Hi everyone! It took me two days to read all 15 pages of the hospital section to see if someone had posted a problem such as mine before and the closest i found were the black belly posting which only swayed me to believing that my twins may have a parasite? Here is goes.
46g bow front
2x 2' green spotted puffers
3week old tank that must be cycling because of nitrates
temperature is 77.5
ph-8.4
alkalinity-300
chlorine -0
harness-150
nitrite-0
nitrate-20
filter aquaclear 70
diet:
frozen blood worms
i adopted my babies last sunday (1 week ago today) they had been kept in fresh water so i brought them home to a tank that was in the process of cycling via substrate from a previous tank. i bought a bottle of cycle because bio spira was not available and despite people's dislike of this stuff i have seen successful results in both my previous 33 g, brack and this current one (knock on wood) but then again maybe i have a blue thumb to make up for my lack of my green one... hmm
regardless this is my situation:
left and right are there names.
left has these vein like markings on his side and noticeably a large one near his lip. (on his left side). He also has a black belly that comes and goes within literally seconds.
Right has the same issue however his belly is snow white most of the time, but does exhibit some vein like markings when his belly turns black. i noticed that after water changes they both get black bellies which i'm sure are stress related. my concern however is Left's dark spots and vein like markings that he sports 60% of the time.
when they know that they are about to be fed both bellies clear up... which is weird. while sitting in front of my aquarium Left's belly has turned from black to white at least 5 times already.. its almost like different areas of the tank encourage this...
i'm thinking that maybe Lefts veins come from when the pet shop guy had him out and was showing how they blow up despite my requests for him to immediately put my guy in water and was not interested in seeing him turn into a "hard boiled egg". i'm thinking he might have ruptured some capillaries or something..
as for the black bellies i am now thoroughly paranoid that they might have parasites however the dropping are big not stringy and .. not white. the little bellies get big and round after they are fed and flat before they are fed and they are very active unless sleeping when the light is off . attached are pictures of they're bellies... any suggestion would be appreciated.
oh i am currently doing a 15% water change every 3 days due to my tank not being 2 weeks old yet. my salinity is not showing up on my hydrometer despite me adding (gradually) adding half a box of marine salt so i think it might be broken which i will be exchanging for a refractometer within the month.
http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa34/alienwiredgirl/
i'm new at posting pic's so let me know if this works or how to fix it , i searched this site for instructions and the only only i could find was the one where is said to upload on photo bucket.. which i did....
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Disapearing Black Belly Act
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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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
-
coldmachineUK
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 382
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:20 pm
- My Puffers: 2x T. biocellatus
1x C. asellus - Location: Wirral, UK
:S It sounds like a lot of things could be contributing. Have you read the articles in the puffer library about caring for your new friends? They're lifesavers, literally, and there are a few things which you could be doing differently to help:
1. Puffs are extremely sensitive to water parameters. A tank two weeks only probably isn't cycled. Cycling a tank from substrate won't work either: most of the bacteria live off (and breakdown) waste within filter media. There can be a small amount in a substrate but nowhere near enough to cycle a tank instantly (or in two weeks).
I'm worried about your nitrIte reading: it's 0 apparently, but you say the tank has only been running two weeks? That's odd, because it usually takes about ~4 weeks for a colony of nitrobacter to develop (the bacteria which breaks down nitrIte into nitrAte).
What sort of test kit are you using? I recommend the API FW Master Test kit, which is liquid based. Much more accurate than test strips.
2. Getting a puffer to puff up within water is bad enough. Getting it to do it out in the air is potentially fatal. I'm really surprised your puff managed to deflate in fact, because when they puff with air they usually become bouyant and can't deflate again. See the article about 'burping' your puffer for more info on that. So, I don't think that will have helped AT ALL. You could go back and reprimand the LFS employee, and tell the manager about his/her behaviour.
3. Half a box of marine salt?! :S That's a lot. And you need to increase salinity gradually over time. This is not only for your puffs' sake, but because salt can kill off bacteria colonies in FW if you add too much and don't allow them to adapt to the change.
A hydrometer is not the best measurement instrument. You need a refractometer really.
4. A 46G tank for two GSPs is too small, in the long run. And, GSPs are one of the more aggressive puffs so they're not hot on having the company of another one as much as we might assume.
5. A diet of bloodworms is not varied enough: you'll need to introduce much more variety, including snails (a staple food!) such as common pond or ramshorns, krill (my F8s love the stuff but it's not good to give them too much of that either), cockles/mussels/shrimp etc. There's articles in the library on here about diet too, so you can check those out.
