Hi Guys, I am new to this forum. I'm freaking out a little, and am really hoping to get some solid advice.
Two nights ago my pump broke - so the water in my tank was stagnant- no circulation.
It was about midnight at the time, and I didn't have a replacement. I figured I'd take care of it in the morning...BAD idea. When I came down in the morning both of my tangs were dead, and my porcupine puffer was on the bottom of the tank, pale as a ghost, and barely breathing.
I grabbed him up and immediately brought him to the local petshop so they could put him in a rehab tank while my pump got replaced.
I left my puff at the pet store for 2 full days because I didn't want to stress him out moving him so much. I was careful getting him used to the water changes. He is now back in my tank.
SO HERE IS WHERE IM REALLY WORRIED: He looks funny. He looks paler, he looks swollen.
The guy who watched him thinks Im imagining it, and thinks he looks healthy and fine. I love this fish and look at him everyday, and I know that he looks weird.
--Does Anyone know any preventative measures I can be taking to help my puffer? He almost died, so I realize he needs time to heal, but im also worried that by not doing anything now he could end up dying from me not being proactive.
--and yes, he is eating - which is good.
......any advice on care for fish who were "injured" due to lack of water circulation would be really great.
Thank you everyone.
Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
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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SammyDee
- Mbu Puffer
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20g snail and shrimp breeding tank for puffers - Location (country): USA USA USA USA
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Re: Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
This happened to me once and I lost two fish. I had a slight ammonia spike to from the water being not circulated thru the sump and blah blah. But yea atleast you didnt lose any fish. Sorry I cant help u much with the puff But I still had power-heads running thou).
Maybe post your water parameters and a pic of him? Then some other ppl may comment on what may be needed.
Maybe post your water parameters and a pic of him? Then some other ppl may comment on what may be needed.
"DREAM AS IF YOU'LL LIVE FOREVER, LIVE AS IF YOU'L DIE TODAY' -JAMES DEAN
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jdak
- Green Spotted Puffer
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Re: Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
Didn't he loose two tangs?SammyDee wrote:But yea atleast you didnt lose any fish.
Definitely test your water and check your parameters. Next step would be a large water change. How long has your system been running?
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SammyDee
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 1073
- Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:50 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 55g (2) GSP, (2) Maroon Clownfish, (1) blue damsel, And some soft corals and 1 Nem
45g FW community
20g snail and shrimp breeding tank for puffers - Location (country): USA USA USA USA
- Location: Detroit, Michigan
Re: Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
I lost my yellow tang which I miss extremely but didnt replace cuz hed outgrow my tank any way and a yeloow tail blu damsel fish which I dont miss too much cuz he was mean as hell to everyone.jdak wrote:Didn't he loose two tangs?SammyDee wrote:But yea atleast you didnt lose any fish.
Definitely test your water and check your parameters. Next step would be a large water change. How long has your system been running?
prolly wouldnt hurt to have a back up pump. I been broke lately but i wanna get another of the exact same pump I use on my tank and have it as a back up, plus use it to pump my big container I use for water changes. So with that I wont have to lift a million buckets to fill the tank back up. HAHA im lazy so thisll make it that much easier to do WC's.
"DREAM AS IF YOU'LL LIVE FOREVER, LIVE AS IF YOU'L DIE TODAY' -JAMES DEAN
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
Flow is the #1 most important thing in a tank. Fish can survive (to a point) temp swings, pH swings, salinity swings but without flow, they are goners. Once fish start dying, then you have ammonia/nitrite to contend with. Your puffer is a tough fellow! Keep a VERY CLOSE EYE on the water parameters, keeping ammonia & nitrite 0 at all times & nitrate <10, if possible. Look into my thread stickied in the Marine Tanks forum about vitamin C. After you've read it, I can try to help talk you though raising the dosage.
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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Myaj
- Tech Team
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Re: Tank Circulation stopped, Puffer is Swollen
Clean water and low stress. This might mean some extra water changes in your future, but it is the safest route.
Even an air pump and bubble stone would have likely given your fish a good chance to survive the night.. try to at least have that around as a back up.
Even an air pump and bubble stone would have likely given your fish a good chance to survive the night.. try to at least have that around as a back up.
