Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
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.
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Pufferpunk
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
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Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
Yes they should.
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Pufferluv09
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 317
- Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:58 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Porcupine puffer
- Location (country): USA, Oregon
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dlowis
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:10 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Lorteti X5,Irrubesco X4,Travancoricus X6,Biocellatus X2,Erythrotaenia X3,Nigroviridis X2,Modestus and or Silus X2
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
It seems as though there is a difference in oppinion on the salt treatment, so don't take my word on it but google (are tetras sensitive to salt) and base a decision on whether you think it is ok or not with the info you are given. I would hate to know that you are asking for help and were getting misinformed or hasty one sided advice. I cant say that my recomendations are the best for tetras,tetras are sensitive to meds also. I have not had ick on any tetras I have owned, so they are only recomendations and your tetras seem to be showing sensitivities, to the salt in their environment for over ten days.I made these recomendations to help, and for you another option. The idea that "maybe" this treatment is harming your fish kind of compelled me to post my two cents.By the way, we all learn everyday through trial and error, so things recomended are not always "perfect" but if your tank looks like it is in trouble go back to where the trouble began and ask yourself whats different. My apolologies PP but i really do think the salt is causing problems in the community tank and i really would like to at least convince her to question if this treatment is the new problem.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- 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
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
Interesting read on salt:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article77.html
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article77.html
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Pufferluv09
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 317
- Joined: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:58 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Porcupine puffer
- Location (country): USA, Oregon
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
Thank you for your concern dlowis, I am giving it some thought. I'd hate to be too skeptical and have it cost me the life of many of my fish. I thought that it would be safer to use aquarium salt versus continuing to put chemicals in there. I don't know if they were already getting secondary infections before I put the salt in or after though... it all progressed gradually. I just trusted what it said on the box, that it helps to treat tropical fish diseases, promotes recovery, and reduces stress. Blargh. The article that Pufferpunk linked is interesting. I agree that it doesn't make sense to add salt as a general tonic. The question now is whether it would harm them in short term for disease treatment, or if it would cause the fish more stress, making it worse. I will look into it more. Thanks to both of you.
Pufferluv09 -is- Zyash
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- 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
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
When I mentioned using marine salt, I was only talking about the GSP tank.
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
dlowis
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:10 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Lorteti X5,Irrubesco X4,Travancoricus X6,Biocellatus X2,Erythrotaenia X3,Nigroviridis X2,Modestus and or Silus X2
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
Your welcome pufferluv hope things get better for you.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- 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
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
dlowis, No disrespect intended towards your advise. I do agree that 1tbsp/5g is too much for a softwater fish. 1 tbsp/10g is better. Even just raising the temp with large WC, should do the trick, if fish seemed stressed by the use of salt. I've just never seen that in low doses.
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
dlowis
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:10 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Lorteti X5,Irrubesco X4,Travancoricus X6,Biocellatus X2,Erythrotaenia X3,Nigroviridis X2,Modestus and or Silus X2
Re: Help my Green Spotted Puffer!
PP Not a problem.thanks