I would think, therefore, from these things that it's stress and the experience of puffing in air that is causing the problem. Their environment is not great at the moment, and one may have been injured permanently by that LFS employee.
As you say, a parasite problem is usually first evident in the poop, and if it's white and stringy then yes that might be a potential problem too. But, I think it might be that the above things need fixing as a priority and then maybe they'd improve some.
1. Puffs are extremely sensitive to water parameters. A tank two weeks only probably isn't cycled. Cycling a tank from substrate won't work either: most of the bacteria live off (and breakdown) waste within filter media. There can be a small amount in a substrate but nowhere near enough to cycle a tank instantly (or in two weeks).
I'm worried about your nitrIte reading: it's 0 apparently, but you say the tank has only been running two weeks? That's odd, because it usually takes about ~4 weeks for a colony of nitrobacter to develop (the bacteria which breaks down nitrIte into nitrAte).
What sort of test kit are you using? I recommend the API FW Master Test kit, which is liquid based. Much more accurate than test strips.
2. Getting a puffer to puff up within water is bad enough. Getting it to do it out in the air is potentially fatal. I'm really surprised your puff managed to deflate in fact, because when they puff with air they usually become bouyant and can't deflate again. See the article about 'burping' your puffer for more info on that. So, I don't think that will have helped AT ALL. You could go back and reprimand the LFS employee, and tell the manager about his/her behaviour.
3. Half a box of marine salt?! :S That's a lot. And you need to increase salinity gradually over time. This is not only for your puffs' sake, but because salt can kill off bacteria colonies in FW if you add too much and don't allow them to adapt to the change.
A hydrometer is not the best measurement instrument. You need a refractometer really.
4. A 46G tank for two GSPs is too small, in the long run. And, GSPs are one of the more aggressive puffs so they're not hot on having the company of another one as much as we might assume.
5. A diet of bloodworms is not varied enough: you'll need to introduce much more variety, including snails (a staple food!) such as common pond or ramshorns, krill (my F8s love the stuff but it's not good to give them too much of that either), cockles/mussels/shrimp etc. There's articles in the library on here about diet too, so you can check those out.
I would think, therefore, from these things that it's stress and the experience of puffing in air that is causing the problem. Their environment is not great at the moment, and one may have been injured permanently by that LFS employee.
As you say, a parasite problem is usually first evident in the poop, and if it's white and stringy then yes that might be a potential problem too. But, I think it might be that the above things need fixing as a priority and then maybe they'd improve some.
Did our staff successfully help you? The Puffer Forum is an incredible resource and is run completely on the donations of its viewers. Proceeds from the Puffer Forum store go towards future contests and keeping the site running. We also welcome donations!
36G: FW Planted | 53G: Brackish (F8 Puffers) | 58G: Freshwater Community (Unusual/Rare Loaches)
Interesting stock: S. mahnerti, S. vinciguerrae, S. sp. "crimson", V. maassi, N. masyai, M. guentheri, T. biocellatus, C. asellus.
36G: FW Planted | 53G: Brackish (F8 Puffers) | 58G: Freshwater Community (Unusual/Rare Loaches)
Interesting stock: S. mahnerti, S. vinciguerrae, S. sp. "crimson", V. maassi, N. masyai, M. guentheri, T. biocellatus, C. asellus.
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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
i appreciate the reply but i must admit it made it sound like you thought i was stupid. maybe i read it wrong but your demeanor was very condescending and i kind of took offense to it. i know your trying to help but stating the obvious did not really help me. the suggestions were ok but really did not answer my question, . I'm not saying that my babies are sick, i was inquiring about the black bellies or more specifically the vein like markings all over Rights's belly.
i have scoured the Internet for information on these guys, however you must keep in mind that i have only had them for a week and all these things that you are suggesting take time.
i am feeding them blood worms and a little shrimp but do not intend on making it there only diet, a collection of different foods will be acquired over time. they already eat snails being that its the most important part of the diet. i don't think me feeding them one type of food currently would contribute to them having a black belly or black veins.. i was going to introduce different foods gradually as with everything else.
i know that getting the puff to puff up is bad regardless of the situation. as you already know LFS are not always the best people to "reprimand" because they simply don't care which is why they were keeping GSP in fresh water in the first place... so are you saying that from your experience you've seen these little vein like markings and that is possibly what may have caused it??
3. half a box of marine salt was given to them GRADUALLY its a small box and i would add a little every time i do a water change which is every 2-3 days, i do regular water changes currently until i can get the tank stabilized. so i doubt that its the problem. ( i already knew about salt killing the bacteria as well as chlorine which is why i dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank in a separate receptacle ) i didn't get into that much detail in my last post because i thought these things were already known. ) i am getting a refractometer because my hydrometer is obviously not working. but i really don't think that the salinity is causing the vein like appearances on one and not the other.
