SAP (Colomesus asellus) lost his appetite

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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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Fella
Figure 8 Puffer
Posts: 215
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:03 am

SAP (Colomesus asellus) lost his appetite

Post by Fella »

Hey,

I have a single SAP puffer in a 20gallon tank. Water Params are as follows -

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10ppm

His water is changed once a week, and he is always very active, and looks to be begging for food. He is the only inhabitant of his tank.

Until 2 days ago he was eating very healthily, and greedily. He's fed on thawed bloodworm, pond snails, and protein rich goldfish pellets (hard enough to grind his teeth a little).

Yesterday I noticed one of his eyes was a little cloudy, and he wasn't making much of an attempt to eat food. I say his eye was cloudy, it just looked a little different. Today the other looks a little odd. I'm wondering now if he is struggling to see his food, because I dropped a pellet in for him today, and as it dropped right next to him, he ate it, and the next one.

Also, possibly significant, possibly not, I have noticed tiny beetle like bugs in the tank. They're small, and hard to see, but I can see them on the tank's filter and on the sandy substrate. They move very slowly (the snails move faster) and they flick occasionally. Any ideas what they are, and whether or not they a significant? The only way they could have entered the tank would have been hitchiking on rocks that have been in the tank since the start.

I am reluctant to medicate the tank, but I'm at wits end. I've had the little guy for about a month now, and he's been a very active and friendly little guy, I'm keen to get him sorted out.

Image


Many thanks in advance. Don't be scared to ask any question, I'm meticulous about my tanks and I'm sure I'll more than likely have an answer for anything you feel is necessary to ask!
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Pufferpunk
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Post by Pufferpunk »

Check his teeth. Do they look a lil long? Try Melafix for the eyes.
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!"
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Bred
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Post by Bred »

Those little skipper bugs are nothing to be concerned about. You'll be surprised what you find crawling around in your tank after a few months. All part of a healthy mini ecosystem.

Maintaining good tank hygiene is important - how much water do you change each week?
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Fella
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Post by Fella »

Pufferpunk wrote:Check his teeth. Do they look a lil long? Try Melafix for the eyes.
His teeth look fine, he's not very old I dont think (we haven't had him long and he came direct from the aquatics place) and he was crunching up snails like no tomorrow a couple of days ago.

I've read some things about melafix and I'll grab some later from the nearest store. I know it's mainly tea tree oil, but will I need to make any special concessions for him because he's a puffer? I'm guessing not because it's a natural product.
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Fella
Figure 8 Puffer
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Post by Fella »

Bred wrote:Those little skipper bugs are nothing to be concerned about. You'll be surprised what you find crawling around in your tank after a few months. All part of a healthy mini ecosystem.

Maintaining good tank hygiene is important - how much water do you change each week?
10-15% once a week. I have to to clear out some of the snail remains he leaves behind.

It's reassuring about those little bugs. They look a bit grim though, I'll have to hope no one else scrutinizes the tank as harshly as I do! Thank you for the reassurance though :)
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32979
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:
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Post by Pufferpunk »

50% weekly water changes are recommended for these messy fellas. Be sure to clean the gravel & under decor, fake plants, etc.
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!"
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Fella
Figure 8 Puffer
Posts: 215
Joined: Mon Oct 17, 2005 9:03 am

Post by Fella »

Ok, water changes are now 15% daily and I've begun treating with Melafix. I'll let you know how it goes!
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