HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
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.
- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
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HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
I have a 25 gal. tank thats been up and running for about half a year now. With one 1 GSP in it. I feed her bloodworms, shrimp, snails, ans the occasional worm.
So i woke up this morning and my tank was a little cloudy. I thought nothing of it an went on with my day until i walked in at noon and it was STILL cloudy and my puffer was acting strange. Shes bee swimming around the surface of the tank with her mouth almost out of the water like she cant breathe. I did a water change and it did no good. Still cloudy water and still strange puffer behavior and its getting worse. Now shell stop at the top of the glass and just sit there with her mouth out of the water..i scooped her in my hand and she seemed to snap out of it but shes doing it again now.
Ive done nothing different lately other than i cleaned the outside of her tank with windex. I sprayed it on a paper towel and wiped only the glass,careful not to get ANY in her tank. Does anyone know what's going on or a possible fix? I dont want my little puffer to die.
So i woke up this morning and my tank was a little cloudy. I thought nothing of it an went on with my day until i walked in at noon and it was STILL cloudy and my puffer was acting strange. Shes bee swimming around the surface of the tank with her mouth almost out of the water like she cant breathe. I did a water change and it did no good. Still cloudy water and still strange puffer behavior and its getting worse. Now shell stop at the top of the glass and just sit there with her mouth out of the water..i scooped her in my hand and she seemed to snap out of it but shes doing it again now.
Ive done nothing different lately other than i cleaned the outside of her tank with windex. I sprayed it on a paper towel and wiped only the glass,careful not to get ANY in her tank. Does anyone know what's going on or a possible fix? I dont want my little puffer to die.

- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
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- Location: USA
Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
Please ANYONE with ANY info post it. Shes gone downhill so fast! She was perfectly healthy last night and even into this morning! 

- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
it sounds like an bacterial bloom from an ammonia spike. Did you test the water perams?
Is it possible that there is a large chunk of uneaten food in there somewhere?
Is it possible that there is a large chunk of uneaten food in there somewhere?
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- Cheesepuffs
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
I didnt test them before i did the water change but maybe a snail or 2 shes missed? It had only been about a week since the last water change i did so i cant imagine it was that bad. Is there anything i can do for her? Ive added a little bubbler to try to get more oxygen into the water but i dont know how much longer she has...

- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
Some will say big water changes some will say multiple small water changes (same day). If you can get the temps to match (so as not to shock the puffer) I'd go for the biggie. If you have to adjust the temp constantly, maybe 6-8 10% water changed for the remainder of the day?
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- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:55 pm
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- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
If my guess is correct yes, at least until someone can jump in and help. You don't have a test kit anymore?
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- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:55 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1 GSP - Ellie <3
- Location (country): West Virginia, USA
- Location: USA
Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
I do have a test kit. A glass API Master Freshwater Test Kit --- I just tested the Ammonia level and it says 0...

- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
ohhh ....
when my water went cloudy like that it was because of dead food created an ammonia spike and what you see as the white haze would normaly be attributed to the bacterial bloom.
Now I am certainly stumped. Maybe PP or RTR can jump in and solve the mystery.
when my water went cloudy like that it was because of dead food created an ammonia spike and what you see as the white haze would normaly be attributed to the bacterial bloom.
Now I am certainly stumped. Maybe PP or RTR can jump in and solve the mystery.
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
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- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:55 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1 GSP - Ellie <3
- Location (country): West Virginia, USA
- Location: USA
Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
I have no idea what it is. but yes it does look like a whitish haze. i just did the first water change. I hope it works. thank you for the adivce

- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
do you have the other readings? Nitrite and Nitrate?
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- Cheesepuffs
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
J-P wrote:do you have the other readings? Nitrite and Nitrate?
I'll test everything I can right now and post it in a few minutes

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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
If I were you, I'd get as much of that water out of that tank as possible. If Windex did get in there, I would say she's being poisoned. I'd want to give her as much freshwater as possible (don't forget to add your dechlorinator). I'd be doing very large water changes, which I think is better than doing small water changes. And adding extra oxygen is a good thing too.
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- Cheesepuffs
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 36
- Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:55 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1 GSP - Ellie <3
- Location (country): West Virginia, USA
- Location: USA
Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
Im about to do the second water change. She seems to be doing a LITTLE better. At least shes moving now. Shes still mouthing at the surface though. I just finished my test and these are the results:
Ph: 7.7
Nitrate: 5.0
Nitrite: 0.50
Ammonia: 0
Ph: 7.7
Nitrate: 5.0
Nitrite: 0.50
Ammonia: 0

- J-P
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Re: HELP MY LITTLE GSP!!!
Cheesepuffs wrote:Im about to do the second water change. She seems to be doing a LITTLE better. At least shes moving now. Shes still mouthing at the surface though. I just finished my test and these are the results:
Ph: 7.7
Nitrate: 5.0
Nitrite: 0.50 <== ahhh so you did have an ammonia spike of aprox .25
Ammonia: 0
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