4. i know that the 46G will be too small to house these guys that will grow over six inches and that they will require 30G ea. however i think that presently the tank is more than ample for these guys being that they are the only ones in it and are still adolescents... presently i don't think that this is contributing to the black belly . they like ea. other and are always close to ea. and follow ea. other around and encourage ea. other to explore different things or eat certain things. its weird being that they say that they should be aggressive towards ea. other but they aren't in the least bit. they have great little personality that seem to compliment ea. other perfectly ..i have been keeping a close eye on they're friendship situation in case i have to put one up for adoption but they are buddies and think it would be detrimental to separate them at this point.
i know that the conditions are not pristine but i think that they are great considering that the tank has only been running for two weeks and aside from black bellies its the only problem I'm currently having. algae is starting to grow and the filters and equipment are getting the slime on it. from experience i know that these are good signs. you made it sound in the last post that it was a puffer torture chamber. im doing my best with what i have and the twins are happy behavior wise minus the black bellies and the veins on the other. they are active, hungry, responsive and aggressive towards my hand being in the tank while cleaning etc..
i was looking through members pictures and i was relieved when i saw that other member's fish had this black belly thing going on. this only reassures me that its caused by stress and will most likely go away with time and as the tank matures.. the only thing left to explain are the vein like markings... i wonder if they are parasites that can been seen through the skin?? or are they just the result of having taken them out of the tank for so long...
i have scoured the Internet for information on these guys, however you must keep in mind that i have only had them for a week and all these things that you are suggesting take time.
i am feeding them blood worms and a little shrimp but do not intend on making it there only diet, a collection of different foods will be acquired over time. they already eat snails being that its the most important part of the diet. i don't think me feeding them one type of food currently would contribute to them having a black belly or black veins.. i was going to introduce different foods gradually as with everything else.
i know that getting the puff to puff up is bad regardless of the situation. as you already know LFS are not always the best people to "reprimand" because they simply don't care which is why they were keeping GSP in fresh water in the first place... so are you saying that from your experience you've seen these little vein like markings and that is possibly what may have caused it??
3. half a box of marine salt was given to them GRADUALLY its a small box and i would add a little every time i do a water change which is every 2-3 days, i do regular water changes currently until i can get the tank stabilized. so i doubt that its the problem. ( i already knew about salt killing the bacteria as well as chlorine which is why i dechlorinate the water before adding it to the tank in a separate receptacle ) i didn't get into that much detail in my last post because i thought these things were already known. ) i am getting a refractometer because my hydrometer is obviously not working. but i really don't think that the salinity is causing the vein like appearances on one and not the other.
4. i know that the 46G will be too small to house these guys that will grow over six inches and that they will require 30G ea. however i think that presently the tank is more than ample for these guys being that they are the only ones in it and are still adolescents... presently i don't think that this is contributing to the black belly . they like ea. other and are always close to ea. and follow ea. other around and encourage ea. other to explore different things or eat certain things. its weird being that they say that they should be aggressive towards ea. other but they aren't in the least bit. they have great little personality that seem to compliment ea. other perfectly ..i have been keeping a close eye on they're friendship situation in case i have to put one up for adoption but they are buddies and think it would be detrimental to separate them at this point.
i know that the conditions are not pristine but i think that they are great considering that the tank has only been running for two weeks and aside from black bellies its the only problem I'm currently having. algae is starting to grow and the filters and equipment are getting the slime on it. from experience i know that these are good signs. you made it sound in the last post that it was a puffer torture chamber. im doing my best with what i have and the twins are happy behavior wise minus the black bellies and the veins on the other. they are active, hungry, responsive and aggressive towards my hand being in the tank while cleaning etc..
i was looking through members pictures and i was relieved when i saw that other member's fish had this black belly thing going on. this only reassures me that its caused by stress and will most likely go away with time and as the tank matures.. the only thing left to explain are the vein like markings... i wonder if they are parasites that can been seen through the skin?? or are they just the result of having taken them out of the tank for so long...
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coldmachineUK
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 382
- Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:20 pm
- My Puffers: 2x T. biocellatus
1x C. asellus - Location: Wirral, UK
Sorry you took offence, none intended. I only had what was written in your original message to go on.
Best of luck.
Best of luck.
Did our staff successfully help you? The Puffer Forum is an incredible resource and is run completely on the donations of its viewers. Proceeds from the Puffer Forum store go towards future contests and keeping the site running. We also welcome donations!
