The Puffer Forum

I just got my F8 puffers a week ago after my tank cycled. Here are the answers to the questions first:

1) ph= 7.2, ammonia= 0, nitrite= 0, nitrate= ~8, they are basically at freshwater now...i added like a teaspoon of marine salt (i don't know if they should be in brackish water at 1 inch big)
2) 2 figure 8 puffers in a 28 gallon tank
3) they get frozen blood worms and mysis shrimp, and we feed til their bellies are slightly round. when the tank cycled, i took out about 90% of water. this week i changed 1/3 of the water, and i plan on doing that weekly. i only add prime to condition the water, and i have added a teaspoon of marine salt last time (which i don't think makes any difference).
4) the only thing that changed is that i added a piece of decor to it.
5) i cycled the tank using fishless cycle. it took about a month, and i have been monitering the peaks and drops of ammonia and nitrite.

so, the problem that i am observing is that one of the puffers has a blackish mouth. the tail is slightly grey too. i'm, wondering if stress can be caused by IP because he's quite thin, and i saw a tiny almost clear circle on his stomach. i don't know if it is a bite mark..but he does have a bite scar that looks very different from the circle. he's not buzzing around like the other guy, but he still moves around and eats well. i hope to get some advice as to how i should deal with the problem. i took some pictures, but i don't know if they will help. please let me know if more pics are needed.

ok, i was more and more sure that he had IP so i started treating him for it yesterday. i soaked 1/8 of the jungle tab into their blood worms and they took them fine. but today, the sick puffer will not eat. the other one ate all of it and now his behaviour seems slightly "off". he's not as energetic as before, so i am wondering if this is just a typical effect of the medicine. i don't think the sick one will make it , so i want to at least keep the healthy one alive. i separated the sick one and put the medicine in his water instead. hopefully they will both make it.

Have you seen it poo yet. The poo will be long, white and stringy. My F8 belly's change colours alot and one develops darkspots when ever it eats.

How large are they?

What store did you get them from?

What is the exact name of the medicine you are giving?

I feed my F8s 3 days aweek so the smaller one may not be hungry. They also sometimes eat sporatically when they are settling in to a new tank.

Had another look at the pic. He looks fine to me. Keep watching for the poo the most definitive sign. Or if he keeps eating but gets thinner.

thanks for the advice. yeah, i did see white stringy poop on both of the fish. they were getting Jungle Parasite Guard tabs (it was the only thing they had at my closest pet store), and they are an inch big.

the dark one became really, really listless today. i don't know if he will make it.

should i continue medicating either one of them?

I tried using tabs before and found that they did not disolve adequately. Liquid is mouch better.I have some prazipro handy PM me your location maybe I can dropit for you.
keep medicating with whatever you have for now.

thanks for the offer, but sadly he really didn't make it. i don't understand if it is just that the medicine is too strong. he was fine and hungry one day on the first treatment and then the next day he just lost his appetite and sat at the bottom until he died. i hope the other one turns out fine. he's quite plump and curious, with no signs of stress yet.

If they already have a full load of parasites, sometimes the die off once you give them the meds can make them even more sick. Yours didn't look too bad though, but who knows what these poor guys go through before they get to us (remember, they are all wild caught, so ripped out of their habitat, shipped, shipped again, probably yet again, tossed in a tank in a store, taken home and put into yet anohter tank...). Lots of stress and its amazing more of them don't die in their first few weeks of "domestic life".

really sorry to hear of your loss but as Myaj says they go through a lot before you get them home so don't be too har don yourself, you did the best you could

yeah, they probably went through a lot. and i just remember that the pet store was feeding them guppies, which was bad practice right? the healthy one seems to enjoy having the tank all to himself. :S

that is bad practice yes and it frustrates me when LFS do not do their homework. Nothing new there then!!!! Your single puff will be a lot happier in ther for sure

i am treating my current puffer for IP for 7 days. is it necessary to treat for another week? just wondering becuz it seems to stress him out a bit cuz after feeding he will hide and poop. and then afterwards he feels better (or so it seems).