I got a 20 gallon tank, cycled it in about a week and a half before I got two figure 8 puffers.
when it was cycled the ammonia was 0 and nitrites 0, and nitrates was a low number.
immediatly when i brought the puffers home and put them in the tank with a sucker fish, the puffers
gobbled up their blood worms for dinner.
the next day they ate them just as much.
the day after they refused the blood worms and ignored them as i offerd them in front of them as they swam by.
the next day they refused them again so i went to the pet store to find more food. i bougth baby ghost shrimp
for them but all the ghost shrimp did was eat the blood worms. one puffer attacked one once but then just left
them alone after.
the next day the sucker fish died. and i offered blood worms again and they refused. so off to the pet store again
and i got snails. held them infront of the puffers individually and they refused, then i just left 4 in the tank and there
still here.
Today they are looking very sick and dying, one of them was losing its color this morning and its eyes very cloudy and swimming
near the bottum of the tank or just sitting there. the other is not eating and where the color of the fish meets the white stomach is
turning a small shade of blue and its stomach is flat. So that morning i went to loook for black worms but my pet store doesnt have them
so i bought marine salt. the salt worked well and they regained there darker color and green design. but then the one with cloudier eyes
lost more of its color and this evening curled up its tail and went belly up, but was still breathing and was swimming. it would get rightside up
and then swim halfway up then just go sit at the bottum of the tank. the things i noticed on this one was that near the gills was pinkesh and didnt
seem right. and near its rear end was a yellow spot.
I dont know what i did wrong and i dont like seeing them suffer, its terrible. Is there a way to humanely put them down before they keep starving to
death of what should i do. help is extremely appreciated.
F8 problems
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.
-
Pufferpunk
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Re: F8 problems
Please answer all the Qs above in red, so we can help you better.
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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PufferMayne
- Puffer Fry
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Re: F8 problems
1) Dont know the PH, Ammonia is at 0 or low. Nitrite is 0. Nitrate is low.
2)Tank is 20 gallons and has two puffers and a Pleco that I removed two and a have days ago that died
3) I feed them in the morning, and have used a gravel sucker to suck up all the fish poo and leftover food at the bottum of the tank once every two days.
I havent dont any water changes and I have added 3 tablespoons of marine salt a day ago.
4) Just adding the 3 tablespoons of salt and removing a dead fish.
5) I cycled the aquarium for 2 weeks. I checked ammonia lvl, then added ammonia to make it to a certain lvl. then I kept doing that then i checked the nitrite, and then checked the nitrate lvl. And in a few weeks the ammonia was 0 and the nitrite was 0.
2)Tank is 20 gallons and has two puffers and a Pleco that I removed two and a have days ago that died
3) I feed them in the morning, and have used a gravel sucker to suck up all the fish poo and leftover food at the bottum of the tank once every two days.
I havent dont any water changes and I have added 3 tablespoons of marine salt a day ago.
4) Just adding the 3 tablespoons of salt and removing a dead fish.
5) I cycled the aquarium for 2 weeks. I checked ammonia lvl, then added ammonia to make it to a certain lvl. then I kept doing that then i checked the nitrite, and then checked the nitrate lvl. And in a few weeks the ammonia was 0 and the nitrite was 0.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- 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:
Re: F8 problems
How much ammonia did you actually add when cycling? It's important to know, because if you didn't add enough, it may not have created enough bacteria to support the life you added. You say your ammonia tests now at possibly "low". ANY amt of ammonia is toxic. What test kit are you using?
Do a water change now, of 25% & again tomorrow at 50%.
Do a water change now, of 25% & again tomorrow at 50%.
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!"
-
PufferMayne
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 1:45 am
Re: F8 problems
OK
did that and they are looking better today.
one of them is more active and ate a litlte bit
the other one with the foggy eyes and bad color who sat at the bottum of the tank is swimming alot more
but his eyes havent improved.
his stomach looks like he mightve eaten a little but i havent seen him eat
did that and they are looking better today.
one of them is more active and ate a litlte bit
the other one with the foggy eyes and bad color who sat at the bottum of the tank is swimming alot more
but his eyes havent improved.
his stomach looks like he mightve eaten a little but i havent seen him eat
-
Agnate
- Former Staff Member
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Re: F8 problems
His eyes are foggy because the ammonia burns them, and thus creates that cloudy look. Keep doing water changes, and make sure you vacuum all of the gravel and remove any food if they don't eat it. Dead and decaying matter creates ammonia, which will just further your problems.
If you can, go to the pet store and look for a product called Prime dechlorinator. Prime helps to detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, which will (hopefully) allow your puffers to survive through the re-cycle of your tank. What dechlorinator are you using?
Also, look through the Library for the Emergency Cycling article and give it a read. Generally, to grow the bacteria required to support a puffer's bioload, it takes approximately 3-6 weeks (using the proper amount of ammonia). Thus, my guess is that you didn't use enough ammonia, judging by how short your cycle period was.
If you can, go to the pet store and look for a product called Prime dechlorinator. Prime helps to detoxify ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, which will (hopefully) allow your puffers to survive through the re-cycle of your tank. What dechlorinator are you using?
Also, look through the Library for the Emergency Cycling article and give it a read. Generally, to grow the bacteria required to support a puffer's bioload, it takes approximately 3-6 weeks (using the proper amount of ammonia). Thus, my guess is that you didn't use enough ammonia, judging by how short your cycle period was.
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- 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)