36G: FW Planted | 53G: Brackish (F8 Puffers) | 58G: Freshwater Community (Unusual/Rare Loaches)
Interesting stock: S. mahnerti, S. vinciguerrae, S. sp. "crimson", V. maassi, N. masyai, M. guentheri, T. biocellatus, C. asellus.
36G: FW Planted | 53G: Brackish (F8 Puffers) | 58G: Freshwater Community (Unusual/Rare Loaches)
Interesting stock: S. mahnerti, S. vinciguerrae, S. sp. "crimson", V. maassi, N. masyai, M. guentheri, T. biocellatus, C. asellus.
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Nick
- Former Staff Member
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- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
On dark bellies: They're generally taken to indicate stress, but in my own time with my GSPs, I think they are actually an "emotional" metric that tells you the mood of the fish. Discomforts and stresses will make them feel "bad" and get darker, exciting things like being fed can make them "happy" and white bellied, sometimes even despite other stresses which previously made them dark, just as a sick person may smile and laugh at a good joke. Some are ALWAYS cheerful, and have white bellies right up until nearly fatal problems, others are moody and have some dark on their bellies for some reason at least once a day even when they have nothing really to complain about at all.
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Boxermom
- Former Staff Member
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Agree with both Nick and coldmachineUK. And I don't think coldmachineUK's response was condescending at all. He was responding to what limited information you gave in your initial post.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
Thank you nick, its what i kinda thought might be going on but didn't know that it was possible in this species. Boxer mom; i answered all the questions suggested in the "read this before posting" section and don't really know what else i was suppose to include in the limited information you were speaking of in my first post.. all in all i guess being specific and short of writing a book is what is required and its what i will obviously do from now on. thanks for the suggestion. but what about the vein like markings?
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Myaj
- Tech Team
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Paris, lined burrfish - Location: SE Wisconsin
- Contact:
One of your very first statements actually leads people here to think you don't know how a cycling tank works.. "3week old tank that must be cycling because of nitrates". NitrAtes will always be in your tank, they are the end result of a normal, healthy cycle. Ammonia and NitrItes are a sign of a tank still cycling.
Plus you didn't give an ammonia reading, which is probably the most important reading at this point. Those two things are automatic triggers to cause some "treat them like a beginner" behavior from the members here. Don't take it personally, they are just trying to help.
As far as the puffers, two little babes in a 46 gallon tank with substrate from an existing tank, that's a good start, even though yes you will need an upgrade for sure. And that's not a whole lot of salt in 46 gallons really, though it sounds like a lot, but you will need to know the salinity just to protect your bacteria and not cause a cycle (raising it more than .002 per week can kill bacteria and recycle your tank). I don't think you added enough yet to bump it that much so your bacteria is probably fine, but you'll want the salinity and ammonia readings just to be sure its not crashing.
20 nitrates is acceptable, but puffers do better if they are 10 or lower. Do some extra water changes to try to bring it down (assuming you don't already have nitrates in your tap water, you might want to check). Being at 20 might by itself be enough to give them the black bellies, or it could be the stress of the idiot shop guy or the move.
From the photo, I don't think they look like they have parasites, their bellies look nice and streamlined, not sunken in. However, since GSP's are not bred in captivity, they are wild caught and most likely do have SOME parasites. I would let them settle in a bit more, then consider deworming them (article in the library will help). I pretty much consider that a necessary step with any wild caught fish, but it puts some stress on their system so I like them to be as healthy and happy as possible before doing it.
The vein like markings.. that is hard to tell. It could be sort of a stretch mark, it could just be natural coloring, it could be an old scar. Watch it and keep track of it, if it moves position it could be a type of parasite, sort of a worm that lives under the skin (that's probably the posting you found) but that's not very common. I'm betting its a scar or injury from puffing that will heal up and go away.
Plus you didn't give an ammonia reading, which is probably the most important reading at this point. Those two things are automatic triggers to cause some "treat them like a beginner" behavior from the members here. Don't take it personally, they are just trying to help.
As far as the puffers, two little babes in a 46 gallon tank with substrate from an existing tank, that's a good start, even though yes you will need an upgrade for sure. And that's not a whole lot of salt in 46 gallons really, though it sounds like a lot, but you will need to know the salinity just to protect your bacteria and not cause a cycle (raising it more than .002 per week can kill bacteria and recycle your tank). I don't think you added enough yet to bump it that much so your bacteria is probably fine, but you'll want the salinity and ammonia readings just to be sure its not crashing.
