I guess this belongs here.
My larger GSP who seems to be growing faster than the others. He's about 2" now. The others are still 1.5".
Anyway, he looks really bloated and i can see his anus for the first time. Im guessing its constipation or something.
So, I fed him a pea yesterday, which hasnt helped.
Ive read somewhere I can add epsom salt. I have Aqua Tonic Salt. Is that the same thing? How much should I add?
Is there anything else I can try?
constipation.
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.
-
flash.dan
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 433
- Joined: Fri Aug 22, 2008 9:50 am
- My Puffers: 8 years of FW puffer care!
currently have 1x mbu
Bubba 17" gentle giant... loves a belly tickle.
2x Suvatti Pair
1x Carinotetraodon borneensis - Location: Coventry, UK
Re: constipation.
epsom salt is different from tonic salt its cheap enough add 1 tblspoon per gallon to start and plenty of airiation. Although most of the time puffers wil be fine after a few days without
is he going to the toilet?? usualluy classic sighn of constupation is dark almost black waste
is he going to the toilet?? usualluy classic sighn of constupation is dark almost black waste
-
indie
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 227
- Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:57 am
- My Puffers: 4 x 1.25" Green Spotted Puffers
1 x Suvatti Puffer
2 x Figure 8 Puffers - Location (country): UK
- Location: surrey, uk
Re: constipation.
I cant get hold of any epsom salt at the moment. The lfs doesnt stock it.
I havent seen him go to the toilet, but then i havent been watching him enough to see.
He does have stress lines along his belly tho.
I havent seen him go to the toilet, but then i havent been watching him enough to see.
He does have stress lines along his belly tho.
-
Agnate
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1203
- Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:44 pm
- My Puffers: -
1 Abei Puffer [Monotrete Abei]
(Captain Abe) - Location: Ontario, Canada
- Contact:
Re: constipation.
You can pick up Epsom salt from a local retailer or drug store (it's often advertised for foot baths). It's cheap for a decent-sized bag, too.
Did our staff successfully help you? The Puffer Forum is an incredible resource and is run completely on the donations of its viewers. Proceeds from the Puffer Forum store go towards future contests and keeping the site running. Donations may also be made via PayPal.
- Paul
40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
5 gallon - 1 Betta (Frederico)
- Paul
40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
5 gallon - 1 Betta (Frederico)