The Puffer Forum

1)
pH:7
Ammonia:0ppm
Nitrite:0ppm
Nitrate:~10ppm
Salinity:1.018

2) 10 Gallon; one GSPs

3) I have pond snails in there so - Water changes would be every week . Only additives are salt and dechlorinator (Seachem).

4) Basically Nothing

5) 1 month. don;t remeber but its housed with snails.

Issue: my GSP which i bought 3 days ago has been acting strange. the first day when i bought it back it was all fine, it happily ate most of the snails. But yesterday i notcied that my GSP hasnt been eating much. I guess it was too full from the day before or soemthing so i left it. This morning my puffer was looking darker than it usually would the color turned dark green. and there would only be a patch of light green on its forehead. and then when i look closely the eyes seems to be clogged, both eyes with white slime or something and its just actively swimming up and down the tank. So i immedieatly changed 50% of the water and now im waiting for some results. Did i do anything wrong?Is that affecting its eating? And also temp is 82 F

Something seems strange here. That's basically a low marine tank SG, but pond snails are still alive? What kind of salt are you adding? If it's aquarium salt, tonic salt, or anything like that, it's the wrong kind, you need to use marine salt mix as is used in salt water aquariums. The parameters sound ok, so I'm not sure what might be going on.

its like white fluffs all around my GSP and yes i've been using aquarium salt. since ive been gettin ready to get a gsp

Ok, the problem is most likely becuase he's not really in brackish water - the symptoms you describe are very common with GSP kept in totally fresh water or water with aquarium salt. Do a 50% or so water change, making the water brackish using marine salt mix(I use instant ocean), instead of the aquarium salt. See if this improves his condition any, it should help in only days.

i needa buy the instant ocean thingy tomorrow when my lfs opens. i'll try to get it ASAP =/ I hope my puffer wont die. its slowly moving its fins now and its just laying down =/

I still don't see pond snails living at that SG with any kind of salt. How much salt is in there? What are you using to measure it? Why such a high SG anyway? Is that what the shop had it in?

using the hydrometer. and my snails are all at the top of the tank floating assuming they are dead but somehow they aren't and they go up and down the glass like its nothing.

Well, which is it? Are they floating or on the glass moving? I'm confused...

Would you happen to know the volume of salt you have added?

they are alive way above the water line. and i probably added 2 and a half tbspoon

Are you sure the SG isn't 1.0018, rather than 1.018? It sounds like 1.0018.

I'd be crawling out of the tank too, if my skin was burning. I agree with Nick about the SG.