20 nitrates is acceptable, but puffers do better if they are 10 or lower. Do some extra water changes to try to bring it down (assuming you don't already have nitrates in your tap water, you might want to check). Being at 20 might by itself be enough to give them the black bellies, or it could be the stress of the idiot shop guy or the move.
From the photo, I don't think they look like they have parasites, their bellies look nice and streamlined, not sunken in. However, since GSP's are not bred in captivity, they are wild caught and most likely do have SOME parasites. I would let them settle in a bit more, then consider deworming them (article in the library will help). I pretty much consider that a necessary step with any wild caught fish, but it puts some stress on their system so I like them to be as healthy and happy as possible before doing it.
The vein like markings.. that is hard to tell. It could be sort of a stretch mark, it could just be natural coloring, it could be an old scar. Watch it and keep track of it, if it moves position it could be a type of parasite, sort of a worm that lives under the skin (that's probably the posting you found) but that's not very common. I'm betting its a scar or injury from puffing that will heal up and go away.
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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
thank you so much for the great advice!
thank you so much for the help. ill do another water change tonight and try to lower that nitrate. i ordered a refractometer and should be receiving it within the week. great advice on waiting for the tank to settle before treating for parasite, i would have done it immediately and not thought twice about waiting for the tank to stabilize first. thank you also for addressing the vein like situation and taking time to look at the pics.. it makes sense that they would be on Left's body and not on Rights since he is the one who was left out water for so long. I'm hoping that they will go away with time and happiness. Our little family thank you for your time and answers. its exactly what we needed to hear.
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Pufferpunk
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I have never seen or heard of these kind of markings. Are they red? Can you possibly get a pic of them? If the puffer is swimming & eating normally, I wouldn't worry much about them.
As far as CM's post, it's more the norm than not, that folks write in here not knowing anything about keeping fish or even cycling a tank. So for him to give advice like he did, is the common thing to do here.
The fact that your tank seems to be cycling must be because of the established substrate you added. All that is in Cycle is dead bacteria, adding more waste to your tank.
As far as CM's post, it's more the norm than not, that folks write in here not knowing anything about keeping fish or even cycling a tank. So for him to give advice like he did, is the common thing to do here.
The fact that your tank seems to be cycling must be because of the established substrate you added. All that is in Cycle is dead bacteria, adding more waste to your tank.
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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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
i'm sure that the substrate is responsible for the tank cycling as quickly as it is. The sponge and the ceramic pellets in the filter are looking like a bacteria breeding ground. i didn't realize that the paper testing kits were so inaccurate, and will be replacing them with a drop test kit. the vein like things look identical to varicose veins on humans, but they are black instead of purple. I don't have a camera quick enough to catch up with the little boogers. They are however only present on the fish that was taken out and puffed up.. the other guy's belly is snow white. The twins are like pooping machines and the stool is always normal. They have ravenous appetites and try to eat everything but i'm too scared to over feed at this point ( i feed them 2 blocks of blood worms) everyday once a day. The only time they are not active is during the day but they are unstoppable at night Im going to the pet store on Tuesday and getting them more frozen food along with ammonia tester because i'm sure the tank will be spiking soon if i'v read correctly and will be doing water changes accordingly. for now i'v been closely monitoring them and the behavior . thanks for the quick reply, and its an honor puffer punk (i'v been following your posts back to wet web before even getting the kids..)
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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:
No surprise there, I figured you'd say that but I thought I'd ask anyway.I don't have a camera quick enough to catch up with the little boogers.
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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alienwiredgirl
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:52 am
- Location: texas
bite marks
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/vie ... php?t=8102
i am so addicted to the site, i have to read every post they are so interesting and the replies are so helpful you people rock! i was looking at this one post and the person was able to capture a picture of what my guy seems to have but ten fold. his is covered with these little markings in this pic. i think i guess that they might be bite marks from the other GSP he was house with at the LPS..... makes a lot of sense i guess and happy to find out that they are most likely not parasites. must make donation to this site in exchange for the wealth of information provided!
i am so addicted to the site, i have to read every post they are so interesting and the replies are so helpful you people rock! i was looking at this one post and the person was able to capture a picture of what my guy seems to have but ten fold. his is covered with these little markings in this pic. i think i guess that they might be bite marks from the other GSP he was house with at the LPS..... makes a lot of sense i guess and happy to find out that they are most likely not parasites. must make donation to this site in exchange for the wealth of information provided!
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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:
Well there ya go! They should heal qiickly. I just couldn't picture what you were describing. Great that you do your own research!
All donations are welcome!
All donations are welcome!
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!"