Hey all -
Just wanting to get a bit ahead of the game here, and not have any sort of scramble after something bad happens. I want to be prepared. Is there any sort of testing I should be doing (outside of normal PH / ammonia / nitrate / nitrite) or medicines I should have on hand in case? I read articles in here where people pretty quickly know if their puffer is sick and what it likely has...that'd be great info to know.
Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Testing for fungus, bateria, etc?
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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Welch4
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 698
- Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2014 5:22 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 1 GSP
- Location (country): USA
- Location: Abington,MA
Re: Testing for fungus, bateria, etc?
Not to the extent of my knowledge. Identifying quickly usually is a direct result of observation. Noticing out of the ordinary behavior or something physical developing with our wet pets. If something does develope or you notice odd behavior and you are unclear of what could be causing it, a post here will usually result in quick reponses.
Forget other advice about puffers you don't hear here - Pufferpunk
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Minipuff
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 2:19 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 5 dwarf puffers
- Location (country): Norway
Re: Testing for fungus, bateria, etc?
Hi there, Headstrng!
Before I got my puffers, I did a lot of research (i.e. googling and visiting forums
) on anything I could think of related to keeping puffers, among others diseases, medicines and water parameters. I made my own tables with information about disease symptoms and possible treatment options, and found photos and drawings of what it looks like. I bought 4 types of medicine: Esha Exit, Esha 2000, Kusuri wormer plus, and JBL Furanol. These were recommended (on a Norwegian aquarium forum) as the "basic medicines" to have at hand before your fish arrives. Maybe you would chose some other brands in the US. Beware that some medicines will damage the cultures of nitrifying bacteria in the filtre. For the 4 medicines mentioned, I think this only applies to the Furanol. Some medicines are also harmful to snails and shrimp. So far Kusuri is the only one I've made use of, for precautionary IP treatment. One good thing about it (apart from not damaging the filter bacteria), is that it can be added directly to the tank water, as opposed to types that need to be mixed with food. Thus, your fish will be treated even if they are fuzzy eaters or too sick to eat.
Reading cannot substitute practical experience, but trying to be as well educated and prepared as possible is a good start, I believe
Before I got my puffers, I did a lot of research (i.e. googling and visiting forums
) on anything I could think of related to keeping puffers, among others diseases, medicines and water parameters. I made my own tables with information about disease symptoms and possible treatment options, and found photos and drawings of what it looks like. I bought 4 types of medicine: Esha Exit, Esha 2000, Kusuri wormer plus, and JBL Furanol. These were recommended (on a Norwegian aquarium forum) as the "basic medicines" to have at hand before your fish arrives. Maybe you would chose some other brands in the US. Beware that some medicines will damage the cultures of nitrifying bacteria in the filtre. For the 4 medicines mentioned, I think this only applies to the Furanol. Some medicines are also harmful to snails and shrimp. So far Kusuri is the only one I've made use of, for precautionary IP treatment. One good thing about it (apart from not damaging the filter bacteria), is that it can be added directly to the tank water, as opposed to types that need to be mixed with food. Thus, your fish will be treated even if they are fuzzy eaters or too sick to eat.Reading cannot substitute practical experience, but trying to be as well educated and prepared as possible is a good start, I believe
Re: Testing for fungus, bateria, etc?
Ha! Sounds like my type of research...I'm a marketer by trade, so I'm making my own print puffer-pedia type of book of what I'm learning through the internet and experience. So that I have it on hand, with pics of what diseases look like and all that.
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Minipuff
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 71
- Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2015 2:19 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 5 dwarf puffers
- Location (country): Norway
Re: Testing for fungus, bateria, etc?
Seriously?? Haha! So do I! My "book" about DPs is currently 70 pages :-O (contains lot's of photos, though)
I'm a researcher by profession - may explain the soooooomewhat nerdy approach to it... Cool to hear that it's not only me!
I'm a researcher by profession - may explain the soooooomewhat nerdy approach to it...
Cool to hear that it's not only me!