Symptoms w/ puffer occurred before their presence.

Feeding - Well...when he DID eat, he had frozen clams, krill, and plenty of live snails. Sometimes mussels or clams from the deli.

Water change schedule - Before he was sick, I did 25-33% changes every two weeks or so. Since he's been sick I've been doing 25-33% weekly, coinciding with medications.
Last water change was a 50% water change yesterday.

Aquarium has been set up for a few months now. Never actually got cycled, since the water came from my 125 gallon. Before the pufferfish was in there, I had a bunch of african cichlids, who thrived and had lots of babies all the time.

Please, please. He's my favorite little guy, and I need him to get better. Thank you.

[J-P]

how long has it been in the previous tank?

Nitrates of 0 is kind of strange.

[puffykid]

Agreed, probably the tank isn't cycled the water column itself has very little beneficial bacteria in it, you need to move over decor or filter pads. Also you need to treat the food and not the water because fw fish don't drink water. Use jungle fizzy tabs a quarter of the tab and soak for at least 30 mins you can get them at walmart.

Don't put in any salt fw fish don't need it and shouldn't be in the tank.

Also minimum wc's a week should be 50%

http://theaquariumwiki.com/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

[Fhkpffr]

how long has it been in the previous tank?

Nitrates of 0 is kind of strange.

Before the 65 gallon, he was in a 29 gallon. He was in there for about three months.

[J-P]

how long had the 65 gal been set up before the transfer? How was the tank cycled (step by step)?

[Fhkpffr]

Agreed, probably the tank isn't cycled the water column itself has very little beneficial bacteria in it, you need to move over decor or filter pads. Also you need to treat the food and not the water because fw fish don't drink water. Use jungle fizzy tabs a quarter of the tab and soak for at least 30 mins you can get them at walmart.

Don't put in any salt fw fish don't need it and shouldn't be in the tank.

Also minimum wc's a week should be 50%

http://theaquariumwiki.com/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

The nitrates are probably low because of the lack of food being put in the tank, since he doesn't eat any of it, thus the difficulty in medicating the food. Also I was under the impression fahaka puffers were brackish.

So I suppose now I need to figure out if it has been un-cycled somehow? I obviously can't be doing water changes in that case.

The only "fizzy tabs" I can see online are ones for ich treatment, which is not what he has. For parasites I've been using this -- http://i.imgur.com/RZJb7.jpg?1

[J-P]

The nitrates are probably low because of the lack of food being put in the tank, since he doesn't eat any of it, thus the difficulty in medicating the food. Also I was under the impression fahaka puffers were brackish.

no... what kind of salt were you adding and how much?

[Fhkpffr]

how long had the 65 gal been set up before the transfer? How was the tank cycled (step by step)?

The 65 gallon was 100% happily established before he was put in. I had a setup of african cichlids in there before him. Here's a few shots of what it looked like a day before he was put into it http://imgur.com/a/YnU5l (cichlids were taken out right before)

[Fhkpffr]

The nitrates are probably low because of the lack of food being put in the tank, since he doesn't eat any of it, thus the difficulty in medicating the food. Also I was under the impression fahaka puffers were brackish.

no... what kind of salt were you adding and how much?

Instant Ocean brand. Amount of salt is between 1-3 tablespoons per 10 gallons.

[J-P]

I don't know if a tank can "uncycle" on its own. It may have mini cycles but that is normal.

The infection itself looks bacterial in nature, but don't take my word for it. It could be fungal. You'll have to be patient and let one of the higher ups chime in. A 50% water change would due good until someone can help determine the cause. Good clean water will aid in the fish's natural defense system.

[Fhkpffr]

I don't know if a tank can "uncycle" on its own. It may have mini cycles but that is normal.

The infection itself looks bacterial in nature, but don't take my word for it. It could be fungal. You'll have to be patient and let one of the higher ups chime in. A 50% water change would due good until someone can help determine the cause. Good clean water will aid in the fish's natural defense system.

Yeah I did the 1/2 change yesterday. I'll keep checking back.

[J-P]

1/2 daily ....

[LilGreenPuffer]

The nitrates are probably low because of the lack of food being put in the tank, since he doesn't eat any of it, thus the difficulty in medicating the food. Also I was under the impression fahaka puffers were brackish.

no... what kind of salt were you adding and how much?

Instant Ocean brand. Amount of salt is between 1-3 tablespoons per 10 gallons.

Not brackish at all. They come from African rivers (not estuaries) and lakes. Start reducing the salt gradually. Doing it too quickly will kill your beneficial bacteria. I'm not sure how to tell you how slowly to do this, exactly, since you're not measuring specific gravity or salinity. Someone else will have to help. If you ever use salt again, pleeeeease be careful! Variation like that, from 1 to 3 tablespoons, will definitely kill your cycle and can hurt your fish. You should be using a refractometer or hydrometer to check your salt levels. Did you work up to this level gradually when you first switched from cichlids to puffers?

Since your salt levels have been varying and your tank wasn't really cycled to begin with, I'd suggest checking your water parameters again. What kind of tests are you using - liquid or dip strip?

[Fhkpffr]

1/2 daily ....

No, not daily. I did the 1/2 change I felt was necessary yesterday. Misunderstanding.

[Pufferpunk]

What was his favorite food before he stopped eating? Soak that food for a couple of hours in crushed garlic cloves & try feeding him again. After you get him eating, keep using the garlic soak & add the Jungle Parasite Clear to the soak.