pH 8.0 Ammonia 0, nitrities 0, nitrates 10, sg is 1.010 (I got it too high while multi tasking. It's normally about 1.004-1.006. It's been 1.010 for 2 days.) The puffer looks better. I will lower it.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants.
30gal. with 4 small black male mollies. The puffer and mollies get along very well, so far.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank
API water conditioner. Marine salt. 50% water change every 2-3 days, whenever the puffer's anus opens big. Feeding shrimp which is the only thing she will accept lately. Although, last night I did get her to accept some krill. She has refused blood worms ever since she got her first bite of shrimp. I know that she can't eat only shrimp.
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so.
There has been no changes in the tank other than the salinity being a bit too high.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it?
The tank was high bracksih for about 4yrs. My GSP puffer suddenly died and after a week or two I cleaned and cycled with media from 75gal FW tank. I kept the cycle going by constantly moving seeded filters around. After a week or so I missed my GSP puffer so much that I bought 2 figure 8 puffers. Did slow drip to fresh water. The LFS had them in low end brackish. One puffer was a little skinny and the other was nice and round. I was going to do a betta soriority and that's why I had turned the tank into FW. I'm also using a Whisper HOB. I'm planning to get a bigger filter soon.
I bought the 2 F 8 puffers about 5wks. ago. One was a bit skinny with a great appetite and the other was nice and round but not very passionate about eating although he would get a round tummy when he ate. The skinny one would lose her tummy by the next day. I knew she had IPs.
The round one was a nervous fish and his coloring seemed kinda dull. After about 2wks I woke up and found him dead in some bushes. I have no idea what happened. I rubbed his body and felt a knot on the right side of his stomach but that was it.
The remaining puffer's anus keeps opening up and is very red. This has been going on for about 2-3wks. I have treated her with parasite clear 3 times. Soaked her food... Interesting to me is this is the same thing that happened to my original GSP. His anus opened, he got a protruding knot on his chest and quickly died. At one point this F 8 puffer had a huge white thing come out of her anus but I don't know if it was a piece of octopus or a worm. It looked a lot like octopus but that didn't happen with the other F 8 puffer that died. Nothing else has ever come from this puffer's anus again.
The anus will open and be very red. I clean the tank and her chin and stomach turn very dark and the next day the anus will be almost completely closed and the dark coloring gone. Today she is back to playing in the filter out flow. She loves that thing. Her anus is almost closed today but not quiet and I can still see red. If the pattern continues her anus will be back open within a day or two, I will clean the tank and her chin and tummy will turn dark and she will appear to be better but not completely well and the process will go on all over again. The turn for the better is always the day I do the cleaning but the dark chin, tummy and red open anus doesn't leave until the next day. I'm thinking that the dark spots might just be stress from me cleaning her tank. She's pretty friendly to me.
The mollies seem to be great. Playing and dancing through the water all day. The puffer and mollies were put in the tank within a few days of eachother.
I don't know what the heck to do and hopefully you all do.
Oh, I bought some Furan but decided to wait on you guys. I've never used it before. I've never seen this illness before.
Thanks, Beth
But I adored him any way.