GSP having trouble eatting
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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CanuckPuffer
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:36 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 3.5" GSP-- Statler
2.5" GSP-- Waldorf - Location (country): Toronto, Ontario, Canada
GSP having trouble eatting
Hi, All. GSP 3.5", has been having trouble eating. It is a 75 Gal tank, 60 lbs of live rock, 30 gal sump, chaeto and caulupera in the fuge area. There is a bio pellet reactor as well as a phosban reactor with carbon at the top of the chamber. It has a cone protein skimmer rated for 120 Gal heavy load tank. The parameters are- Nitrite:0 Ammonia:0 Nitrate: 10 Phosphate: 0 Calcium: 410 Hardness: 10 PH: 8.5 and Salinity 1.018. In the tank with him is a 2.5" GSP and a 12" snow flake eel, All get along great. There is a sun coral under a ledge, Halimeda plant and sea lettuce. I feed dried krill and a homemade cube food and some small snails once or twice a month to all. He was eating fine up till about two weeks ago when I noticed he was not really biting the food but trying to just suck it down whole.... he used to do this before as well but would bite and chew the odd one. Now he seems to suck it in, spit it out, suck it in and finally gets it down. His teeth do not look to be long but have not actually knocked him out to take a close look..... sort of a last resort. Do their bottom teeth line up with their top? Do they have a second 'jaw' to help grind the shells like parrot fish do. Does anyone know where there is an antomy chart for these fish?
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allycat
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:38 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 x DP's in planted 20-hi
Divine, F
Cujo, M
2 x Irrubesco in divided 15-long
Rogue, F
Probation, M (lorteti??)
1 x 2.5 in GSP in 10G 1.020
Merck, ?
Also kept: 29 G FW juvie loach community, soon to be 55G!)
10G Misgurnus tank
2.5G snail breeder - Location (country): USA-Indiana
Re: GSP having trouble eatting
Hey,
Sounds like a pretty nice tank. I'd try live earthworms especially, and clams or market snow crab, etc. You might be on to something with the beak suspicions. Once they've got overgrown "teeth" they need to be clipped. I know they (or at least the biggest saltwater puffs) have back, "pharyngeal" teeth.
Is the picky puff losing weight? Does he get distracted by benevolent bullying at mealtimes? I've had to get a cheap divider to slide in at mealtimes with my dwarf puffers because of food aggression issues. Or a big net to ward off the other fish. They don't want to violate the "pecking order", maybe that's it?
Wish you luck with some more varied food items. I know there is a library article about GSP diet as well as beak trimming.
Peace
Sounds like a pretty nice tank. I'd try live earthworms especially, and clams or market snow crab, etc. You might be on to something with the beak suspicions. Once they've got overgrown "teeth" they need to be clipped. I know they (or at least the biggest saltwater puffs) have back, "pharyngeal" teeth.
Is the picky puff losing weight? Does he get distracted by benevolent bullying at mealtimes? I've had to get a cheap divider to slide in at mealtimes with my dwarf puffers because of food aggression issues. Or a big net to ward off the other fish. They don't want to violate the "pecking order", maybe that's it?
Wish you luck with some more varied food items. I know there is a library article about GSP diet as well as beak trimming.
Peace
ask: is this suffering necessary or unnecessary?
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CanuckPuffer
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:36 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 3.5" GSP-- Statler
2.5" GSP-- Waldorf - Location (country): Toronto, Ontario, Canada
-
J-P
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 5626
- Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:21 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Japan
- Location: Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
Re: GSP having trouble eatting
good Q on the anatomy chart. I've been looking for one myself.
Regarding the food... how's his/her poop look?
Sometimes a small parasite infection can irritate the mouth and throat area making it difficult for them to eat. Not saying that is the case, just a possibility.
Regarding the food... how's his/her poop look?
Sometimes a small parasite infection can irritate the mouth and throat area making it difficult for them to eat. Not saying that is the case, just a possibility.if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q