Sick puffer :(

[Spot_the_puffer]

-28 gal tank
-freshwater
-four other fast moving fish for tank mates, as well as two small algae eaters
-I fed him a peice of shrimp that had been in the fridge for about a week. ((gone bad maybe?))


Well, I just got a new puffer about a month ago, cute little guy, from Walmart. The jerks were keeping him in a freshwater tank, no more than 5 gallons! I brought him home and he was fine for a while, although he did seem to be a little bored.

Just yesterday, when I came home, poor Spot was just swimming listlessly near the surface. He has a little black around his mouth and the area where his golden body turns to white is turning grey. His belly looks a bit thin, and he has lost his appetite.

I haven't fed him any live things yet...but we are nervous about snail breeding. ((snail explosion a few years ago))

Please help Spot!

[trekenk]

Hi spot the puffer if you could please answer all the question in red at the top such as pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity. Also have you ever treated for IP's. Welcome to the Puffer Forum. You have come to the right place for some help.

[Nick]

Also, how big is the guy? Smaller ones seem to tolerate freshwater conditions for a bit longer than older ones, strangely enough.

[Spot_the_puffer]

I am leaving today after school to get tests for Nitrates, ammonia, and such, and maybe also treatment for IP's, so I will update when i get back. The little guy looks pretty young, only about an inch long.

[marksrush]

Welcome to the forum! Together, we will do everything possible to help your puffer.

Loss of appetite can be caused by a few different things, such as poor water quality, internal parasites (IPs), or some other stress such as aggressive tankmates. Is that a pic of your puffer you're using as your avatar? If so, he doesn't look all that skinny to me, just like he needs a week or two of good meals. Have you seen his poo? If so, what does it look like? If it looks white and stringy, that's an indicator of IPs and you would want to start treatment immediately.

You mentioned that you fed him some week-old shrimp. Was it cooked, or raw? I would probably avoid doing anything like that in the future, as seafood spoils rapidly even when refrigerated. As for feeding in general, look here for some good reading: library/category/feeding/. The gist of it is that they need shellfish, crustaceans, and snails, supplemented with blood worms, mysis shrimp, stuff like that. Nothing cooked, only raw. You might try enticing him with some frozen bloodworms or mysis shrimp, just to get him started. Or, go to your LFS and see if they have any pest pond snails infesting a tank - maybe they'll give you some.

You also mentioned that you were nervous about snail breeding. Well, with a puffer in the tank, that particular problem is gone, period. You'll never have to worry about that again. So go ahead and start feeding him snails; most puffers find them irresistible.

When was the last time you did a water change? I ask because as I said above his behavior could be caused by poor water quality. If it's been more than a month ago, I'd do a moderately large water change, perhaps ten gallons or so from your 28 gallon, and see if that helps him. Water quality is the single most important aspect of keeping a puffer healthy and happy.

Fast-moving, aggressive tankmates can definitely stress a GSP. I tried keeping mollies with one...they bullied the puffer to no end, and he wouldn't come out of his hiding hole to eat until I got rid of them. So that's another consideration.

[LilGreenPuffer]

What species are his tankmates (including the algae eaters)? You may have an overstocking problem. If your puffer is small, then it's not necessarily a problem yet, depending on the other fish, but you will have one when he's a little older. 28g is already pushing it for a GSP, so all tankmates will eventually have to be transferred. If you are currently overstocked, then that's affecting water quality.

Be sure to quarantine any LFS snails for at least a week to prevent disease transfer and icky parasites. This can be done in a tupperware container, easy-peasy.

Good luck, and welcome!

[Spot_the_puffer]

Well, I tested for ammonia and did a pH test. we couldn't get a nitrate test. The results were 0 for ammonia, and a 7.2 reading for the pH. We also added around a teaspoon of aquarium salt and put in some dissolving tablets for treating IP's. He now seems to be "sulking" in the far top corner of the tank. :/ I'm gonna wait a bit to see if he looks any better.

[LilGreenPuffer]

You'll also need a test for nitrites.

Can you please answer the question about the tankmates?

[Spot_the_puffer]

For those who asked about Spot's tankmates, he is housed with two Chinese algae eaters, two zebra danio's and two of another fish. I don't know it's name, but I put up a pic if anyone can identify it.



[img]C:\Documents%20and%20Settings\Owner\My%20Documents\My%20Pictures\fish.bmp[/img]

[Spot_the_puffer]

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/algae_eater.jpg

these are the Chinese algae eaters, if the last pic didn't work for you.



and here are the ?-fish

[LilGreenPuffer]

I don't know much about the other species, but I know that Chinese algae eaters can get pretty big. They're not great for community aquariums, and have been know to tear chunks out of other fish. Also, that's not what they look like. You may have something else on your hands. This is a Chinese algae eater: http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Gyri ... onieri.php

By the by, Chinese algae eaters and zebra danios are freshwater, but your GSP is brackish. Do you have *any* idea what your other two are?

This is not a very healthy setup for any of your fish. I hate to say it, but something needs to be done.

[Spot_the_puffer]

I know. :/ I am sure what we have is a chinese algae eater, sorry the pic wasn't that great. They are both ver fast, so i found the pic on the internet. We haven't been able to get another tank, so maybe we should move the smaller/freshwater fish out and convert what we have in to a brackish tank?

((Spot isn't as grey as he was before, but he seems to be just laying near the bottom of the tank, changing places every hour or so. Is this normal? ))

[Spot_the_puffer]

Just changed the water ((at least 50%)) and added 3 more peices of decor.

((Spot's feces is white and stringy, but we put in a tablet for IP's last night. Should i put in another one?))

[marksrush]

If you got Jungle Labs Parasite Clear fizztabs, you treat every other day for up to a total of three treatments, with a 25% water change between treatments. The directions hint that more than one treatment may not be necessary, but most of us (I believe) go ahead and do three when we have to deal with an IP problem. So yes, go ahead and treat him again, then wait a day, do a water change, and then treat him one last time. Hopefully he'll make it through, because it's tough on a puffer. Be aware that he may not feel like eating until a while after this is all over.

Getting rid of the other fish and converting the tank to a brackish one is not a bad idea. I did that when I got my first GSP, too - I put the regular tropical fish I had on craigslist and 20 minutes later a woman was on her way to pick them up, so maybe you might think about going that route.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Yes, you really have to convert to brackish. GSPs are brackish fish, and they actually seem to prefer full marine conditions in adulthood. What you've proposed is the best course of action.

It's not normal for Spot to be so inactive. It could be caused by the IPs, or by the overstocking problem, or by bad dynamics with tankmates (i.e. bullying). Do you have any suspicions about what could be causing it, besides the IPs? (Of course, the IPs could be the reason.)

As for the IP tablets, follow the directions on the box, and *don't* underdose. If you can put part of a tablet in water and soak his food in it overnight in the fridge, that's great.

Good luck! Keep us updated.