In regards to your ammonia problem, have you looked around for any hidden or trapped food that might be rotting? I had a spike a couple of months ago in one of my tanks and couldn't figure it out. I moved some decorations and to my surprise found a small pile of rotting food trapped inside one of the decorations. I removed that and my ammonia levels dropped back down to zero.
Also, have you been treating the tank with Prime? It's been my experience that you can sometimes get false ammonia readings after you put Prime in the tank - especially if you had ammonia readings to begin with.
Hope your puffer gets better.
Dan
Porcupine Puffer not eating - he can't open his mouth
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.
-
Pufferpunk
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
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A fellow I worked with at WWM, John Champlin, was doing some research on that. He worte the Marine Pufferkeeping article stickied in the Marine Puffer Forum here. Goes by the name "Magnus".
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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monsterpuffer
- Dwarf Puffer
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I dont really understand why iodine would work for puffers. For people eating fish are a good source of Iodine to prevent thyroid problems. Fish that eat other sea creatures, like puffers, have been found to have very high levels of iodine in their systems.
So unless the fish are malnourished they should have high levels of iodine already in their systems.
....unless, very high levels of iodine help to solve the problem. In people very high levels of iodine cause heart problems and weight loss.
MP
So unless the fish are malnourished they should have high levels of iodine already in their systems.
....unless, very high levels of iodine help to solve the problem. In people very high levels of iodine cause heart problems and weight loss.
MP
A man without data is just another man with an opinion.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
It seems to happen to puffers that aren't fed a varied diet & generally were only fed krill for several years. Seen it countless times... iodine always seemed to 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!"
-
Puffer Queen
- Mentor
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- Location: Louisville, KY
- Contact:
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Thanks for the link Kelly, interestign thread. I am sorry I have no studies to back this up. I do knopw John Champlin was starting one. Not sure where it went. I will try to contact him about this. I do know though, that folks were having positive rusults of reversing the lockjaw by dosing w/iodine & force feeding till the puffer could eat again. There are threads on this at WaterWolves too.
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!"
-
Puffer Queen
- Mentor
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- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:35 am
- Location: Louisville, KY
- Contact:
Jennie,
Were these exclusively diodon holocanthus?
Were there documented low iodine levels in the tank? What dosage of iodine - mg/kg? How many doses or how long were they treated? Were iodine levels monitored during dosing? What were the nitrate levels?
Were the fish gavaged (tubed) when you say force feeding? If so - what was fed?
Any links or articles are greatly appreciated.
Were these exclusively diodon holocanthus?
Were there documented low iodine levels in the tank? What dosage of iodine - mg/kg? How many doses or how long were they treated? Were iodine levels monitored during dosing? What were the nitrate levels?
Were the fish gavaged (tubed) when you say force feeding? If so - what was fed?
Any links or articles are greatly appreciated.
Kelly
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
-
Puffer Queen
- Mentor
- Posts: 386
- Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 10:35 am
- Location: Louisville, KY
- Contact: