Hi,
Our Green Spotted Puffer has suddenly developed a bent, s-shaped spine... it has been like that for a few hours now, but otherwise the fish is swimming around and eating like normal. We have had it for 3 years, could it have something to do with age? Or is it a disease?
I hope someone can help!
Cheers
Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
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.
-
Nick
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
Hmm, how large is your fish, and in what size tank? Sometimes stunting can result in internal abnormalities, which might manifest in a bent spine or other visible problems.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
The fish is about 1.5inches long...and the tank is a 50 litre one. The bend in its spine seemed to come on suddenly, it was fine yesterday but now it is severely bent.
-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
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- 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: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
I can't be sure, but a GSP should be 4 inches or even larger at 3 years old, so some growth abnormality is likely involved.
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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Content2Swell
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
Is there a picture you can post?
Job 12:7-10. But ask the animals, and they will teach you; or birds of the air
and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you; or let the fish
of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the
lord has done this. In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all
mankind.
and they will tell you; or speak to the earth and it will teach you; or let the fish
of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the
lord has done this. In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all
mankind.
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Pufferpunk
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
Did you recently feed it? Is it skinny?
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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StormySkiez
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
50 liters = 13g? At minimum your puffer needs a 30g tank.
55g-2 green spotted puffers 1 year old Nov 08!
20g-5 leopard danio,4 whiteskirt tetras, amanos, nerita snails, 2 neon tetras
Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
Hi again...I tried to take some pictures of it but they all turned out really blurry and you cant really see the bent spine. It is no skinnier than usual, and we have been feeding it as normal.
We didnt realise the tank needed to be so large...maybe that is why it hasnt grown properly??
We are not really sure what to do...should we just hope it corrects itself or is that unlikely to happen?
Cheers
We didnt realise the tank needed to be so large...maybe that is why it hasnt grown properly??
We are not really sure what to do...should we just hope it corrects itself or is that unlikely to happen?
Cheers
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crazedpuffer
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
You'd need to get it in a 30 gallon tank if you want it to even out somewhat.
-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
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F8 - Velvet
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Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
Getting him into a bigger tank, and doing 75% weekly water changes until then, will help his growth, which may help even out his spine.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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T miurus
A modestus
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C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
I just saw a GSP with a hump in it's back, at my LFS today.
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!"
-
t1gerbee
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Re: Green Spotted Puffer with bent spine...
stunting creating a bent spine wouldn't happen suddenly.. it would be progressive
must be something else....
must be something else....
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
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1 x 30G LPS Reef
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