arkose wrote:i hope i dont insinuate any agression towards others , but i feel like a puffer forum should be a place where the people are just as much respected as the puffers.
Although I do agree that it may have seemed a bit harsh from your end, you need to consider our point of view as well. We have MANY requests for help in the hospital forum, and almost all of the requests are from people with little or no knowledge of fishkeeping. Thus, when a new user posts in the hospital forum, we ask them for as much information as possible and list all of the more obvious "solutions" to problems (such as someone accidentally changing the SG by an extreme amount, or someone never changing their water, or having an extremely high nitrate count). Although you displayed some inclination that you understood the basics of fishkeeping, you never explicitly stated this (for instance by saying you've been keeping fish for X years). As such, we have to make the assumption you DON'T know certain specifics about keeping fish, and then build on that assumption based on your responses.
arkose wrote:maybe the misunderstanding is because some people feel inclined to adhere to the worst thoughts about others that come to mind. maybe there is a sense of eliteness towards onesself and a subversive and patronizing stance towards others.
Unfortunately, jumping to conclusions about members of a group puts you at a disadvantage. You've stumbled across a forum where we not only respect puffers, but almost worship them (in a sense) as any other pet lovers would exhibit affection for their companions. With that said, in your initial post you posted a picture of your puffer presumably out of the water while you gripped him with an un-gloved hand. There are many things about that situation that we dislike, such as exposing a puffer to oxygen where they have a high chance of inflating that oxygen (which can potentially kill them) and that you're exposing a scaleless fish to the various oils from your skin (which is deemed harmful). Comparing this situation to a dog, it would be similar to showing us a healthy picture of a dog while you've forced his head under water and are holding onto him with sandpaper; it may not kill him, but it's certainly not the most appropriate way to handle a pet, especially for the purpose of procuring a photograph. Believe me when I say you would have been met with much worse posts in a canine forum if you had posted an image similar to what I described above. So, if you're wondering why we seemed a bit harsh, then hopefully this has shed some light on our initial reactions.
arkose wrote:in this case i feel there is no assessing just some generic questions and responding to the form of the answer not the real content of the problem whatsoever.
No matter where you go, you'll initially be met with common (and not "generic") solutions to problems, namely because it's more common for these solutions to be correct. This occurs everywhere, not just forums (think about when you go to the emergency room in a hospital, or to a new family doctor). Judging from your post, I would have requested information about what you were feeding your puffers, as bulging/bloated puffers generally implies constipation. However, as we all know, animals are all different in their own right, and it's not easy to diagnose a problem based off of a quick description. We usually suggest some immediate solutions based on what you've given us (which can appear to be generic), but probe for further details if we think that the situation might be something else (such as asking for the feeding schedule, water change schedule, and frequency/magnitude of salinity changes). It's equally insulting to us when someone makes a single post and expects everyone to know exactly what the problem is, and then when they don't get a definite answer, they become defensive and harsh with those attempting to help.
arkose wrote:when one posts on a board like this one expects the expertise of a wintered puffer lover that can relate to the specific problems that puffers might have
Although we are a puffer forum and we have a great deal of knowledge about puffers, it isn't to say we're the equivalent of medical doctors. Many illnesses exhibited in puffers are common to other species of fish, so you'll often get a similar diagnoses from other non-puffer fishkeepers. The difference here is that we know (more or less) the methods and medicines that are puffer-safe, as well as what some attitudes/behaviours might imply about the puffer's situation. Again, I can't state this enough that puffers are very different on an individual level (much like dogs or cats), and it's very difficult to diagnose a specific situation without a past history and general understanding of how the puffer acts on a normal, regular day.
Believe me when I say that you won't find a nicer group of people, nor a more refined bank of information about puffers anywhere on the internet (at least, not in English). I've been on hundreds of forums, and these are the kindest people I've met. So I'm a bit skeptical of any person who comes and claims that we're all elitists who don't want to help, and that we're sitting too high on our horses.
As for the actual problem/questions, the reason we ask about salinity changes is that your version of a "small change" can be very different from my version if neither of us is quoting accurate measurements. Generally, a fluctuation in salinity larger than 0.002 SG results in a significant die-off of beneficial bacteria. Because puffers are scaleless, they are incredibly sensitive to toxins (ie. ammonia and nitrite), and even trace amounts of these toxins can cause immediate distress and behavioural patterns similar to what you've been experiencing. Thus, we always ask about salinity, as this is one of the more common problems people face with puffers.
You said the puffer seems fine now. Did you notice a swollen or enlarge rectum, or perhaps a larger-than-usual bowel movement, by chance? Hopefully he was just having a bad day and things are better now.
Please note, this wasn't intended to disturb the peace or flame anyone, but I felt some things that were posted needed some immediate clarification. Hopefully we're all in agreement and can continue on with helping each other out. I'm sure you have lots of knowledge to share with us (as well as pictures!) and we're all eager to hear about your puffer experiences.
