The Puffer Forum

i know.. but i dont give up easy.. specially on a living creature that depends on me for his world.. and in this case i am the keeper of there world.. i just took some pictures.. can i email them to you while i figure out this photo bucket crap....

HEY I DID IT!!!!! so what do you think???? what the hell is wrong with him......

oSrry if I missed it but I would like to ask these questions, even if for a seccond time:

1.) Water Parameters?

2.) Filtration/Eqipment?

3.) How old is the tank?

4.) Diet?

5.)Tank Mates?

6.) Added any Meds?

7.) Last Water Change?

Adam J

its all in there but ill be happy to say it a hundred times to help these guys..

40 gal. tank mate is down to a turbo snail SG 1.015 nitrate nitrite both 0 ph 7.8 alk 225 filter is a aqua clear? maybe forget the brand with out going to the basement to get the box over the side hanging type media is 3 weeks old meds are maracyn? its all in the beging post water changes are 25% percent weekly or more if needed just did one last night. meds administreed for about 5 or 6 days now.. and a sick figure 8 i bought wiped out the tank.. there going to a 125 thats up and running but i am cycling it currently.. again theres a lot of info in the beging of the post.. its 1:32 am over here ive been up since 6 this morning.. and i have been up till 3 or 4 every night this week trying to help these guys so im slightly out of it.. there going black then normal several times a day and scratching them selves off rocks.. and breathing really heavy... i feel so bad as does my wife....

Heavy breadthing is usually indicative of water quallity, particularly ORP and nutrient levels. I find it very suprising that a tank with a pair of puffers has no readable nitrate levels. Also what is your aeration like? How much surface agitation do you have?

Adam J.

agitation is good.. due to the filter and clip on 6inch fan.... and i agree.. but there still tiny and i do very regular water changes....... i have a substraight bottom and the snail does a little i guess. i cant belive i have had a turbo snail in there for months i was sure he would have died... he was in a friends tank that got broken by a loose baseball and all inhabitants died... but the snail so we aclimated him and tossed him in and hes fine.. go figure but my levels are all good...i was maybe thinking maybe its too hot and there panting.. do fish pant? haha good im grabing at straws with that one...

The higher temperature can cause fish tob reathe heavily but not directly, the higher the temperature goes, the lower the dissolved oxygen content in the water. I see this problem quite commonly with temperate marines being placed into tropical marine bio-topes all to often.

so even with a SG of 1.015 it can just be too hot for them.... at 80 to 82 and that can be casueing this?

While 80 to 82 degrees is on the higher end of acceptable temperatures for aquatic tropical animals, it is acceptable if stable. Does it ever waiver above 82 degrees to say 84 on a regular basis? Even for a few hours or so?

How long did you take to raise the SG from FW to what it is now? You say the tank was up & running for 4 months, then how come no nitrAtes? Did you clean out the tank, before adding the puffs?

i clean the tank constantly im am very anal about that.... it took a good month to rais the SG to that.... i left the fans on today while i was at work.. temp is 77 fish seem to be back to normal.. but then again they always were up and down... so lets cross our fingers... could it really have been too hot... the meds said to raise it to 82 but i was keeping it around 80 to 81 should i leave it at 77 there color is normal and so is there breathing although there poop is really white and stringy... other than that there doing good.....

thanks again everyone!!

Medication if sed in access or in large displayed also reduce the ORP, so this in conjunction witht he higher temp may have been the problem. Of course that begs the question, why were you using the meds to begin with?