BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
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.
-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
Since this seems to be an external infection, and you are already making the water as difficult as possible for it to spread in, you might consider potassium permanganate dips for the fish - it's a VERY powerful oxidizer that kills a very, very broad class of microorganisms. Extended contact is definately risky for fish, and it nukes a biofilter without the UTMOST care(and sometimes even with it) so I never recommend adding it to a tank, but I wonder if in this case dips might help the fish fight this off.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
-
t1gerbee
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 831
- Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:10 am
- My Puffers: 1 x Ceylon + 1 x GSP + 1 x stars and stripes (juv) -Marine
(Non puffs-)
4 x clowns
1 x Oscar-Tropical
3 x Convicts-Tropical
1 x Map Turtle-tropical
2 x Plecs-Tropical
2 x goldfish - Location: london
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
hey Nick, ive been using malachite green to nuke everything, and the whole tank is now in hypo... it's been an absolute nightmare...
but, i think the fish are through the worst (touch wood, fingers, toes crosses)
They are all in a bad way and missing large parts of skin, but the progression has stopped and they are no worse as of the last few days...
as well as that i have got them all eating again, so they must be feeling a little brighter.
I have decided (rightly or wrongly) that the bacteria itself (along with all the other bacteria in the tank) is dead, so am swapping to less harmful, less brutal marine melafix, coupled with huge daily water changes to try and make them as comfortable as possible whilst the tank re-cycles at 1.009 ... and to help keep bad bacteria levels in the tank low...
i'm hoping the melafix will also cleanse their wounds and help them heal.
If they start going downhill again i wil probably start dips of one kind or another, but i'd rather not put them through the addes stress if i can...
we'll have to see how the next few days goes, but what a horror it's been. I have seen many fish ailments, but never one that strips the skin off them so fast like this...
but, i think the fish are through the worst (touch wood, fingers, toes crosses)
They are all in a bad way and missing large parts of skin, but the progression has stopped and they are no worse as of the last few days...
as well as that i have got them all eating again, so they must be feeling a little brighter.
I have decided (rightly or wrongly) that the bacteria itself (along with all the other bacteria in the tank) is dead, so am swapping to less harmful, less brutal marine melafix, coupled with huge daily water changes to try and make them as comfortable as possible whilst the tank re-cycles at 1.009 ... and to help keep bad bacteria levels in the tank low...
i'm hoping the melafix will also cleanse their wounds and help them heal.
If they start going downhill again i wil probably start dips of one kind or another, but i'd rather not put them through the addes stress if i can...
we'll have to see how the next few days goes, but what a horror it's been. I have seen many fish ailments, but never one that strips the skin off them so fast like this...
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
Yea, it sounds really terrible. Best luck with everything, eating is always good. Fish can lose a surprising amount of skin and live with it - my GSPs actually scrape patches of their skin white sometimes when going after 'pods in the live rock, and always make excellent, scar free recoveries, and this illness looks to be stripping the same pigmented top layer, I hope yours heal as cleanly.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
-
t1gerbee
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 831
- Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:10 am
- My Puffers: 1 x Ceylon + 1 x GSP + 1 x stars and stripes (juv) -Marine
(Non puffs-)
4 x clowns
1 x Oscar-Tropical
3 x Convicts-Tropical
1 x Map Turtle-tropical
2 x Plecs-Tropical
2 x goldfish - Location: london
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
that's exactly it... its stripping the coloured layer of skin to reveal the white part, but not going deep enough to make them bleed... think that's the only way i've even stood a chance at saving them...
if it had kept burrowing i think i'd have lost alot more..!
Not out of the woods yet, they have a lot of healing to do, and that is assuming the bacteria is truly gone for good...
only time will tell i guess.
if it had kept burrowing i think i'd have lost alot more..!
Not out of the woods yet, they have a lot of healing to do, and that is assuming the bacteria is truly gone for good...
only time will tell i guess.
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
-
edmlfc1
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 2011
- Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:03 pm
- My Puffers: Elvis (Stars & Stripes) R.I.P. 9/11/11
125G:Fahaka (Annabelle) - Location (country): U.S.A.
- Location: Texas
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
Elvis wants an update.
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/
-
t1gerbee
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 831
- Joined: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:10 am
- My Puffers: 1 x Ceylon + 1 x GSP + 1 x stars and stripes (juv) -Marine
(Non puffs-)
4 x clowns
1 x Oscar-Tropical
3 x Convicts-Tropical
1 x Map Turtle-tropical
2 x Plecs-Tropical
2 x goldfish - Location: london
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
well, stars is ok, healing well..
ceylon not so good, being harassed by the other fish and still a mess... pouring melafix directly on her skin + adding it to tank...
may have to set up another quarentine tank to house ceylon in so i can work on her without working on the rest of the tank.
stressful, but you know all about that.
ceylon not so good, being harassed by the other fish and still a mess... pouring melafix directly on her skin + adding it to tank...
may have to set up another quarentine tank to house ceylon in so i can work on her without working on the rest of the tank.
stressful, but you know all about that.
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish
-
edmlfc1
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 2011
- Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:03 pm
- My Puffers: Elvis (Stars & Stripes) R.I.P. 9/11/11
125G:Fahaka (Annabelle) - Location (country): U.S.A.
- Location: Texas
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
Yes I do. Hope he pulls through.
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/
-
edmlfc1
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 2011
- Joined: Sun Sep 09, 2007 5:03 pm
- My Puffers: Elvis (Stars & Stripes) R.I.P. 9/11/11
125G:Fahaka (Annabelle) - Location (country): U.S.A.
- Location: Texas
Re: BIG PROBLEMS... all puffers sick... PICS ADDED
How's it going any update?
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/