Help my GSP!
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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puffernuke
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 163
- Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2005 11:36 am
- Location (country): Lake of the Ozarks, MO
- Location: Lake of the Ozarks, MO
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ChesapeakeSwellfish
- Mentor
- Posts: 283
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:54 pm
- Location: southern Maryland
Josh,
One thing you've done right is that you've found this forum. Next, you should re-read all the recommendations and follow them. If you have not done that water change, do it now - with enough instant ocean dissolved in 2 or 3 clean 5 gallon buckets to raise the SG to 1.001. Slowly add this water off the top of your bucket via a drip line - avoid getting any undissolved crystals into your tank & match the temp (what is your temp?). This corresponds to a salinity of approx 2.5ppt which is a good start. The LFS should have told you what conditions the puffers were in. You will need to gradually raise the salinity with each water change. Do you know anybody with a reasonably deep drinking water well? That would be a better source of water and usually have better hardness. You will increase the salinity as you reduce nitrite with the water change.
Don't give up. Don't get overwhelmed. Don't get your advice from that LFS. I would not have recommended a puffer to someone so new to aquarium keeping. Do not underestimate the value of the advice you read in this forum. As a biologist, I am very impressed by the knowledge shared here. Good luck.
One thing you've done right is that you've found this forum. Next, you should re-read all the recommendations and follow them. If you have not done that water change, do it now - with enough instant ocean dissolved in 2 or 3 clean 5 gallon buckets to raise the SG to 1.001. Slowly add this water off the top of your bucket via a drip line - avoid getting any undissolved crystals into your tank & match the temp (what is your temp?). This corresponds to a salinity of approx 2.5ppt which is a good start. The LFS should have told you what conditions the puffers were in. You will need to gradually raise the salinity with each water change. Do you know anybody with a reasonably deep drinking water well? That would be a better source of water and usually have better hardness. You will increase the salinity as you reduce nitrite with the water change.
Don't give up. Don't get overwhelmed. Don't get your advice from that LFS. I would not have recommended a puffer to someone so new to aquarium keeping. Do not underestimate the value of the advice you read in this forum. As a biologist, I am very impressed by the knowledge shared here. Good luck.
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lisalisa
that's odd, you should see a drop....have you tested your source water for nitrites?
To raise your salinity: When you make up water to add back into your tank after a water change, add some salt to it...not much, in my opinion, enough to change the water you're putting back in read around 1.002 on a hydrometer...if you continue to do this, over time, the salinity increases. Don't add salt too often though, it's too hard on your puffers .
To raise your salinity: When you make up water to add back into your tank after a water change, add some salt to it...not much, in my opinion, enough to change the water you're putting back in read around 1.002 on a hydrometer...if you continue to do this, over time, the salinity increases. Don't add salt too often though, it's too hard on your puffers .
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ChesapeakeSwellfish
- Mentor
- Posts: 283
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:54 pm
- Location: southern Maryland
Do you have some instant ocean and a hydrometer? Its simple dilution. If you have 20 gallons of fresh water in your tank, mix 10 gallons of new water to a SG of 1.002 and then do a 50% water change. You will end up about 1.001 in your tank (don't worry about leaving a bit of undissolved salt in the bottom of your bucket - puffers like to sleep on the gravel and I've heard undissolved crystals could burn them). You can easily increase tank salinity each week by .0005 by doing a 50% water change with 1.001 water each time.
These fish live in the estuary. Like many estuarine fish species, they move downstream as they age (in their first year). The salinity is higher downstream. You need to try to match the physiological conditions the fish require in the wild. As adults, they live at or near full-strength sea-water.
These fish live in the estuary. Like many estuarine fish species, they move downstream as they age (in their first year). The salinity is higher downstream. You need to try to match the physiological conditions the fish require in the wild. As adults, they live at or near full-strength sea-water.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32980
- 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:
The beneficial bacteria you need to establish a healthy tank (contained in Bio-Spira) with 0 nitrites & ammonia will die off (starve) within 24 hours of having no food (fish waste) to eat. This is why you must add fish at the same time as B-S.Why would bio spira die without fish for 36 hours, would 2 fish make enough waste to keep it alive that quickly after adding it?
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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ChesapeakeSwellfish
- Mentor
- Posts: 283
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 9:54 pm
- Location: southern Maryland
A brackish water fish put into freshwater will be more stressed by toxics of all sorts, including nitrites, and even more vulnerable to disease. If you had the same nitrite level at the correct salinity, the fish would be less stressed.
I raised over 20 million fish this (and every) spring, and I added salt to minimize the stress they endure in a hatchery. We even add salt to freshwater species to reduce disease and increase hardiness in handling and transport.
I raised over 20 million fish this (and every) spring, and I added salt to minimize the stress they endure in a hatchery. We even add salt to freshwater species to reduce disease and increase hardiness in handling and transport.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32980
- 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:
Most fish adjust to hardness, although GSPs do prefer hard water. This is one of the reasons for crushed coral/aragonite substrate (in addition to keeping the pH around a steady 
.
.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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lisalisa
your right, sorry im just really panicking right now because Im worried they might die and Ive grown really attached to them. Im gonna let the water do its thing overnight and see whats happenining tomorrow mornining.lisalisa wrote:you asked me how to raise the salinity..didn't you?JOSHBOX wrote:you guys keep going back to salinity but thats not the issue. It seems to me like they are both suffering from nitrite poisioning. Id really like to solve that issue before I go on adding salt to my tank.
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lisalisa
If your source turned out fine (both?) than I agree to call it a night, you've got it down to a possibly non lethal level (positive, i guess?). Check it and do another large water change tomorrow morning, and go get some more bio-spira.