Hi there,
We got a dogface puffer (named Cutie for obvious reasons) about 7 months ago to add to our 180g FOWLR tank. About a month after we got him he got ICH which was successfully treated with freshwater dips. Then he got accidentally bit by a bigger stars and stripes puffer during feeding. (Cutie used to be a very aggressive eater - not anymore). He also got through this okay and healed nicely.
Ever since he has just been getting thinner **see attached jpeg**.
http://elementltd.com/cutie.jpg
He seems happy; the big puffer and him usually cuddle in the afternoons. His tankmates are:
his pal, the 2 1/2 year old hispidus (who is doing exceptionally well),
a 1 1/2 year old humahuma,
a couple of damsels
2 yellow tangs
a little flame angel
a snowflake eel
all of whom are doing very well.
There is nearly zero aggression in the tank so Cutie has a fairly stress free lif. The tank has many hiding spots and is certainly adequate for the number of inhabitants we have. All fish are in excellent shape and most have been with us since the beginning.
Last week Cutie got ICH again which freshwater dipping has seemed to clear up. We also discovered that his teeth were overgrown so we successfully trimmed his teeth with cuticle scissors - and he can now open his mouth fully. After having a really good look at him (this tends to happen when you're petting him for reassurance under a spotlight...) we noticed just how thin he has gotten over the last month.
So we have been watching him very closely for the last two days and he goes for food, gets it in his mouth and spits it back out. It seems that when he gets the food in his mouth now, his jaw "twitches" and he can't get the food to his stomach. Even really small pieces of food.
Since some of our other fish are aggressive eaters, we are going to put Cutie into his very own 30 gal QT tank so he can have some rest, and be able to get enough food without all the other fish fighting for it.
My question is...
What could this be? What is the treatment for our little Cutie? I have read on this site that he may have an iodine deficiency - should we add iodine to the hospital tank? Or is there something else going on that we may have missed?
A water test was done yesterday and the parameters are as follows:
Ammonia - 0.1
Nitrite - nearly 0
Nitrate - about 20
These readings have been pretty much consistent over the past 2 years.
Feeding: We feed vitamin fortified pellets in the morning (4 different brands that are rotated), and at night we feed a variety of frozen food including krill, ocean plankton, brine and mysis as well as regular treats from the supermarket.
Water Changes: We change 25% of our water once a week since our tank is still cycling from upgrading from a 55g to a 180g+50g sump.
In the last week we have added more live rock and more tiny blue leg and red leg crabs.
Our 180g has been set up since mid January seeded from a 2 year old 55g.
Any and all help/advice would be greatly appreciated. We love our CutiePie and will do whatever it takes. We are afraid we will lose him if we don't do something immediately. Please see attached photo.
http://elementltd.com/cutie.jpg
Puffer ?Lockjaw
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.
The skinnyness usually is the visual symptom of internal parasites. There is an article somewhere about it... let me see if I can dig it up...
<80 gal> 2 GSPs & a Ceylon!
<75 gal> 3 Figure 8s & 1 Butterlfy Goby
<75 gal> *Empty*
<55 gal> 3 Gymnothorax polyuranodon (FW eel)
<30 long> Pair of Lorteti's & Irrubesco's, 1 DP, Endlers Livebearers, Clown Pleco, Royal Pleco, 2 Bumblebee Cats
<20 long> 4 Flounders
<4 gal> 2 Sparkling Gouramis & 3 ottos heavily planted
~Tihsho~
<75 gal> 3 Figure 8s & 1 Butterlfy Goby
<75 gal> *Empty*
<55 gal> 3 Gymnothorax polyuranodon (FW eel)
<30 long> Pair of Lorteti's & Irrubesco's, 1 DP, Endlers Livebearers, Clown Pleco, Royal Pleco, 2 Bumblebee Cats
<20 long> 4 Flounders
<4 gal> 2 Sparkling Gouramis & 3 ottos heavily planted
~Tihsho~
<80 gal> 2 GSPs & a Ceylon!
<75 gal> 3 Figure 8s & 1 Butterlfy Goby
<75 gal> *Empty*
<55 gal> 3 Gymnothorax polyuranodon (FW eel)
<30 long> Pair of Lorteti's & Irrubesco's, 1 DP, Endlers Livebearers, Clown Pleco, Royal Pleco, 2 Bumblebee Cats
<20 long> 4 Flounders
<4 gal> 2 Sparkling Gouramis & 3 ottos heavily planted
~Tihsho~
<75 gal> 3 Figure 8s & 1 Butterlfy Goby
<75 gal> *Empty*
<55 gal> 3 Gymnothorax polyuranodon (FW eel)
<30 long> Pair of Lorteti's & Irrubesco's, 1 DP, Endlers Livebearers, Clown Pleco, Royal Pleco, 2 Bumblebee Cats
<20 long> 4 Flounders
<4 gal> 2 Sparkling Gouramis & 3 ottos heavily planted
~Tihsho~
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lisalisa
I'm no expert, but I have to wonder why he is getting ich and possibly parasites if all else is actually right with your tank. In freshwater, ich is a sign of poor water quality. Yes a stressed fish is more succeptible, but the poor environment must also be there.
Rather than saying "The tank has many hiding spots and is certainly adequate for the number of inhabitants we have", why don't you post the full specs of your tank? What are all the inhabitants? What is all the equipment? If the ammonia and nitrites aren't 0 all the time, then is something wrong? ...especially after 2 years.
It would be a shame to cure Cutie, only to have him catch ill again because of the origional problem.
Best intentions, hopes and wishes. Good luck.
Rather than saying "The tank has many hiding spots and is certainly adequate for the number of inhabitants we have", why don't you post the full specs of your tank? What are all the inhabitants? What is all the equipment? If the ammonia and nitrites aren't 0 all the time, then is something wrong? ...especially after 2 years.
It would be a shame to cure Cutie, only to have him catch ill again because of the origional problem.
Best intentions, hopes and wishes. Good luck.
Colomesus asellus (SAP) [RIP]
Tetraodon travancoricus (dwarf puffer) [RIP]
Ancistrus sp.(4) (Albino Bristlenose Catfish)
Otocinclus
Tetraodon travancoricus (dwarf puffer) [RIP]
Ancistrus sp.(4) (Albino Bristlenose Catfish)
Otocinclus
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lisalisa
Oh and I meant to add, if ick is in the water, FW dipping is a temporary solution to help the parasite load on the fish at that moment; it will catch it again upon re-introduction. Go to http://www.wetwebmedia.com and search for marine parasites.
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Boxermom
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 2182
- Joined: Sun Mar 12, 2006 8:34 pm
- Location: Wisconsin
- Contact:
I've read lockjaw is sometimes caused by overgrown teeth, too, and from that picture, it looks like that might be part of the problem.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
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Jager