Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
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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Chaz
- Puffer Fry
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Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
I have a 3" fahaka in my 110 with some S. American cichlids. I foolishly added a Bushy Nose pleco to the tank, as I've heard they are good algae eaters for life (his life ended up just lasting for a few more days...either the fahaka or the common pleco got him). After the untimely passing of the new pleco, I noticed that my 4 severums and 3 uarus have ich. The puffer, 2 geophagus, and the common pleco are unaffected. What should my course of action be? I had a similar situation with cichlids with ich in a tank with freshwater stingrays. Then, I removed all of the fish but the stingrays and the pleco, and medicated them. The rays and the pleco were left in the main tank, and they remained free of parasites. Can I just remove the sick fish and the puffer will be fine? I need to get rid of the cichlids anyway, as the fahaka likes to eat their fins, and I'm affraid that he'll soon like to eat their...everything. What should I do?
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Nick
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Re: Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
Dissolve 22 tablespoons of aquarium salt in a bucket of water, add it to the tank, and turn the heater up to 86 or 87 degrees. The ich will be gone in a couple weeks. Removing fish without obvious spots can get you in trouble, as they might have a hidden spot on their gills.
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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Chaz
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:32 am
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1 Dogface Puffer: Omar
1 Porcupine Puffer: Sticka Bell
2 Fig 8s: Brik and Brak - Location: Kentucky
Re: Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
Okay...I've upped the temp, and I'm going to add the salt after today's water change. I've noticed that my puffer is burying himself more than normal. After getting used to the tank, he was always active and swimming around. Starting yesterday, I hardly see him, and not just after feedings. He skipped last night's feeding and this morning's feeding (though I saw him actively swimming in the interim). Is this common? Though it's terribly cute to see my little puffer's eyes poking out of the sand, it's troubling that he's not voraciously attacking any and all food that enters the tank.
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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...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
He's probably just sulky from the ich bothering his skin.
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
You can add Melafix for that but be sure to add an airstone if you do, as the higher temps will make his breathing more difficult & the Melafix even worse.Nick wrote:He's probably just sulky from the ich bothering his skin.
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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Chaz
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:32 am
- My Puffers: 1 Fahaka: Sir Puffington
1 Dogface Puffer: Omar
1 Porcupine Puffer: Sticka Bell
2 Fig 8s: Brik and Brak - Location: Kentucky
Re: Ich...not on the puffer, but on other fish.
I upped the temp and added the salt, as well as doing a small water change. The puffer seems to be getting better about resting so much. I still haven't seen any signs of ich in him.
I've read somewhere that ich is kinda like the chickenpox. The fish only get it once, then they're pretty much immune. If they do get it, it's very mild. That seems to be what's happening in my tank. The severums and geophagus have had it before, and they only had a couple spots. The uarus on the other hand, seem to have it bad. Overall, I think things are getting better.
I've read somewhere that ich is kinda like the chickenpox. The fish only get it once, then they're pretty much immune. If they do get it, it's very mild. That seems to be what's happening in my tank. The severums and geophagus have had it before, and they only had a couple spots. The uarus on the other hand, seem to have it bad. Overall, I think things are getting better.