Puffers- banging my head
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2018 11:06 pm
Hi. Sorry my first post is very tragic.
My Green Spotted Puffer is dying. Please note of my water parameters below (API Freshwater Master Test Kit was used):
PH- 7.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 5
Water Temp- 79F
Salinity- 1.002
This is a fully cycled tank 29 gallon tank and has been running for three months on an Aqueon QuietFlow Aquarium Power Filter 30. I got this puffer two weeks ago and has been on an alternating diet of frozen shrimp (bought fresh, then cleaned, then frozen) and bladder and/or ramshorn snails, once a day. I had guppies for the last two months on this tank before the puffer, and one month of cycling before that. The tank has some short jungle vals, some java moss, and a couple of anubias nana and nana petite on driftwood. I also placed a small air stone on the left corner of the tank. Filter was running on the right side. This puffer is the only inhabitant of the tank. Well, probably some small snails that are hiding in the plants. I am half dosing the tank with API Leaf Zone once a week, and for this instance, I am running a DIY CO2 sugar/yeast formula 24/7.
This puffer was sold as a freshwater puffer by the LFS, was drip acclimated for 3 hours and had stayed on the tank with freshwater for five days. Raised the pH from 7.2 to 7.6 by adding crushed coral on top of the sand and the salinity to 1.001 after the first water change (and cleaning) last Friday. I used one handful of Instant Ocean Marine Salt on a bucket of water and let it sit for one day and one night with a running air stone to supposedly melt the salt (sorry, no scientific data on this, I just read it somewhere). Used a refractometer to measure the salinity. The water used is prepared one hour before in 5 gallon water bottles (we have 6, all used for water changes). API Stress Coat+ was used as dechlorinator and added API Quick Start to add some biological bacteria for reinforcement. Everything seemed okay and the fish seemed okay. It was eating well and swimming well.
I did another water change (and cleaning) yesterday (Friday) and raised the salinity to 1.002. Everything was okay, it ate shrimp this morning and was swimming in the bubbles. I use a plant forceps to feed the puffer. This afternoon (today is Saturday), I saw the puffer nose down behind the vals and the skin was already really dark and it seems like it was twitching. I used a plant forceps to nudge it a bit. It moved and swam away but only for a short distance and it landed a little hard on the substrate. Breathing is labored.
I did another test with the above mentioned results.
Background: I have 5 tanks (10, 30 high, 55, 20 long, and this 29). The first 3 are all freshwater. The 20 long is quarantine. However, this is not my first brackish tank and I have a lot of dead puffers on me. No matter what I do, I can't seem to keep them alive for more than 4 weeks. First set was four GSPs on the same 29 gallon tank, all died within four weeks. I thought, okay, I was over eager and didn't really know much. I placed a lot of puffers in a tank, but they were just about an inch then. Next was the following week right after the last puffer died, bought 2. Died within one week, both of them.
Restarted the tank. Cycled it for a month and half, put one Figure 8. Dead after the second week. Got another F8, died on the 3rd day.
WTHeck! What was I doing wrong? Didn't have any problems with my other tanks. 10 gallon has 6 dwarf puffers, 30 gallon high has one 5 inch trimac cichlid. 55 gallon is planted, with neon tetras, pearl danios, pygmy cories, dwarf gouramies, cherry shrimps, ramshorns, trumpet snails, amanos, and bladder snails, and used to be a South Afican Cichlid tank. All these tanks have been running for more than a year. I feel that I've followed the steps and did all that I can (even bought the Marine Salt and Refractomer, even when the people from the LFS said that the puffers are okay with high PH), read a lot of pages and have been to a lot of websites already. I slowly acclimated them, checked the water parameters always, made sure that the water is clean, made regular water changes, and always check the salinity. I'm a very hands-on guy with my tanks. So what the heck am I doing wrong?
So I stopped with brackish waters. Didn't seem to have the ability (or knowledge) to handle brackish.
Restarted the tank again and decided to have guppies. Even had some fry. I was quite okay with them, until two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, I saw this GSP on the store. When I moved towards it and touched the glass, it didn't flinch. It moved towards my hand while the others moved away. So, even though I know I have several guppies in my 29, I didn't hesitate and bought this puffer.
Went home, moved all my guppies to the quarantine tank (20 long), and you know what happened already.
That's it and my wife just told me that the poor puffer is no longer moving and has stopped breathing.
Another dead puffer... because of me. I had such high hopes on this one.
So, please, I need to know, what the heck am I doing wrong? I didn't think it's the CO2 or the fertilizer because of my previous dead puffers. I didn't use it then. But could they be the reason now?
Thanks for taking the time to read my epic mini novel. I would really appreciate any suggestions, tips, and all that would help me if I would venture out and risk a new puffer again.
Now, I will just take my leave and bury another puffer.
Disclaimer: I'm not advertising for the products I've mentioned. They are just the ones that I use in my tanks.
