Time for the dentist!!!!!

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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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susiejames101
Figure 8 Puffer
Posts: 100
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2005 3:44 pm
Location: uk

Time for the dentist!!!!!

Post by susiejames101 »

Hi
Well I think I am going to have to bite the bullet pretty soon and do some dentistry on my F8 in the near future.I have printed out the article. (thanks pufferpunk :) ) and have bought all the equipment required for the job.I have been putting it off for a while and her teeth don't seem to be getting too much longer but have now had to stop giving her cockle and mussel as they were getting stuck in her teeth! She happily eats blood worm, snails, daphnia, and her brine shrimp treats which she adores ( yes I know they aren't very nutritious but she loves them and it gives her a good hunting spree on occasions and we are all allowed 'chips' once in a while lol)
My biggest worry is she is such a nervous fish and is quite a jumper too and I really worried about stressing her out.
Is it best to do it now while she is eating well and is plump and happy or to leave it till she is starting to struggle with her food( I suppose I am looking for an excuse to put it off again!) Her teeth don't look anywhere near as bad as in the pictures on the dentistry article but they are very clearly visible now.
i think I am just looking for moral support really, I never really saw myself as a puffer dentist and she has been fed snails since the day we got her so I am not sure why her teeth are getting long!!
Sue
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Pufferpunk
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Post by Pufferpunk »

I'd do it now, before she is too week to administer clove oil. Go ahead & bite the bullet!
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!"
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TheSmJ
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2005 9:12 pm
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Post by TheSmJ »

I agree. If he teeth aren't getting any shorter, and you're going to have to do it sooner or later anyways...
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