Dogface Puffer got stuck in powerhead
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
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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:
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
Well my little guy seems to be doing better, last night was the first time that he showed any interest in food one of his favorites, squid he acutally swam down to the bottom of the tank and picked up a piece that I placed in his cave I couldn't tell how much he actually ate, but it is a start on the road to recovery I hope. His skin/slime coat where it was peeling off looks like it is trying to grow back. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Smiles are free... so give them away...
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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:
I can't find that thread I wanted you to read but the other DF did the same thing. I'm pretty sure it survived. Just be sure to keep the water pristene & keep up w/Melafix & Pimafix.
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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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
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- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
update on puffer caught in power head
Ok my litter puff is still alive and swimming/hovering in his cave. His stomach is pretty much the normal size and shape that it was before the accident. But the whole area is looking like the top layer of his skin that was sucked up and stretched by the power head is sludging off in a fluffy/flaky white patches and it is white underneath with what looks like hair roots but I'm guessing that is where his spines are at when he puffs up. I have looked all over him and I don't see any redness just this white skin. Do you think this sounds like infection that has set in or is it just the damaged skin is falling off and he is trying to grow new skin. I have never had a fish hurt like this so I'm new to how they repair their skin especially on a puff since they don't have scales. I have been testing the water daily along with adding melafix and pimafix. I read some place that their puffer had a wound and they dried the area off and put a thin coat of neosporine on it. Have you heard anything like that? He tried to eat the other day but as of today it has been a week since the incident and 8 days since he ate like normal. I'm also adding vitamins to the water in hopes that he is getting some benefits from it since he isn't eating. Thanks for taking the time to respond about this whole nightmare.
Smiles are free... so give them away...
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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:
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
I got out a flash light last night cause I thought I saw little white bugs jumping around on my puffer. well they are the same little white bugs that are swimming around and sticking to my glass. Will these little bugs hurt my puffer since he has a open wound or will they help in eating off the dead skin. My main tank is full of them on the glass since it has cycled and after putting some live rock rubble from my mature 55 gallon tank. Thanks. I hope I'm just being a worry wart over nothing.
Smiles are free... so give them away...
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
white poop, and white bugs
My puffer is still has white poop. I have read on wetwebmedia that they believe this to be a secondary internal infection or parasite in fish. I have been treating with pimafix and melafix. Should I do a different treatment for this? I haven't seen him eat but he did pick at some of the lace rock last night when he was swimming around after the lights were turned down. His wound does seem to be healing there is new light pink skin under the white fluffy/lint like dead skin that is falling off. That is also where those little bugs are at that I asked about in the previous post. I still don't know if they are hurting or helping him.
Smiles are free... so give them away...
Are the white bugs like tiny little worms or are they actual bugs-with-legs-and-such?
If they're like little worms, it's planaria, which usually dies off, if they're arthropod type things (legs, creepy-crawlies) it could be copepods, but I'm gleaning this from previous threads, and can't remember much.
Either way, they could be a sign the water needs a bit more attention. I doubt they'll harm your fish, as they could just be eating the discarded skin, but they probably could do with getting rid of with some big water canges and gravel vacuuming.
Glad to hear he's doing well...sounds like he'll be better in no time...lucky fish.
Pami.
If they're like little worms, it's planaria, which usually dies off, if they're arthropod type things (legs, creepy-crawlies) it could be copepods, but I'm gleaning this from previous threads, and can't remember much.
Either way, they could be a sign the water needs a bit more attention. I doubt they'll harm your fish, as they could just be eating the discarded skin, but they probably could do with getting rid of with some big water canges and gravel vacuuming.
Glad to hear he's doing well...sounds like he'll be better in no time...lucky fish.
Pami.
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
well they are tiny little bugs with legs and from what I have seen of images on the web they are copepods. Now I got up this morning and my poor little puffer is covered in ick. What would be the best treatment for him, since he has a open wound and new skin trying to grow, should I take him out of his hospital tank and dip him in ph adjusted water or just treat him in the tank, I just don't want to stress him or hurt him anymore than he already has been.
You should treat him with a higher salinity in his present tank. I think if you move him at the moment, you'll be pushing your luck - the ich is a sign he's stressed out already. What SG is he at now?
Carry on with the Melafix to help him heal and also to soothe the irritation from the ich. Dipping him won't help that much, as the parasites are protected by your fish's skin. You need to get the little blighters when they bust out, which is why you alter the SG.
There's a lot of threads on ich here, so you'll get loads of tips, and we can talk you through it.
Poor little dude...but I think you'll pull him through.
Pami.
Carry on with the Melafix to help him heal and also to soothe the irritation from the ich. Dipping him won't help that much, as the parasites are protected by your fish's skin. You need to get the little blighters when they bust out, which is why you alter the SG.
There's a lot of threads on ich here, so you'll get loads of tips, and we can talk you through it.
Poor little dude...but I think you'll pull him through.
Pami.
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 65
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2006 9:39 am
- My Puffers: 2 dogface puffers, 1 porcupine puffer
- Location: Henryville, IN. EST time zone
I thought I should use a lower SG he is at 1.023- 1.024 right now or am I mistaken I have raised his temp up to shorten the icks lifespan. Should I use coppermine in the tank at half a half dose? I hope he pulls through it, not to mention all the money I have been out to try to save the little guy, medications have cost more than the fish did. But I guess that is why we are in this hobby we love our fish friends.