Hello enthusiasts.
I wish I would have found this forum sooner, rather than later, as I have a GSP that is ailing, and death appears imminent.
My water has a PH of 7.2 and the Specific Gravity is 1.008. I have him in a 29 gallon, and he is about 3in.long. I have had him about 2 months. He had been doing great, and growth was vigorous when I decided to give him some raw shrimp from the restaurant where I am a chef at. It is regular IQF U12 shrimp with the shell on. He ate a large portion of it, and his belly became swollen, as it does when he eats. Only it has been days and he has not returned to normal. He was eating a steady diet of bloodworms, brine shrimp and mussels.
He has now developed hemorrhages in his eyes, appears to be blind, and his anus is starting to protrude. I have been doing 80% water changes daily, but to no avail. His belly is still white, and I have tried to burp him many times, but no change. I then tried epsom salts, thinking he might be constipated, but no luck there as well.
His breathing is labored, he will not eat, and I am deeply sorrowed, as I do not wish to see him suffer. I am at a loss, as I have scoured the web for any kind if info as to what this might be, and I am asking more seasoned owners to please help if they can.
Thanks so much.
Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
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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Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
Try Epsom Salt, 1 tbsp/5g. Also, Melafix.
I can't imagine that shrimp fit for human consumption would be a problem for your puffer. Has he pooped since he ate it?
I can't imagine that shrimp fit for human consumption would be a problem for your puffer. Has he pooped since he ate it?
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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sgtmyers88
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Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
Sounds like he ate something else that you are unaware of... or is it possible for a puffer to get dropsy?
WARNING: Puffers are mischievous little blimps with enchanting powers. You may not be content with having just one.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32987
- 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:
Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
No, I don't believe they can but something bacterial is going on there.
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!"
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32987
- 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:
Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
No, I don't believe they can but something bacterial is going on there. I wish he'd write back.
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!"
Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
Hi guys....
Sorry for the late reply.
I have tried epsom salt again thinking he is constipated, but he has still not pooped since he ate the shrimp. He is now lethargic, lays on the bottom of the tank, will not eat, and is starting to turn black from the tail fin progressing upwards to his head. He appears to be getting more and more swollen and looks like he could explode. His head is getting misshapen, and the hemorrhages are getting worse. I will try some Melafix, but if he does recover, will his eyesight return? He is completely blind and bounces of the glass and plants. I had to turn the filter off, (Magnum 350) as he gets stuck to it and cannot escape.
I have 2 children that really like him and they were away this weekend. I do not want them to see him like this so I have purchased a bottle of clove oil. I truly want to save him, but I have no idea what could be wrong with him. There is nothing else in his tank but some sand as the substrate and the same plants that have been in there from the start.
He is suffering, that much I know....and even as a grown man, it makes me teary.
Thanks for your replies.
EDIT:....I have moved him to a 10 gallon tank in an effort to make changing the water easier. I also took some pics of him to see if that would help diagnose what is wrong with him.
EDIT 2: I have taken a pic of his anus, which appears to have some sort of clear sac covering it, tinged with blood.
Sorry for the late reply.
I have tried epsom salt again thinking he is constipated, but he has still not pooped since he ate the shrimp. He is now lethargic, lays on the bottom of the tank, will not eat, and is starting to turn black from the tail fin progressing upwards to his head. He appears to be getting more and more swollen and looks like he could explode. His head is getting misshapen, and the hemorrhages are getting worse. I will try some Melafix, but if he does recover, will his eyesight return? He is completely blind and bounces of the glass and plants. I had to turn the filter off, (Magnum 350) as he gets stuck to it and cannot escape.
I have 2 children that really like him and they were away this weekend. I do not want them to see him like this so I have purchased a bottle of clove oil. I truly want to save him, but I have no idea what could be wrong with him. There is nothing else in his tank but some sand as the substrate and the same plants that have been in there from the start.
He is suffering, that much I know....and even as a grown man, it makes me teary.
Thanks for your replies.
EDIT:....I have moved him to a 10 gallon tank in an effort to make changing the water easier. I also took some pics of him to see if that would help diagnose what is wrong with him.
EDIT 2: I have taken a pic of his anus, which appears to have some sort of clear sac covering it, tinged with blood.
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sgtmyers88
- Moderator
- Posts: 1296
- Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 12:37 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Green Spotted Puffers
- Location (country): USA
- Contact:
Re: Very ill GSP...Help greatly appreciated
Sadly this story sounds almost identical to whats happening to one of my GSPs. 
WARNING: Puffers are mischievous little blimps with enchanting powers. You may not be content with having just one.