URGENT HELP PLEASE

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Pufferpunk »

Is that Epsom salt they gave you? How much are you adding? For constipation, it's suggested to add 1 tbsp Epsom salt/10g the 1st day & the same amount again the 2nd day.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

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Puffdaddyuk
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Puffdaddyuk »

Pufferpunk wrote:Is that Epsom salt they gave you? How much are you adding? For constipation, it's suggested to add 1 tbsp Epsom salt/10g the 1st day & the same amount again the 2nd day.
Hi Pufferpunk, No it was a salt called aqualibrium at a dose of 1tbs per gallon
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Pufferpunk »

That sounds very salty for a FW fish! What's in there? I'd ditch that salt & use Epsom at the dosage I recommended.
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!"
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by trekenk »

Aqualibrium
A physiological salt for the aquarium with a built in pH buffer. It can be used in several ways including a preventative treatment against disease, to support fish disease treatments and to prevent nitrite poisoning.

I honestly don't think that is helping much, just looks like another product the LFS is trying to sell. I would do as Pufferpunk say's and add the Epsom salt which does work for constipation. Although I don't know if this is constipation???? Good Luck
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Pufferpunk »

Ingredients?
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!"
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by trekenk »

Pufferpunk wrote:Ingredients?
I don't know the ingredients of it but it is make by Interpet.

P.S. Found this..... It's made from 100% plant extracts that apparently activates microbes in the water to produce a balanced reaction of carbon and hydrogen ions to infuse the water with oxygen.
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Pufferpunk »

I don't trust anything that won't put ingredients on their bottle.
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!"
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Puffdaddyuk »

Well todays update is:

Came down this morning and he had moved to the other side of the tank over night, he breathing was low but steady, i turned his light on and about 5 mins later I had a flurry of swimming activity still spirialling around then slumps to the bottom again all hunched over.

I tried tempting him with some cockle to atleast get him motivated, but nothing. :(
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Puffdaddyuk »

Well ive been non stop with him this morning, trying to tempt some life out of him and yay I managed to hand feed him some Shell less peas they were frozen but I microwaved them abit, he eat 2 and literally minute after he was swimming around the tank still in his spiraling way but he was trying so hard to right him self (swim normally).

One thing I did notice while ive been with him is his eyes have a grey glaze over them, i dont know whether this is where hes been rubbing the sand or its a bad sign.

Ive tried the burping technic, nothing Ive tried massaging his belly somemore and that hasnt seemed to have helped.

But the peas seemed to have done something for his motivation he only eat 2 but thats the most Ive seen him eat in about 2 days now.

Anymore suggestions to what may help/what it could be?????????????
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by SammyDee »

Is he breathing out of both gills. Do you see any Ick or whitespot. I really think that the main cause though is an Uncycled Tank. Are there any lumps in his belly. Also to I think but dont hold me to my word on this but if he stops eating completly and his belly doesnt get sunken at all i think its a sign of worm or some other IP. what are your parimeters today All of them?
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Puffdaddyuk »

SammyDee wrote:Is he breathing out of both gills. Do you see any Ick or whitespot. I really think that the main cause though is an Uncycled Tank. Are there any lumps in his belly. Also to I think but dont hold me to my word on this but if he stops eating completly and his belly doesnt get sunken at all i think its a sign of worm or some other IP. what are your parimeters today All of them?
Hi His tank parameters are all exactly the same as yesterday (start of post) although temp is upto 27oC, which I turned up to try and aid digestion.
No external signs of anything except he know has a grey glaze over his eyes, maybe bad or where hes been rubbing the sand.
Uncycled Tank??? A year later can that happen??
He's breathing out of both gills and all his fins work when he tries to swim, he just cant hold his balance.
Not sure on his belly as this has all come about since yesterday and he's passed poop once but very small.
He is in a kind of backward C position right this minute, he did sit on the bottom a while ago upright as he should be, but all of a sudden he started floating upwards tail first as if something was dragging him backwards upwards if that make any sense.
Other than the Peas he hasnt eaten anything, Ill keep feeding him by hand if I have to but would prefer he did it on his own steam.
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by trekenk »

Puffdaddyuk wrote:Uncycled Tank??? A year later can that happen??
.
To answer your question yes this can happen. Your tank can crash. How long ago was your MBU added? Puffers add a big bio load which sometimes your tank can not support, causing them to crash. Hope he/she is feeling better soon, good luck.
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Myaj »

Yes, your tank can crash at any point, especially if you add something.. food, chemical, new fish, etc.

I would leave him alone, you're only stressing him out more. Stress reduces the immune system, lowered immune systems can't heal or fight off infection.

Puffers, especially the larger ones, can go weeks without eating. Let him stay quiet for now, worry about keeping the water clean.

Those salts sound like regular "aquarium salt", not going to help much of anything.
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by SammyDee »

Yes, that is what I wanted to say is it sound like aquarium salt which is not helping anything at all. Even though the dummys at any LFS will say to use this. When you bought him he was healthy looking Im guessing why not trying to test the water parimeters at the store you bought him. You never know they may have had him in BW and some idiot thought to tell you its FW and now hes stressed cause of the change in SG/ PH etc. GO BACK TO WHERE YOU GOT HIM AND FIND OUT THE PARIMETERS OF THE TANK YOU GOT HIM FROM ASAP I BET THIS IS YOU PROB. I have seen it happen before a BW fish going back to FW without being slowly acclimated and he did similar things like curled up. Couldnt swim straight and spiraling out of control till he found the filter intake and got stuck. It was very sad. But still you need to match the stores parimeters before raising your SG and it should be alot less stressful for him. FInd that all out try to fix it and if he still doesnt get better well im very sorry it make be something bigger like an IP and you may lose him Im very sorry good luck keep updating. GET LFS PUFFER TANK WATER PARIMETERS FIRST BEFORE ADDING CHEMICALS ITS THE LEAST YOU CAN DO WHILE WAITING THIS OUT. IF YOU CANT GET THERE CALL tHEM FOR THE TEST RESULTS. p.s. whenever getting anything from a LFS or petstore I ask at least two ppl something specific about care or anything but the same question if I get two totally different answers you know they dont know jack and are just ppl ther for a check.
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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
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Re: URGENT HELP PLEASE

Post by Pufferpunk »

I seriously doubt a LFS would be keeping a mbu puffer is such a high SG as to shock the fish by putting it in FW. Heck--99% of LFS keep their F8s & GSPs in FW.

I still have to wonder if you used the test kit properly, why you show no nitrate.
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!"
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