hello again,
I have been nursing a couple sick puffers back to health after buying/saving them from a LFS that had about 10 in a 2 galloon tank. Most of them looked half dead, I bought 3. One didn't make it.....although he had no visible signs of disease other than really pointy sharp overgrown teeth/beak. The other two weren't doing the greatest, and weren't eating much. I treated them for IP and for ich because of the photos below, thinking that's what it was. The are acting 100% better today, with healthy appetites. What I thought was Ich hasn't fallen off yet and is in the same spot it was 6 days ago before I turned the heat up to 85ish. From what I have read I thought if it was ich if would have fallen off by now and into the gravel. Any thoughts on what this could be? I'm also currently dosing pimafix and melafix into the tank as well. Only the one puffer has the white spots on his fins....you can see a cluster of it at the base and a couple spots towards the end on the close up. He has had the white spots since I brought him home from the fish store.
Here's a run down of my params
Temp:85
Ammonia:0
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:10-20ppm
Salinity :1.005
PH: 7.8
Tank size: 50gal
Fish Size: about an inch each
Other fish: One pleco that has always thrived in my brackish molly tank....he's growing like a weed.
**note the puffers and the pleco don't bother each other at all.
Filtration: Eheim 2217 Classic
Food: Mussels mainly -from local grocery store, freeze dried blood worms, frozen adult brine shrimp, and currently farming snails.
Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
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.
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studmaster
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 am
Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1755
- Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:57 pm
- My Puffers: 1x Porcupine Puffer
1xValentini - Location: Long Island, NY
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
Fungus. It looks like it could have been from a bite that got infected. Either way treat with Pimafix/Melafix, and get some antifungal meds. If possible quarantine him.
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studmaster
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 am
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
Isn't Pimafix antifungal medication? Is it not strong enough?
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1755
- Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:57 pm
- My Puffers: 1x Porcupine Puffer
1xValentini - Location: Long Island, NY
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
Right I totally wasn't paying attention .Try just the pimafix/melafix and if it doesn't help get some other antifungal medication.
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Nick
- Former Staff Member
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- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
I've had much better luck with fungus that looks like that if I manually remove the fungus so the medication can reach the open wound. I'd do that before it reaches the body.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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studmaster
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 am
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
manually remove the fungus? How do you go about doing that? My new GSP's aren't in the stage yet where they let my pet them. They still hide a fair bit.Nick wrote:I've had much better luck with fungus that looks like that if I manually remove the fungus so the medication can reach the open wound. I'd do that before it reaches the body.
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Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
I netted the betta, held him with one hand(out of the net with a wet hand, I figure well rinsed softened skin will be less abbrasive than the net mesh) and pinched it off with the fingers of my other hand, taking some of the dead fin with it.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
It looks like you are doing a good job with them. If you do follow Nick's instructions, I suggest holding the puffer underwater (I'd use the net) & just take the infested fin out of the water to treat. You do not want the puffer to inflate with air.
BTW, the pleco may seem OK in the lower SG the juvie puffers are in right now but as you raise the SG to the required higher salinity the GSPS requite it will be very uncomfortable for the pleco.
BTW, the pleco may seem OK in the lower SG the juvie puffers are in right now but as you raise the SG to the required higher salinity the GSPS requite it will be very uncomfortable for the pleco.
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!"
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studmaster
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 am
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
Yeah, I'm going to get the pleco out as soon as I can get another home for him.Pufferpunk wrote:It looks like you are doing a good job with them. If you do follow Nick's instructions, I suggest holding the puffer underwater (I'd use the net) & just take the infested fin out of the water to treat. You do not want the puffer to inflate with air.
BTW, the pleco may seem OK in the lower SG the juvie puffers are in right now but as you raise the SG to the required higher salinity the GSPS requite it will be very uncomfortable for the pleco.
As for the fungus, I don't think my GSP is healthy enough to put him through that much stress by picking him up and manually removing it. Any other safe meds for fungus? I'm on day 8 of Pimafix and Melafix and it doesn't seem to be helping.
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1755
- Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:57 pm
- My Puffers: 1x Porcupine Puffer
1xValentini - Location: Long Island, NY
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
I think that would be the best bet, it wouldn't stress him for long.
You might want to find a stronger antifungal/bacterial medicine.
You might want to find a stronger antifungal/bacterial medicine.
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studmaster
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 148
- Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:24 am
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
on a side note, what's the longest you can treat with Melafix and Pimafix? On the bottle it says after 7 days, do a 25% WC then continue if required.
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crazedpuffer
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1755
- Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2005 11:57 pm
- My Puffers: 1x Porcupine Puffer
1xValentini - Location: Long Island, NY
Re: Ich or fungus? (pictures included)
I really don't think theres a limit. It's all natural and doesn't harm the biological filtration in the tank.