Hello all,
My baby Sushi hasn't been looking her best lately. She has an amazing appetite (never fails to eat) but I don't know what happened to her once-plump appearance! She used to look extremely healthy and now she has a sunken belly and I can even see her "boxy" skeleton under that skin. At first I thought it was nothing but I could no longer ignore it because she just looks skinny even though she eats lots!
1. pH~8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 5, salinity 0.024 (pretty normal for this tank) Temp 68 (colder tank)
2. tank size 50G, she only lives with a sea urchin and some corals
3. feed 6 days a week--alternating between frozen blood worms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen squid, and frozen shrimp. 10% WC weekly with skimmer's help pulling extra junk out
4. nothing.
5. 2 or 3 years. completely cycled.
I am suspecting it's a case of an IP, but it could be anything.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions! Sushi is my baby and I hate to see her wasting away.
thanks,
joanne
Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
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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recombinantrider
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
oh nooo.. not Sushi!!! I hope you can find the cause quickly.
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
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Dadof4
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
If it is IP's as suspected why now? She's been healthy for so long what new stressors is she exposed to?
"Darwin swings...annnnnnd a miss. Boy Jim, Chuck's suffered at the plate tonight. He's 0 for 3 and I'm not sure he's recovered from that shoulder pull a few weeks ago. I'll bet the front office is re-thinking that contract."
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
First thought would be IP's, stressor being boredom (potentially)
Next thought. Do you actually see her eat?
Next thought,, maybe not enough nutrition in her diet? Blood worms & brine shrimp are not the best options. They are not bad necessarily, but you could certainly obtain more nutritional foods.
Hope she gets better!
Next thought. Do you actually see her eat?
Next thought,, maybe not enough nutrition in her diet? Blood worms & brine shrimp are not the best options. They are not bad necessarily, but you could certainly obtain more nutritional foods.
Hope she gets better!
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
My lil piggie just ate a whole shrimp soaked in Selcon & Vita-Chem. Definitely treat for IPs & up the nutrition.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
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Corvus
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
An alternative explanation to IP would be problems with digestion.
As noted above, I'd recommend feeding mostly meaty foods and in this case as much as it will eat (your water parameters are perfect).
Since you are feeding frozen foods I'd add vitamins at least once a week (or more often) since a lot of vitamins are lost during freezing and thawing.
As noted above, I'd recommend feeding mostly meaty foods and in this case as much as it will eat (your water parameters are perfect).
Since you are feeding frozen foods I'd add vitamins at least once a week (or more often) since a lot of vitamins are lost during freezing and thawing.
Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Give a fish a man, and he'll eat for weeks.
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recombinantrider
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
Thanks for all your input!
Hm stressors--- I did let the tank evaporate a bit too much about a month ago and the salinity spiked to 0.028. Other than that, what I can only think of is the new kitten that I have, who never pays attention to Sushi's tank in my presence. He could have been scaring Sushi behind my back when I'm at work though.
Seeing her eat--yes, I watch her finish her food every time. I make she she eats til her belly is really round before i walk away. Occasionally she is so full she even pukes the food out and re-eat it immediately. Appetite is not an issue.
Nutrition-- I'll up the vitamin soak and get a new bag of frozen seafood for her.
IP--yeah I was confused why she looks like shes got parasites, while I haven't introduced anything new the tank for a long time. I'll treat her with IP meds in a week or so if the increased nutrition fails to improve her condition.
Thanks a lot!
Hm stressors--- I did let the tank evaporate a bit too much about a month ago and the salinity spiked to 0.028. Other than that, what I can only think of is the new kitten that I have, who never pays attention to Sushi's tank in my presence. He could have been scaring Sushi behind my back when I'm at work though.
Seeing her eat--yes, I watch her finish her food every time. I make she she eats til her belly is really round before i walk away. Occasionally she is so full she even pukes the food out and re-eat it immediately. Appetite is not an issue.
Nutrition-- I'll up the vitamin soak and get a new bag of frozen seafood for her.
IP--yeah I was confused why she looks like shes got parasites, while I haven't introduced anything new the tank for a long time. I'll treat her with IP meds in a week or so if the increased nutrition fails to improve her condition.
Thanks a lot!
-
recombinantrider
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
Update: Sushi is back to being plump and fat after I started feeding a pure meaty seafood diet + vitamins. I'm glad to say that I don't have to resort to IP meds to get her back to good health.
Merry Christmas everyone and may your puffer bring you tons of joy!
Merry Christmas everyone and may your puffer bring you tons of joy!
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J-P
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
YAY!! Go SUSHI!!!
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
What is he eating now? I'm having a tough time getting mine to eat much else but live blackworms. He's not thin at all though. Eats vitamin-packed people shrimp too.
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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recombinantrider
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Re: Sushi (Takifugu ocellatus) skinny for 2 months
Sushi's eating vitamin-packed medium shrimp and little baby crabs. I have taken the frozen mysis shrimp/blackworms/sea monkeys out of the diet and she's been fattening up real fast.