about 3 weeks ago we got 3 GSP's from the local wall mart.
the first 2 didn't do so well, wouldn't eat as much as the first and we lost those but the last one we have was doing good until the last few days.
he was in a 10 gal freshwater tank, until we read that they liked brakish water, so we started gradually adding marine salt, he started getting better but now he's not eating and turning purplish. we're using a charcoal filter. is this wrong?
we tried melafix but didn't see any changes. thought he might have ich so tried Rid-ich+ and that seemed to help for a day or 2.
right now were at a 50% water change at least once a week.
GSP turning purple
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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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Could you post a pic? Never heard of them turning purple--do you mean he's just darker? Have you tested the water? Knowing the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates & pH, would help.
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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ChesapeakeSwellfish
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If you've read PP's article on the GSP in the library, you must know that a 10 gal tank is inadequate for your puffer, let alone three. He requires a minumum of 30 gal. Turn the 10 gal into a snail tank. The darkening is evidence of stress - I suspect he is being poisoned by his own waste and uneaten food.
Increases in salinity should be done very slowly. Can you measure the salinity? What is the temperature? What type of filter are you using and is it providing aeration?
Increases in salinity should be done very slowly. Can you measure the salinity? What is the temperature? What type of filter are you using and is it providing aeration?
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Pufferpunk
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YBeNormal
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That's how a lot of people get involved with puffers. Let's face it, good information on puffer care is not easy to find and most LFS employees don't have a clue. On the bright side, some of the folks that bought puffers not knowing what they were getting into are now very active and educated TPF members! P)0SkeptikaL wrote:This sounds like a kid who just bought one, well, or three puffs, and doesn't know a thing of what he's getting into...
--Bob
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Pufferpunk
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T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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puffernuke
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Hey when i first bought my GSP i didn't know a thing on BW. Of course I'm sure everyone here has heard this plenty of times, The expert at the LFS told me at the time of purchase they needed salt in there tank, and yes Aquarium salt. So of course a bought a box table salt/aquarium salt 
. But as soon as i got home i did my research on gsp and quickly learned the true meaning of BW. My plan in the first place was far from buying any kind off puffer, but once I seen them swimming around I was hooked and had another outlook and plan.
. But as soon as i got home i did my research on gsp and quickly learned the true meaning of BW. My plan in the first place was far from buying any kind off puffer, but once I seen them swimming around I was hooked and had another outlook and plan.S/W 90 RR.
he died after we did the post. being we bought them from walmart we figured they were just a freshwater fish till we found some info to turn it to brakish water. then the night we posted the ? we found that they wanted 30 gal and didn't have one set up yet. and were not new to the fish thing we've got 2- 55's, 2-29's, that 10 and a 2 gal tank. we figured if the fish had special need's they would have said so. maybe we'll set up one of those 29's and come across another GSP and stand half a chance with him.
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The Fisherman
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