GSP Floating On His Side
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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.
GSP Floating On His Side
Hi, I have a Green spotted puffer that is about 3 inches long. The ph is 7.8, nitrites 0 and nitrates 20. He is in a 33g Brackish tank around 1.012. He is the only one in the tank. I feed him freeze dried shrimp, brine shrimp and snails. I usually change the water once a week if not twice. I recently changed his water twice this week. I've had him for about two years now. I cycled the tank fishless. Lately he has been grey bellied and floating on his side. He is still hungry but it seems he has some swim bladder issue perhaps. Can anyone help? I'm really attatched to peabody.
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Christemo
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
Your nitrates are really high.
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
well actually it's less then 20 I would say. And instead of telling me it's high why not tell me where it's suppost to be?
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Nick
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
It sounds like he may have swallowed some air, check out the article on the site library on burping a puffer.
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
![[welcome]](./images/smilies/welcome.gif "welcome")
20 nitrate isn't really that bad.. Best to keep <20. At 3", I'd give him larger pieces of foods to eat. Brine shrimp is basicly non-nutritious, as it's mostly water. Snails are great! Check out the feeding article in our Library (under the Learn tab, above) & try the burping too.
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
Here are some of my initial guesses:
- Freeze-dried foods could have caused some build-up of air (since they're dried). I only really use freeze-dried foods for medicine (since it sucks it up really well). I'd switch to frozen foods like clams, muscles, shrimp (the kind we eat), crab, octopus, scallops, and squid. Make sure it's raw and has no spices/butter/oils in it. Just thaw it in a cup with some water from the tank (and make sure it's completely thawed), and then feed.
- At 3" and assuming he has no internal parasites, he probably holds his food pretty well. When you switch to frozen foods, you can feed once every 2-3 days (depending on how quickly the food is digested). Overfeeding can cause fatty liver disease (among other things).
- I'm not sure where you live, but here in Ontario (Canada), it's coming on spring time, which means the water treatment facilities start introducing a lot more chloramine and oxygen into the tap water. As such, I usually have to double-dose my dechlorinator and let to water sit for a bit (boiling is best, but I'm kinda lazy) before putting it into the tank. Maybe it's possible that he's feeling some effects from spring water, perhaps?
- My last guess is that he simply swallowed some air and needs to be burped. I'd give this a try!
- Freeze-dried foods could have caused some build-up of air (since they're dried). I only really use freeze-dried foods for medicine (since it sucks it up really well). I'd switch to frozen foods like clams, muscles, shrimp (the kind we eat), crab, octopus, scallops, and squid. Make sure it's raw and has no spices/butter/oils in it. Just thaw it in a cup with some water from the tank (and make sure it's completely thawed), and then feed.
- At 3" and assuming he has no internal parasites, he probably holds his food pretty well. When you switch to frozen foods, you can feed once every 2-3 days (depending on how quickly the food is digested). Overfeeding can cause fatty liver disease (among other things).
- I'm not sure where you live, but here in Ontario (Canada), it's coming on spring time, which means the water treatment facilities start introducing a lot more chloramine and oxygen into the tap water. As such, I usually have to double-dose my dechlorinator and let to water sit for a bit (boiling is best, but I'm kinda lazy) before putting it into the tank. Maybe it's possible that he's feeling some effects from spring water, perhaps?
- My last guess is that he simply swallowed some air and needs to be burped. I'd give this a try!
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
I agree with all of the above. 
I feed my puffers: mussell's, clams, shrimp, crab etc. I also believe he may need to be burped. Let us know how it goes.
I feed my puffers: mussell's, clams, shrimp, crab etc. I also believe he may need to be burped. Let us know how it goes.Need to know what kind of puffer you have? Click on Puffer ID.....Puffer ID: ug.php/v/PufferPedia/
What to feed your puffer? Click on Feeding......
Feeding: library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/
Have a GSP, need more information......Click on GSP Article.....
GSP Article: library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/
What to feed your puffer? Click on Feeding......
Feeding: library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/
Have a GSP, need more information......Click on GSP Article.....
GSP Article: library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/
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LilGreenPuffer
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Re: GSP Floating On His Side
How is he?
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him or her. Will she gain anything by it? Will it restore her to a control over her own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to freedom for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
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Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi
Come and visit http://www.thetriopsforum.com!
I AM A DUDETTE!
NEED NITRIFYING BACTERIA FOR YOUR NEW TANK? PM ME!