crazy swimming with filter?
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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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
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Re: crazy swimming with filter?
I have a Salifert nitrate test that has 2 seperate powders to use & then you have th shake the vial for 1 minute & wait to read of after another 3.
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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itsepainen
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:45 pm
- My Puffers: 2" GSP - Since Friday, June 6, 2008
- Location: FL, US
Re: crazy swimming with filter?
I would have never known if you hadn't told me, Nick.
I figure the instructions on the back of the color keys are pretty self-explanatory. But the picture they showed for shaking the #2 bottle had the same markings as the picture showing you to "invert the test tube several times." lol. So that's what I had been doing.
Anywho, I'm hoping to raise the SG of my tank in these next couple of weeks. Perhaps to about 1.010 as he's right around 2" at the moment. Unfortunately, with that comes some redecorating. I'm happy with the tank as it is, and so is the puffer it seems. But the anacharis and drift wood are going to have to go. Grr.
Does anyone know where I can find fake driftwood or something that will be fine in brackish-marine water and looks nice?
I figure the instructions on the back of the color keys are pretty self-explanatory. But the picture they showed for shaking the #2 bottle had the same markings as the picture showing you to "invert the test tube several times." lol. So that's what I had been doing.
Anywho, I'm hoping to raise the SG of my tank in these next couple of weeks. Perhaps to about 1.010 as he's right around 2" at the moment. Unfortunately, with that comes some redecorating. I'm happy with the tank as it is, and so is the puffer it seems. But the anacharis and drift wood are going to have to go. Grr.
Does anyone know where I can find fake driftwood or something that will be fine in brackish-marine water and looks nice?
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: crazy swimming with filter?
Petsmart has some nice fake mangrove roots.
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!"
-
itsepainen
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2007 3:45 pm
- My Puffers: 2" GSP - Since Friday, June 6, 2008
- Location: FL, US
Re: crazy swimming with filter?
Thanks, Pufferpunk. I shall have to look online since there's no Petsmart around here. 
-Frustration- I have not messed with the tank today, other than test for nitrates. But around 9:00 tonight I noticed my puffer running into things again and this time he is yellowish in color. I turned the filter off again. Changed out 5gal and immediately he seemed to be doing better. But now, 3 hours later, he is still yellow and bumping into things just a tad.
I really don't know what's wrong. o.O Is he pressuring me to put him in a higher salinity?
-Frustration- I have not messed with the tank today, other than test for nitrates. But around 9:00 tonight I noticed my puffer running into things again and this time he is yellowish in color. I turned the filter off again. Changed out 5gal and immediately he seemed to be doing better. But now, 3 hours later, he is still yellow and bumping into things just a tad.
I really don't know what's wrong. o.O Is he pressuring me to put him in a higher salinity?
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SeeingGreen
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 53
- Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:18 pm
- My Puffers: 2x GSP
Re: crazy swimming with filter?
I don't know this to be expressly true, but i have been raising my salinity for a little while now. I had one that was running into things when i was at 1.006 but i think I spooked him one day while cleaning, and he just got mad at me. He was pretty skittish for a while, and i saw him flitting about quickly and running into things. But he's better now. As far as yellowing, I have not ever seen that, but I am new to this puffer thing. So maybe he is just being crabby?