My Green Spotted Puffer is dying. Please note of my water parameters below (API Freshwater Master Test Kit was used):
PH- 7.6
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 5
Water Temp- 79F
Salinity- 1.002
This is a fully cycled tank 29 gallon tank and has been running for three months on an Aqueon QuietFlow Aquarium Power Filter 30. I got this puffer two weeks ago and has been on an alternating diet of frozen shrimp (bought fresh, then cleaned, then frozen) and bladder and/or ramshorn snails, once a day. I had guppies for the last two months on this tank before the puffer, and one month of cycling before that. The tank has some short jungle vals, some java moss, and a couple of anubias nana and nana petite on driftwood. I also placed a small air stone on the left corner of the tank. Filter was running on the right side. This puffer is the only inhabitant of the tank. Well, probably some small snails that are hiding in the plants. I am half dosing the tank with API Leaf Zone once a week, and for this instance, I am running a DIY CO2 sugar/yeast formula 24/7.
This puffer was sold as a freshwater puffer by the LFS, was drip acclimated for 3 hours and had stayed on the tank with freshwater for five days. Raised the pH from 7.2 to 7.6 by adding crushed coral on top of the sand and the salinity to 1.001 after the first water change (and cleaning) last Friday. I used one handful of Instant Ocean Marine Salt on a bucket of water and let it sit for one day and one night with a running air stone to supposedly melt the salt (sorry, no scientific data on this, I just read it somewhere). Used a refractometer to measure the salinity. The water used is prepared one hour before in 5 gallon water bottles (we have 6, all used for water changes). API Stress Coat+ was used as dechlorinator and added API Quick Start to add some biological bacteria for reinforcement. Everything seemed okay and the fish seemed okay. It was eating well and swimming well.
I did another water change (and cleaning) yesterday (Friday) and raised the salinity to 1.002. Everything was okay, it ate shrimp this morning and was swimming in the bubbles. I use a plant forceps to feed the puffer. This afternoon (today is Saturday), I saw the puffer nose down behind the vals and the skin was already really dark and it seems like it was twitching. I used a plant forceps to nudge it a bit. It moved and swam away but only for a short distance and it landed a little hard on the substrate. Breathing is labored.
I did another test with the above mentioned results.
Background: I have 5 tanks (10, 30 high, 55, 20 long, and this 29). The first 3 are all freshwater. The 20 long is quarantine. However, this is not my first brackish tank and I have a lot of dead puffers on me. No matter what I do, I can't seem to keep them alive for more than 4 weeks. First set was four GSPs on the same 29 gallon tank, all died within four weeks. I thought, okay, I was over eager and didn't really know much. I placed a lot of puffers in a tank, but they were just about an inch then. Next was the following week right after the last puffer died, bought 2. Died within one week, both of them.
Restarted the tank. Cycled it for a month and half, put one Figure 8. Dead after the second week. Got another F8, died on the 3rd day.
WTHeck! What was I doing wrong? Didn't have any problems with my other tanks. 10 gallon has 6 dwarf puffers, 30 gallon high has one 5 inch trimac cichlid. 55 gallon is planted, with neon tetras, pearl danios, pygmy cories, dwarf gouramies, cherry shrimps, ramshorns, trumpet snails, amanos, and bladder snails, and used to be a South Afican Cichlid tank. All these tanks have been running for more than a year. I feel that I've followed the steps and did all that I can (even bought the Marine Salt and Refractomer, even when the people from the LFS said that the puffers are okay with high PH), read a lot of pages and have been to a lot of websites already. I slowly acclimated them, checked the water parameters always, made sure that the water is clean, made regular water changes, and always check the salinity. I'm a very hands-on guy with my tanks. So what the heck am I doing wrong?
So I stopped with brackish waters. Didn't seem to have the ability (or knowledge) to handle brackish.
Restarted the tank again and decided to have guppies. Even had some fry. I was quite okay with them, until two weeks ago.
Two weeks ago, I saw this GSP on the store. When I moved towards it and touched the glass, it didn't flinch. It moved towards my hand while the others moved away. So, even though I know I have several guppies in my 29, I didn't hesitate and bought this puffer.
Went home, moved all my guppies to the quarantine tank (20 long), and you know what happened already.
That's it and my wife just told me that the poor puffer is no longer moving and has stopped breathing.
Another dead puffer... because of me. I had such high hopes on this one.
So, please, I need to know, what the heck am I doing wrong? I didn't think it's the CO2 or the fertilizer because of my previous dead puffers. I didn't use it then. But could they be the reason now?
Thanks for taking the time to read my epic mini novel. I would really appreciate any suggestions, tips, and all that would help me if I would venture out and risk a new puffer again.
Now, I will just take my leave and bury another puffer.
Disclaimer: I'm not advertising for the products I've mentioned. They are just the ones that I use in my tanks.