PH 8.2
Ammonia 8 ppm
Nitrite 5 ppm
Nitrate 10 ppm
8 gallon tank with 3 inch puffer, bumblebee goby and 3 red claw crabs for food
I feed him once a day with live blood worms. Water changes every 2 weeks. I add aquarium salt weekly. The most recent change was turning the tank to brackish water. aquarium has been running for a month now.
I have a 3 inch figure 8 puffer in an 8 gallon tank. He was in my 55 gallon but i had the tank divided. I moved him into the 8 gallon and he stopped eating and his eyes sucked in. I changed the water to brackish and his eyes looked way better but still haven't seen him eat anything. Now his eyes are sucking back in and he still won't eat and there are plenty of red claw crabs (which are his favorite) in the tank. what could be the problem and how do I fix it and what is wrong with him.
figure 8 puffer problems
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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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
and yes i know the ammonia is high and i am dealing with that right now
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Pufferpunk
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
That tank is way too small for a F8. Minimum of 15g just for the F8 alone. He's not gonna eat the crabs, they're too big & the shell is too hard. They're just adding to the bioload. Do a 90% WC & add Tetra's Safestart to the filter. That should solve the ammonia problem, IF you upgrade the tank. Otherwise, you're always going to have issues with the water quality. Also, that fish likes to swim!
As far as him being skinny, you're going to have to soak his food in anti-parasite meds. Look for Jungle Parasite Clear fizzy tabs.
As far as him being skinny, you're going to have to soak his food in anti-parasite meds. Look for Jungle Parasite Clear fizzy tabs.
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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thefickens
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
right now the only option is to keep him in the 8 gallon brackish or put him in a 110 gallon freshwater with cichlids and i don't thing that will be a smart idea. I don't have another tank and don't have money to just go set up another tank. he actually loves the crabs. its his favorite food.
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Pufferpunk
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T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
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C lorteti
DPs
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
You should be able to find a cheap tank on Craigslist. Even so, you're going to have to do something about that ammonia/nitrite & IPs RIGHT NOW, of he doesn't stand a chance. That tank's not cycled. Start doing 80% water changes 2x/day. Stop adding salt until the parameters are stable for at least 2 weeks.
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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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
the tank was cycled with freshwater for 2 weeks before i put him in. then i slowly made it into brackish water for a week. i am acclimating him back to freshwater and putting him in the 110 gallon for now until the 8 gallon is corrected. its weird tho because the bumblebee goby and the craps are perfectly fine.
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Pufferpunk
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T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
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C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
Please do not add a sick fish to your healthy fish, unless you want to treat all of them for IPs. Why not just bring the tank back to FW & add filter media from the 110 to 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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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
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- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
what is IPs
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Pufferpunk
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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
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
Internal parasites.
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!"
-
thefickens
- Puffer Fry
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- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
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Re: figure 8 puffer problems
i put him back in the 8 gallon and added bifurin. now he isn't moving and barely breathing. i think i lost him
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Pufferpunk
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- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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- 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: figure 8 puffer problems
That's not what I told you to do. IDK why you medicated the tank with an anti-bacterial... Puffers are VERY sensitive to meds & anti-bacterial will kill off what little nitrification bacteria you mmight have started growing in there. Do a 90% water change RIGHT NOW!
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!"
-
thefickens
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
put freshwater or brackish in the tank???
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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
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- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
and i medicated it cause the LFS said to do that. I took the fish in and had them look at it.
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
FW, do a huge water change and dechlorinate appropriately. If you use Prime multiply the regular dose by 4x. Put the puffer in clean FW in the small tank. No medications, no salt. Get some filter media from your 110gal tank and put it in the 8gal filter. This will help cycle the tank.
It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
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thefickens
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2012 2:09 pm
- Location (country): Oceanside, CA
Re: figure 8 puffer problems
did the water change and all that. can't really get filter media from other tank. its inside a huge fluxal canister