*******OMG help little bugs in puffer tank???******

[SammyDee]

I have been feeding an average of a 1/4 tsp in the morning and another 1/4 tsp at night. It really doesnt seem like that much since I am feed 3 gsp. thanks for your help and quick response everyone I know I can always count on it here THX ONE LOVE TPF

[LilGreenPuffer]

They only need to be fed once a day. Watch them and see if they eat everything you give them.

[sthai75]

Overeating bugs, I believe I have those little buggers in my snail tank. They are tiny little white flecks and only seen when I'm a few inches away from it. They just hop about.

[SammyDee]

just did a 50% water change while raising the salinity to 1.004 tested everything looks good nitrates are about 10 now and I gonna try to not feed them for 2 or 3 days. cleaned out everything so hopefully this will be the end of my bug problem.
they still itch themselves periodically though and I cant see any ick or whitespot on any of them. Do they itch themselves sometimes or its totally not normal and I should treat it somehow before it gets worse. Also i added all new filter media to one of my two filters. Cause I cold see lil bugs in it too. I read that I should only feed as much that fits into their eye is this true for puffers mine are about 2" big still babys

[LilGreenPuffer]

That's true for bettas and some other fish, but puffers should be fed until their stomachs are quite rounded. They're greedy little buggers.



That's my female DP, right after I'd fed her. Feed your puffers till they look like that.

[SammyDee]

thats how they look after I feed them and they dont leave much to waste what they do I vacuum up daily so how come their Itching and One now has a clamped fin Is it cause the water change and raise in salinity???????

[LilGreenPuffer]

Do they have any white spots on their fins or bodies?

[SammyDee]

Absolutely zero except on he largest one has a "c" spot his fin and has had it since I got him so I thinks thats a battle wound. Is there something to do as preventative maintenance against this?

[SammyDee]

One has perfect color no black chin or anything the smallest one looks pale but green and a lil bit of grey like chin and the other is all white with her green spot very bright with black chin and has the clamped fin. But she moves it if she has to but its mostly clamped.

[LilGreenPuffer]

They only preventative "maintenance" is to keep them in good health, so that their immune systems stay strong. Watch carefully for a while to see if any ich spots pop up.

[SammyDee]

yep I think that I might see two spots now one on a belly and one on a dorsal fin which you cant see unless you're a half inch away. I looked for ich stuff yesterday at meijer but couldn't find stuff for BW? I gotta try the LFS meanwhile I just raised the temp to 80.5 degrees F. The spots are so miniscule should it be cause for concern?

[SammyDee]

just gave have the recommended dose of melafix to be safe should I use more.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Don't go crazy yet. Watch and see if any more pop up. If they do, DON'T go out and buy ich meds. Instead, raise the SG with the next water change, and vaccuum the gravel and do a 50% water change every other day for a month, continuing to raise the SG every week. Read the article in the Library on treating freshwater ich. Instead of using aquarium salt, you're going to increase the amount of marine salt.

[SammyDee]

Id really hate to have to go thru all that for a month are there any other options Id like to nip it in the butt right away.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Oh, you can use Melafix, but you don't need it.

No, there are no other options. The medications are EXTREMELY dangerous for scaleless fish.