Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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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Pufferpunk
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Pufferpunk »

Strike 3--good thing this isn't baseball...
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!"
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diverchic
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by diverchic »

:tuttut: :...: :badboy:

*meant humorously, not as criticism
Last edited by diverchic on Thu Aug 27, 2009 5:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
coldmachineUK
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by coldmachineUK »

Well I just read this topic after a few days away and I'm trying to catch up. I read it all in one go, which I think sometimes gives a bit of perspective since there's no involvement in the heat of the moment.

Basically it boils down to two things:

1. When a fish is sick we, as it's owner, can get pretty stressed about it - the OP clearly had enough concern to come find a forum and ask some questions but when we're stressed over the health of a pet it can be easy to get a little defensive and things may sound worse than they really are intended. So, I don't think the OP was ignoring advice deliberately here. Too many people are getting lambasted for just asking questions; we all have to learn. If only LFS gave out free articles and things pre-purchase, but that's a pipe dream...
We've all made mistakes, and some of us have paid a price for that. Nobody is perfect and nobody is the perfect puffer owner. If someone doesn't answer your question, rephrasing it might help and rereading it to be sure it's not coming off as lecturing wouldn't hurt either.

2. It's easy to misread or misunderstand things on a forum/when they're written down. Trust me, I do this all the time and people do it with me all the time. I guess part of it is linguistic, part of it is cultural, part of it is that you have no idea what's going on in my life off-line and I don't know what's going on for you off-line either. It all works both ways. I see this happened right here, in this topic. Nearly everyone who replied cares very, very, much about the health and welfare of puffers and we have all seen so many sad stories which end badly that it's easy for people to assume the worst when someone doesn't appear to take advice on board. It doesn't mean that every person coming here isn't listening, though.

I guess what I'm saying is that I hope the OP continues to come here, post questions, receive advice, learn from mistakes like the rest of us, and maybe come to feel a part of the community because people here genuinely do care about their pet puffers and we should be mentoring, rather than lambasting, people.
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Lil' Swimz$ »

groovitudedude wrote:
Pufferpunk wrote:Heh, it's pretty difficult to insult me & it takes a lot to get on probation around here.
Yeah, people get banned a lot more on other forums. I guess trolls just aren't into puffers :D
What's a troll??
Ha ha, he he! DAncE whEn yoU're HAPpppy! He he he! DAnce, danCE, DANCe!
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by pufferfreak »

Sad thread.
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by doraemon »

Im sorry for your loss..i truly know how that feels..

i also just read this whole thread at once...and im really shocked how things have simply blown out of proportion because if ppl took the time to double read ppls posts you will see which to which it is in response to.
im a newbie and joined this forum a few days ago tho i read alot of info from it...
i lost my puffers but before their death i seeked advice from here and got very quick responses,clear advice and alot of kind words and support..

people need to remember this forum of knowledge is FREE it doesnt cost u a penny! you get free impartial advice when u need it from experts in puffers! i dont know pufferpunk but if she owns the forum she is paying the costs to maintain the site for everyones benefit to care for puffers,on the way u may make friends who share your hobby.

i belive anyone who is going to attempt to take care of a living thing should do their research on how best to care for it..i would love a dog but dont have the time to take it for walks and i dont have a garden therefore i cant have one...

just becos a fish lives in water doesnt mean its not intelligent or as interactive as any other animal...its just convienient for us humans that the tank doesnt move and we dont have to put a collar around it and take it for walks lol..a fish should have the so called ideal space and environment becos really..u dont have to do that much compared to having a 4 legged friend.

i need to shut up now :lol:
I have 2 water water pugs that own me!!
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Pufferpunk
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My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
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T biocellatus
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C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Pufferpunk »

people need to remember this forum of knowledge is FREE it doesnt cost u a penny! you get free impartial advice when u need it from experts in puffers! i dont know pufferpunk but if she owns the forum she is paying the costs to maintain the site for everyones benefit to care for puffers,on the way u may make friends who share your hobby.
I do cover any costs where we are short but we should be a self-supporting forum here. That's the purpose for the "Support" tab above. Go ahead & click on it everyone--I dare ya! ;)
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!"
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Dadof4
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Dadof4 »

Don't dare me! :shock:
"Darwin swings...annnnnnd a miss. Boy Jim, Chuck's suffered at the plate tonight. He's 0 for 3 and I'm not sure he's recovered from that shoulder pull a few weeks ago. I'll bet the front office is re-thinking that contract."
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32975
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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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
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Pufferpunk »

Double dare!!! :P
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!"
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by coldmachineUK »

:D
Did our staff successfully help you? The Puffer Forum is an incredible resource and is run completely on the donations of its viewers. Proceeds from the Puffer Forum store go towards future contests and keeping the site running. We also welcome donations!

36G: FW Planted | 53G: Brackish (F8 Puffers) | 58G: Freshwater Community (Unusual/Rare Loaches)
Interesting stock: S. mahnerti, S. vinciguerrae, S. sp. "crimson", V. maassi, N. masyai, M. guentheri, T. biocellatus, C. asellus.
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Lil' Swimz$ »

Ha ha, funny funny, but seriously, what's a troll??
Ha ha, he he! DAncE whEn yoU're HAPpppy! He he he! DAnce, danCE, DANCe!
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Dadof4
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Location (country): United States
Location: North Wisconsin

Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Dadof4 »

Pufferpunk wrote:Double dare!!! :P
Too late!
"Darwin swings...annnnnnd a miss. Boy Jim, Chuck's suffered at the plate tonight. He's 0 for 3 and I'm not sure he's recovered from that shoulder pull a few weeks ago. I'll bet the front office is re-thinking that contract."
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Dadof4
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Location (country): United States
Location: North Wisconsin

Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Dadof4 »

Lil' Swimz$ wrote:Ha ha, funny funny, but seriously, what's a troll??
"a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional or disciplinary response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion." ~ from Wikipedia

Or in other words, a complete idiot.
"Darwin swings...annnnnnd a miss. Boy Jim, Chuck's suffered at the plate tonight. He's 0 for 3 and I'm not sure he's recovered from that shoulder pull a few weeks ago. I'll bet the front office is re-thinking that contract."
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Re: Mbu Puffer Breathing Very Rapidly...

Post by Lil' Swimz$ »

Oooh. Hrmm...

Oh, and if I ever (and I say ever, because I'm none too good with a camera) I will donate all of the winnings.
Ha ha, he he! DAncE whEn yoU're HAPpppy! He he he! DAnce, danCE, DANCe!
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