GSP hiding, too skinny, white wisps in tank... please help!

[freddyfish]

1. pH: 7 Ammonia: have nothing to test it but used AmmoLock Nitrite: .5 Nitrates: 0 salinity: we are soaking a new hydrometer (salinity is likely low)

2. It is a 30 gal. tank and Freddy (GSP) is the only inhabitant.

3. We have fed him bloodworms, krill, brine shrimp cubes, Tropical Fish Medley, crab, and a shrimp tail from the supermarket (probably not a good idea but it was the only really hard thing we could find for his teeth). Bloodworms are his main food. We have added Melafix, Stress Coat (never again), AmmoLock, Jungle Tap Water Conditioner tabs, Jungle Start Right tabs, aquarium salt, Instant Ocean, and liquid Tap Water Conditioner. Our arms and hands have been in the tank a little to take out a decoration and move his food towards him.

4. Changes that have been made to the tank this week include a few water changes (30%-40% each time); I started adding Instant Ocean slowly but did not add much (dissolved it before of course). I think the water still is more FW than not. We did not cycle the tank in the traditional way because we wanted to get him out of the 10 gal. ASAP, so we used tabs and liquid before we moved him. We use an AquaClear 50 filter. We took the carbon part out of the filter when we added the Melafix.

5. The aquarium has been set up since around May 5, 2008.

Some of you might remember how I rescued Freddy from a glass FW bowl at a dance (thanks to everyone who gave me advice!). He was doing really great for a few weeks, he was very friendly, active, and had a great appetite. Now he hides for most of the day, lies on the gravel, and eats much less than normal. His spots are fading and he is way too skinny. He has black coloration around his mouth and the lower part of his belly. His breathing had been okay but today it has increased in rapidity. This started 4-5 days ago. I'm really scared that he might not make it much longer. Today we added Melafix and Parasite Clear tabs but he doesn't seem to be improving. I think he has parasites but it could be Marine Velvet. Another concern: there were wispy white things on one of his decorations yesterday (maybe the day before too) so I took it out. He also rubbed against this decoration for a long time a few days ago. I don't understand what the white wisps were, but he has stopped rubbing.

Is there anything else I can do/should add to his tank? What is wrong with him? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[PufferGrrl]

I'm glad you were able to upgrade his tank for him. I would suggest getting something to test the ammonia with... with a fresh tank that might be part of the problem, especially since they're messy eaters. The water changes are good though. If it wasn't cycled normally the ammonia might be spiking, and that's why you're seeing the nitrites right now and not the nitrates yet. I've used Ammo Lock before and for whatever reason it doesn't help me as much as I'd like, so the water changes are probably your best bet IMO if the tank isn't completely cycled yet. Just keep the levels as low as possible, they're really sensitive to ammonia/nitrites/nitrates. I'm sure he's going to be happier in his bigger tank. Best of luck!

[PufferGrrl]

I was looking up white wisps... are they more stringy or fuzzy? One place suggested it may be a fungus or something from food that he may not have eaten. I'm not sure if this is the same in your case, but I would probably try to get the white stuff out of the tank and do a big water change.

[freddyfish]

I think the wisps are more fuzzy than stringy. The fungus from food would make sense, I forgot to mention that a piece of seaweed disintegrated in his tank, and I probably couldn't get all of it out. He was just swimming around twitching for a couple minutes as if he had an itch he couldn't shake, but now he is swimming normally again.

Tonight I have to move him to where I am staying over the summer, which is across the street, so I'm going to get the 10 gal. tank ready over there since it doesn't have this white stuff in it, and transport him via bowl. Hopefully it won't be too stressful for him. I'll clean the 30 gal., prep the water, and put him back in it tomorrow so he has space again, unless he seems to do well in the 10 gal., in which case I'll let the 30 gal. cycle for the full time first.

I'll get something to test the ammonia tomorrow, and also an anti-fungal medication. Thank you so much for your help!!!

[PufferGrrl]

If he doesn't have the white stuff on his body I don't think you would need the anti-fungal. I would vacuum the gravel, I'm not sure if you have one or not, but that make gravel vacuums that are basically tubes with a wider end that helps siphon the water out and sucks up some of the gravel so it can be cleaned and old food can come out with the old water.

Be careful what medications you use with him because he's more sensitive than say, a tiger barb, to meds. They make pimafix and melafix (here's a link to what they look like and a description http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=11269) that I've used before, and it's my understanding that they're safe with the puffers based on what I've read, although I've never used them on my puffers, but have them on hand because I've heard they are the safest if they need to be treated and I've used them with other fish and they work well when needed. I would say Pimafix would be your best bet in this situation if he has the fungus type stuff on him. If he doesn't have it on him though, I would just clean the water, clean the gravel, and make sure all the white stuff is out. Definitely get a vacuum if you don't have one already though, they're under $10 for a basic one.

