Need advice - ich on new puff

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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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Puffer_Novice
Puffer Fry
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Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 11:56 pm
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Need advice - ich on new puff

Post by Puffer_Novice »

Hey guys, first post here, though for the past month and a half as I cycled my tank I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve been pouring over this forum.

30g tank - no measurable ammonia nitrites or nitrates - I have two HoB filters - a mariners d penguin 150 and an aqua clear 70. 300w heater currently set at 84 (ich present on figure 8, hence the high temp) and a SG right around 1.003

I cycled the tank fish less using ammonia drops - it took way longer than expected, but because of the sensitive nature of figure 8’s, I knew I couldn’t cut corners. Took about a month and a half without seed material.

Finally brought home the first puffer last week and drip acclimated him - seemed really happy. Then a few days later I noticed a ton of white dots on him. I called the fish store to ask if the tank he came from had ich, they are currently treating that tank...I’ll be getting one more figure 8 on Friday, but want to make sure I’m doing what I should be doing.

I’ve ordered ich-x from Corey at aquarium coop and will treat as soon as it gets in.

Today though, he seemed to not want to eat at all and was far more sluggish than usual. I bought an air hose and pump to combat the low oxygen from the high temps, but this was probably overkill given it’s a planted tank.

Any advice on how I can make sure I don’t kill off this little guy I’ve been planning a month and a half for?

Any advice appreciated!

Justin
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Need advice - ich on new puff

Post by Pufferpunk »

[welcome]
You cannot cycle a tank without seed material--no bacteria source. Hence why you are showing 0 nitrate. Are you using marine salt? I am discovering that heat only stresses the fish out. Do you have a pic of the ich?
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!"
Puffer_Novice
Puffer Fry
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2020 11:56 pm
Location (country): United States

Re: Need advice - ich on new puff

Post by Puffer_Novice »

yeah, once i added the seed material from a buddys tank, the tank cycled. the only reason i say nitrates are zero is because of obsessive water changes every day since bringing him home. here are a couple pictures - i don't have a good one of my puffer, as i am at work right now, but I was able to find essentially identical photos online.

and yes, marine salt, instant ocean. refractometer as well, not a hydrometer. well calibrated using distilled water.

and I think i agree with the heat stressing him out. ever since I started raising it, the ich has remained, but his behavior has def changed.
puffer ich.jpg
puffer ich 2.jpg
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Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32755
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Need advice - ich on new puff

Post by Pufferpunk »

I really do need a pic of YOUR puffer. The top pic has no ich. Those white dots are its tiny spines. The 2nd pic, the upper fish does appear to have ich. Do the spots look like raised specks of salt? Are they on the fins?

Why would you be adding a 2nd puffer if you think your 1st 1 is sick?
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!"
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