Possible Ick situation...

[chevrolet67impala]

Does anyone happen to have any pictures of Green Spotted Puffers with ick? I'm pretty sure mine doesn't have it but something to look at for a reference would really help put my mind at ease. Thanks...

[SpockthePuffer]

Ick looks like grains of salt stuck on the fish. I don't have any pictures but thats what its described as.

[Jase]

does it sound like this?

Cotton Wool - aka: Fish Fungus
Symptoms: Fish will have cotton like growths on the body, mouth, or fins. It is very similar to the appearance of fungus. It is contagious.
Treatment: Like Fin Rot, Cotton Wool usually occurs when a fish has been stressed. It also is a result of low water quality. Cotton Wool is caused by bacteria and is easily treatable through medications commonly found at pet supply stores. Regular water changes and good general tank maintenance will also help prevent Cotton Wool from affecting your fish. It is a good idea to quarantine fish affected with Cotton Wool in a “hospital tank” as it is contagious.

[chevrolet67impala]

That sounds pretty close to what my green spotted puffer has. It's kind of weird, when I woke up this morning he looked a lot better with no cysts and no bacteria on the floor of his aquarium. If I buy a treatment even if he doesn't have it will it effect his health?

[crazedpuffer]

It could just be cysts from bad water quality. WAs it only on his fins?
What were your perams?

[chevrolet67impala]

It's only on his body, I went to buy him some salt but it was out of stock...I just tested his Ph and it read between 6.5 and 7.0. I got him this quICK care stuff that's supposed to make a difference in 48 hours, I was going to get him dechlorinater as well...

[crazedpuffer]

Answer the questions in red. It sounds like it might be stress or something from bad water quality. When was the last w/c?

[chevrolet67impala]

Ph levels are between 6.5 and 7.0, no nitrates, ammonia, or salt(until the near future). He's in 20 gal. tank with no tank mates(other than his food, ghost shrimp, which are only in there for a short period of time). I feed him 1 ghost shrimp a day, and change his water every 3-5 days. I haven't made any changes in the past week, but he has moved to a new tank (bigger) around a month ago, which has the same contents as the old one. I used a fishless cycle product( I can't remember the name of it) and his new tank has been up and running for around a month, while the old one was only his home for a couple of weeks....I hope this stuff helps. Thanks...

[Pufferpunk]

Something is very wrong with a pH like that. Test your tap's pH.

What do you mean you "change his water every 3-5 days"? How much water?

When did you use this "fishless cycling product"?

[chevrolet67impala]

I cycled his tank about 3 weeks before I got him, I change all of his water when I change it...Do you have any Ph balancing suggestions? My tap's Ph is 7.2 (In freshwater, I've tried to get salt for him, but nowhere in town carries it, and the order I placed yesterday will take apx. 5 days to arrive). What's Green Spotted Puffer's Ph supposed to be?

[Myaj]

Oye, we've got two threads going on about the same problem.

Read my response in the other thread. You can't be using un-reconstituted RO water and doing 100% water changes, that will just give you problems, especially with the pH but it can also hurt your puffer.

50%-90% water changes are fine (if you are using safe water), but if you are removing the puffer from the tank every time you do a water change you are stressing it out... and if you are also scrubbing things down (washing the gravel, cleaning algae off the walls, decor, etc) you are probably wiping out your good bacteria as well.

[chevrolet67impala]

Wow, I totally didn't know that...that'll make it lot easier to change his water. He always hated being moved to the other tank, he'd bang his teeth on the glass and get all pissed off. How should I go about getting the ghost shrimp remnant's out of he bottom of the tank?

[seacowz]

i got a pic of my gsp when he had ich i thought id share. you can see the spots all over his fins.

[Myaj]

Do you have a gravel vaccuum? Those are the easiest, you siphon the dirty tank water out into a bucket, and it sucks up the gunk out of the gravel. So you are taking dirty water and uneaten food, waste, etc out all at the same time. Do as large of a change as you want (usually we recommend 50% once a week, more if your puffer is sick), and refill with water that matches the temperature and, if you used city water, is dechlorinated.

[chevrolet67impala]

No, I don't have a gravel vacuum, how much do they run for?