The Puffer Forum

Hopefully he leaves my scape alone, but if he desides to chop the plants up, so be it. He only needs to look at me with those huge eyes and I will forgive him

Wow, something new that VC does! I had no idea, thanks for the info. Are you using buffered sodium ascorbate?

Yes, ascorbate, that thing that you use to preserve jam and lemonade. I use very little, like a half teaspoon for 400 liters of water. It's commonly used in Sweden, in the cities where the water may have chloramine in it. I don't really know the chemistry behind it, but it works for me. But I also use different conditioners to prepare the water, just to be extra safe.

Is it SODIUM ascorbate? How much are you using?

I would love to see a photo of this fish. A 3 year old Fahaka that is only 5cm" or so big, doesnt sound possible. Even a stunted fish would be larger than that after 3 years. Unless it was kept in a Betta bowl.

ScubaJeff wrote:I would love to see a photo of this fish. A 3 year old Fahaka that is only 5cm" or so big, doesnt sound possible. Even a stunted fish would be larger than that after 3 years. Unless it was kept in a Betta bowl.

On the second page she gives link to the picture....big eyed little thing!

Well I saw the photos and it looks like a healthy young Fahaka. All proportions look correct, just doesnt match the age. I would rehome her in a much larger tank and see what changes take place.

Pufferpunk, I must read at the packing, but I think its sodium. But let me look in to that first. I am using 1/3 teaspoon for 400 liters of water.

Update on the Fahaka, he is eating enormously and has actually grown a little bit, visible to the eye. This weekend he is moving to his new tank, and hopefully he will start to grow even more. I feed earthworms and snails now, soaked in vitamins. He eats small amounts several times a day. And he always have snails and shrimp in the tank, just to make sure he can grab a snack if he feels like it.

I tested his new tank out today, its 7,5 in PH and the nitrit is not even mesurable. I have to buy a heater (the former inhabitants were Channas and the like it on the cold side) and then he is good to go. Do I need to think about anything special when moving him to his new tank? Is the PH ok? I will do a lagre WC the day before and add EasyLife.

ScubaJeff wrote:I would love to see a photo of this fish. A 3 year old Fahaka that is only 5cm" or so big, doesnt sound possible. Even a stunted fish would be larger than that after 3 years. Unless it was kept in a Betta bowl.

He was actually kept in the Betta-tanks in the petshop. The ones who are 3-5 liters big or so...

Please keep us posted on his progress! Would love to know what size he gets to!

Well, now he has been moved to his larger tank, he is dewormed and he looks alot different. Fat perhaps? =) The coulors are stunning, and he really is a charming fish, a real little water-puppy! He has a huge appetite, and today he surprised me by chomping down on a piece of frozen artemia. Until now he has onlyn eaten live foods, primarely earthworms.

I can see that he has grown a little bit, but not much at all, but much fatter and wibe over the back. His vision is not to good, the eyes are damaged and ha cannot see things that are right in front of him, he can only see to the sides. I belive the woman who owned him before me had bad waterquality and this damaged his eyes, perhaps also malnutrition? The tank that he is in now is in mint condition, I change 50% water weekly, use Prime and oxydators to help the processes even better. He also seems to thrive in the oxygenrich water, he is extremely active and curious.

Here is 3 pictures of the little fatty =)

http://forumbilder.se/CDLSP/imag0462
http://forumbilder.se/CDLSP/imag0465
http://forumbilder.se/CDLSP/imag0466

Wow! The colours are much better and, really fat!

Maybe you could make him some glasses?

Good job, lay off the food a little, fat puffers are not happy puffers

If the fish actually was housed in a betta container, he may have done physical damage to his eyes in trying to move and turn around. Such corneal damage may not ever clear, but highly visual animals like puffer and people do learn to compensate with peripheral vision more than you would think that they would. As a long-time sufferer from macular degeneration, I can attest to the reality of that - to see facial expressions well, I must look slightly away fro the face I am really looking at. That bothers some folks, they think that I will not look directly at them, but it really is that if I look right at them, their face is a blur. By looking just the right amount away from them, I can still see expressions. Fish are not people, but they do learn how to see when there is corneal or retinal damage. It may not equal perfect vision, but it does compensate more than you would think.

+1 to berie's comments on trimming the fish down a bit, but don't stress over it too much. Just reduce the quantity per feeding a bit to trim the fish down slowly. Since the fish was under-housed and likely malnourished for an extended period when it should have been growing strongly. Good nutrition is the most important thing for the moment.

Do keep us posted on how well the fish is doing in the future. It will be interesting to see how much it can still grow.

Good Luck!