Help with Congo Puffer

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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.
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pufferpuggirl
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Help with Congo Puffer

Post by pufferpuggirl »

A couple of months ago I bought a pair of Congo puffers (T muirus). Things were fine until the male started bullying the female. He wasn't hurting her, but he was keeping her from eating food. He would eat so much food that he would lose his ability to swim properly and would end up bobbing at the top of the tank. The first time I found him like that it really scared me and I thought he was going to die ... but he didn't. So I waited a day to feed them again, and the very next time it was the same thing, he ate so much food, to keep her from eating, that he wasn't able to swim properly. At this point I decided to separate them, so I put him on the other side of the divider. Things seemed much better. She would get excited and as soon as I would put the bloodworm into the tank, she would come up and eat it, even before it landed on the bottom. :)

Then a week after I separated them, I went to clean the tank in the morning, as I do each and every day, and I found my male Congo lying on the bottom dead!! He seemed fine the night before, and there weren't any odd marks on his body, he didn't look any different, so I can only guess that he must have caused something serious to happen when he lost his ability to swim right those few days before, even though he appeared fine. :?

And this is when the problems started really. My female Congo went off bloodworm, she would just ignore it and watch it fall to the ground. She went for days without eating and I was really getting worried. I had tried shrimp, but she didn't want anything to do with that. So after her not eating for 3 days, I decided to try small pieces of mussel, and that was the answer!! She ate the mussel right up and I thought all my worries were over ..... but they weren't! :shock:

For the past few days she hasn't accepted any food. In fact, she seems to swim up and down alot. She is back to burying herself more than she was right after he died. I am very worried about her. I don't know how long they can go without eating before it becomes detrimental to them. The water parameters are fine, and I do my regular water changes. Nothing different has happened. Nothing new added to the tank. I'm just very worried about her. Naturally after losing the male I was very sad and disappointed. I don't want to lose the female too. I'm wondering, as weird as this may sound, if she's missing him. Even with the divider up, they could still see each other, but I don't know if I am giving her more ability than what she's naturally got (in missing him I mean). She looks fine, and seems normal in every way except not eating.

I don't want to lose her. Does anyone have any ideas? Should I be worried? :(
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Myaj
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Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by Myaj »

I'm moving this to the hospital forum.

What are your water parameters, actual numbers?

When in doubt, a water change is always a good step.
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pufferpuggirl
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1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by pufferpuggirl »

I did a water change today, but only because it's the normal day to do one. I wasn't sure if I should have put this in the hospital section or not, sorry.

Water parameters: ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, nitrate = 20 (remember I was having problems with high nitrate right out of the tap?) pH = 7.5

Like I said, nothing has changed .... only that she's not eating.
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pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by pufferpuggirl »

I'm happy to say that my female Congo is back to her normal self again. She's eating and doing all the things she used to do.
So thanks for looking, but all is well! :D
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LilGreenPuffer
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Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by LilGreenPuffer »

Oh, good!
"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."

Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi

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pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by pufferpuggirl »

Actually, I should have updated this post, my Congo died last Monday, 25 May. She seemed to do better, and had started eating, and then she became ill one evening and was dead by the next morning. :(
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LilGreenPuffer
Former Staff Member
Posts: 5301
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:26 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Dwarf puffer - Thumbelina (only mine in my heart now; she lives in CT with my friend)

RIP Inigo Montoya, Fezzik, and Vizinni.
RIP James Bond.
Location (country): United States
Location: Kentucky

Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by LilGreenPuffer »

I saw that post a minute later. :(
"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."

Found among the papers of Mohatma Gandhi

Image

Come and visit http://www.thetriopsforum.com!

I AM A DUDETTE!

NEED NITRIFYING BACTERIA FOR YOUR NEW TANK? PM ME!
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User avatar
pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Help with Congo Puffer

Post by pufferpuggirl »

Yeah, and what's still distressing is that my suvattii are still not back to normal yet, but they are doing a little better, however, that doesn't give me any idea why the one suvattii died, and I am still unsure why the Congo died. And I'm feeling a little anxious because I'm due to get a new puffer on Wednesday and without knowing why these others died, I'm a little worried.
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