[freddyfish]

We're actually vacuuming the gravel right now. He does not have the white stuff on his body, though his coloring is a bit pale. Is it possible that the fungus in the tank is irritating him without making him sick internally?

[PufferGrrl]

I would assume so.. I'm guessing it's raising the ammonia, when stuff decays generally the ammonia goes up quicker than normal. I'm betting that's what's making him feel bad.

[Nick]

I seriously doubt the white stuff has anything to do with whats wrong, and breaking down the tank he is in and switching him back to another uncycled tank is only going to make it take way longer to get water conditions acceptable. I also think you are adding WAY too many things to the tank. You don't need 4 different water conditioners, and I agree, stress coat is the worst of them. It may have something to do with your fungus problem, the aloe it contains does eventually rot in the tank. The fungus is probably mostly growing in bits of uneaten food, and has no effect on his health. I think a large water change with no additives other than a small amount on instant ocean(just a tonic dose for now, say a tablespoon per gallon, since the tank is cycling you're just using it to decrease nitrite toxicity) and a single water conditioner is the best thing to do. Get an ammonia test kit, it's likely spiking high and you will need to do large water changes to keep it under control. The best thing you can possibly do at this point is find someone with a fully cycled freshwater aquarium, the longer the better, and get a funky used filter cartridge from them. Make sure it's never washed or contacts tap water. Then, stuff it into Freddy's filter, if you have to take out or cut away a plastic frame, so be it, just make sure you keep all the filter material. The tank should fully cycle in no time, and then you can worry about increasing the SG to a true brackish level.

[freddyfish]

I switched him to a 10 gal. freshwater with one tap conditioner last night. He ate decently last night and was behaving normally, but today he is lying around and not eating a thing.

I wish I could find someone nearby with fish but I'm staying on campus over the summer and most students have gone home.

I will put in the Instant Ocean and buy an ammonia test kit. I added a little Melafix to the tank. I wish I could pinpoint what is wrong with him, I don't understand why his health has suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

Thanks for the help!

[PufferGrrl]

If you know where to find bio spira, that might help. It's not guaranteed, but if it's been handled right (refrigerated the whole time) I've found it to work pretty good. The downside is that it's expensive, but it's worked great every time I've used it. (It's basically a pouch of live bacteria that you can put in the tank at the same time you put the fish in.

[freddyfish]

Freddy became paralyzed a few times today to the point where I thought he was dead. He stops moving and breathing and doesn't respond when I tap on the glass, but eventually he starts swimming again. Is there ANYTHING I can do for him? Is he dying?

My boyfriend wanted to put him down when he became paralyzed but I said NO. He doesn't want to see him suffer, but I'm not sure if he is dying. I want to help him, and I would never put him down.

I haven't been able to get to the store yet.

Thanks everyone for your help.

[freddyfish]

Ammonia is at 0, and I just put in Bio Spira. He is producing air bubbles and swimming normally, so I'm about to read the article on burping them/what happens when they fill up with air.

[Happy_Puffer]

Is he eating? If not try getting him to eat maybe live brine just to get some food in him, not too many just in case he doesn't eat them. Is there air in the tank? Like an air stone, maybe he is sucking in air because there isn't enough in the tank. When my puffer became paralyzed he died shortly after, so if he is still alive he might have a chance. Did you treat for ips, sorry if you have said all this before I am just trying to think of the things I did when this happened to my puffer. I also added some prime after I did a water change and he seemed better but never recovered. Good luck!!

[freddyfish]

I'm sorry you lost your puffer

He is at the surface at a corner as if he is gasping for air. When he stops moving it is for a shorter time and then five air bubbles come out of his side and he keeps swimming. I foolishly did not know that you are supposed to soak freeze dried food, so I may have been giving the poor guy air through his diet. I don't know how to tell if there is enough air in the tank; the lid is off. I am soaking a freeze dried krill, is it okay to feed him that? (I don't have any live brine, nor do I have Prime.)

Thanks a lot for the help!

[Happy_Puffer]

Thank you I have learned a lot since that poor puffer, but I am no expert, believe me, but I would say that he needs an air stone. He keeps gulping air and that isn't good. I would go to the lfs or if its closed, then to walmart and get a bubble wall the air stones are a pain but the bubble walls you can hide and they look very nice. Is the temp high? I added the bubble wall when I upped the temp for ich. My puffers like to ride the bubbles from the bubble wall. Krill isn't a very good diet, I would find some frozen bloodworms or at least some freeze dried ones. They are much better for him. Krill is more of a treat since it is fatty. I never really soak my freeze dried foods just the frozen ones. You could try some garlic to get him to eat. I would try anything just to get him to eat.