Water:
Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrite- 0ppm
Nitrate- 5-10ppm.
pH- 7.8
kH- 6dH
gH- 9dH
Tank size- 100L.
Equipment- Eheim 160 filter/Hagen heater- controlled with Inkbird set to 78F. Air stone and Venturi.
Inhabitants - One juvenile Auriglobus modestus, Avocado Puffer. About 1.5inches long. Nothing else.
Additives- API Aqua Essentials (dechlorinator) Microbe Nite-out II (nitrifying bacteria) was added when the tank was first cycled.
Water Changes- 25% per week.
Tank Set-up- Approx 2 months. Tank was cycled without fish with liquid ammonia, to process 1ppm of ammonia in 24 hours. This fish has never been exposed to any ammonia or nitrite since it has been in my care. There are areas of high flow good surface agitation/peaceful areas, lots of hiding spots, good cover with live plants, fake plants and an ornamental cave area as well as open water. No decor influences pH of the tank.
Tank is situated in a corner spot in a quiet room, no direct sun and no noise or people disturbing him. Natural day and night light cycle.
No changes have been made from the start and all parameters are, and have been, stable.
Treatments- Fish has had a treatment of levamisole (esha ndx).
The problem:
I have only owned this little guy for three weeks and the first week all was well- but his appetite has slowed to a stop. The second week it was patchy and the third completely absent- he won't eat at all. Initially he took lots of bloodworms and loved Vibra Bites. I have offered him chopped tilapia fillet, krill, white shrimp, along with the foods he did enjoy and there is zero interest. I'm not harassing him with food, offering once a day. Physically he looks pretty good- good colour, teeth are not at all overgrown, his finnage has regrown (it was nipped when I first bought him). Not lethargic at all, no bottom sitting, no heavy breathing, no redness but he is understandably looking thin now.
Behaviour wise- he is skittish and all he does is manic glass surf. When he isn't sleeping, he's surfing. All day long. It's a bit distressing to watch- like a polar bear pacing in a zoo. A juicy bloodworm could be right in his face and he won't even try it.
He seems stressed. Obviously he is still quite new but the fact he seemed a lot happier in that first week concerns me that there's something else amiss here.
Any thoughts/suggestions?
Stressed/Inappetent young Avocado Puffer.
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: Stressed/Inappetent young Avocado Puffer.
Your fishkeeping seems perfect.
Mine prefers live plants to plastic. They won't use a cave. Heavily planted is the trick. Mine hid in the plants most of the time, unless it was dinner time.
library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/
Mine prefers live plants to plastic. They won't use a cave. Heavily planted is the trick. Mine hid in the plants most of the time, unless it was dinner time.
library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/
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!"