Hey everyone!
My name is Danielle i recently bought 3 GSP's at walmart of all places. (BAD IDEA)
they did not give me any information regarding GSP's besides they like salt.
so i got some came home set up the aquarium and after some time i put them in there.
the next day i was watching them and noticed they had teeth! i had no idea. so i did some research and learned that they are semi difficult to maintain and keep healthy and happy.
long story short, 2 of them have died ive done most everything i could do that i know how, burping was a success for the smaller one but he just passed
so im very worried about the one i have left, i dont know if it was because i transferred them into brackish water too soon too fast, or if they are sick. could it be the ammonia or oxygen levels?
If someone is willing to explain a few things or give me some tips it would be appreciated!!
Danielle
Dying puffers and need help!!!!!!!!
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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cuteyiddlepuff
- Dwarf Puffer
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Re: Dying puffers and need help!!!!!!!!
Hi Danielle,
Puffers can adapt to salinity changes if acclimated properly (it's the bacteria that needs time to adapt). Ammonia and Nitrites need to be zero, Nitrates have to be less than 20ppm. So you need to test for all of these, they sell test kits. My kit didn't include Nitrates so I had to buy that separately. If your tank isn't cycled you need to buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's or BioSpira ASAP, for now you can do a partial water change to lower any high Ammonia/Nitrite levels. Make sure to dechlorinate the water and test the salinity. You need a hydrometer or refractometer to test the salinity (hydrometers are cheaper but refractometers are more accurate). You should also familiarize yourself with your tap water's chemical components. Puffers don't respond well to swinging PH changes so keep the PH constant. Puffers need snails to keep their teeth filed. Puffers are messy eaters so one GSP needs 30gallons to themselves. If the Walmart you went to is anything like the one near me the Puffers were near death when you got them-I know it's a horrible for you to find out this way. Most of them are very skinny and have IPs. If he looks thin and doesn't hold onto his food you need to treat for IPs. There's an article in the library.
Puffers can adapt to salinity changes if acclimated properly (it's the bacteria that needs time to adapt). Ammonia and Nitrites need to be zero, Nitrates have to be less than 20ppm. So you need to test for all of these, they sell test kits. My kit didn't include Nitrates so I had to buy that separately. If your tank isn't cycled you need to buy a bottle of Dr. Tim's or BioSpira ASAP, for now you can do a partial water change to lower any high Ammonia/Nitrite levels. Make sure to dechlorinate the water and test the salinity. You need a hydrometer or refractometer to test the salinity (hydrometers are cheaper but refractometers are more accurate). You should also familiarize yourself with your tap water's chemical components. Puffers don't respond well to swinging PH changes so keep the PH constant. Puffers need snails to keep their teeth filed. Puffers are messy eaters so one GSP needs 30gallons to themselves. If the Walmart you went to is anything like the one near me the Puffers were near death when you got them-I know it's a horrible for you to find out this way. Most of them are very skinny and have IPs. If he looks thin and doesn't hold onto his food you need to treat for IPs. There's an article in the library.
PUFFER RULES
Do not take your Puffer out of water (you can kill them)
Change water at least 1x a week
Change water immediately if there is high Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate
Monitor water levels (PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, SG,etc.)
Give your Puffer snails to wear down his/her teeth
Soak dry food with tank water/vitamin water
When buying a Puffer look for one with a fat belly
Do not take your Puffer out of water (you can kill them)
Change water at least 1x a week
Change water immediately if there is high Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate
Monitor water levels (PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, SG,etc.)
Give your Puffer snails to wear down his/her teeth
Soak dry food with tank water/vitamin water
When buying a Puffer look for one with a fat belly
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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- Location: Greenville, SC
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Re: Dying puffers and need help!!!!!!!!
There is an article on cycling in the Library, so you can better understand the biological balance of your tank. Don't let the store sell you any other bacteria than the ones mentioned above. At this point, your puffer is living in an uncycled tank. It is poisoning itself with it's own wastes (living in a toilet). You must do large, frequent water changes (sometines 2x/day) to keep the water as clean as possible.
Be sure to read the GSP article too.
Be sure to read the GSP article too.
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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Agnate
- Former Staff Member
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1 Abei Puffer [Monotrete Abei]
(Captain Abe) - Location: Ontario, Canada
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Re: Dying puffers and need help!!!!!!!!
If you can't get ahold of the two products mentioned above (Dr. Tim's or BioSpira), then hunt around for a product called Prime. It's a water dechlorinator, but it also detoxifies the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate during the cycling process. Although using Dr. Tim's or BioSpira is a better solution, it's not always a plausible solution if you can't find the products. Doing a double-dose of Prime should help remove the toxicity (along with water changes), allowing your puffer to hopefully survive.
Hopefully the little puff pulls through, but you need to act fast in order to save him/her.
Hopefully the little puff pulls through, but you need to act fast in order to save him/her.
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- Paul
40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
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- Paul
40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
5 gallon - 1 Betta (Frederico)