The Puffer Forum

My Ph is 7.8
Ammonia is 0
Nitrate is 5
Nitrite is 1
Salinity is 1.008

It is a 100 gallon tank (4ft x 2ft x 2ft) with 2 gsp's. Both are fairly small in my opinion (about 2-3 ins in length)

They are fed a quarter of a cube of frozen bloodworm once a day but have 'plant' snails to munch on in between which are already in the tank.

The tank has been set up for brackish about 4 weeks. I added one gsp after about 2 weeks and the other a few days later.

It has had 1 water change (1 week ago) which was about 25%. While cycling I only had pre-used gravel, water and 1 rock with java moss on.


My problem is this....my gsp's were both as happy as the proverbial larry for 2 weeks when my other half (very kindly ) threw in half a mussel shell with some meat stuck to it....the mussel was live...hadnt been frozen.....straight out of the bag etc...

Anyhow, both of them looked over-bloated so i left them off food for 2 days then went bk to the quarter of a chunk business...once a day.

They are both feeding really well (I wont put any more than quarter of a chunk in unless advised otherwise cos i have 'killed my trops with kindness' in the past) but for 3 days i've noticed one has got increasingly grey patches on his face and belly (like sunburn but grey if you get my drift) and I was wondering why. Could it be a male/female colouring? Could he be suffering from something? The other gsp is doing brilliantly....kept his/her colour, got a lovely white belly.

I'm flapping cos the bloke in the garden centre near me said if their bellies go grey its a sign of stress but they've got no other tankmates, their water is practically perfect so i'm flummoxed!!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

The one could have gotten IPs, like I said previously. I don't think it would hurt to treathem for it.
And with GSPs, you can't tell gender apart by eye.

Okayyyyy this may sound dozy but what on earth is an IP? I've heard of ich, saddleback, fin rot, gill rot (you name it i've seen it somewhere!!) But never heard of an IP. Is it serious? Is it treatable? Is it contagious to my other gsp?

Internal Parasites.
library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/

It could be nitrite posioning. Your amm and nitrite should be 0 at all times. You need to do a large water change to get the nitrites down. Any amount of nitrite is bad for puffers. Your tank is not finished cycling. Or it could be a mini cycle. Either way you need to do water changes to get the nitrites down and then your puffer's should be ok.

if the readings are wrong, how is the other gsp fine as anything? saying that, the test kit i've used is the one i've got for my marines so would that make any difference? I used this one cos from what I've read gsp's will eventually need marine conditions.

I had two gsp's one would show a dark belly at any stress level, the other hardly ever showed a dark belly, it didn't matter how high the stress was. It all depends on the puffer. Even if both puffer's have a white belly it dosen't change the fact that the nitrites need to be at 0. Nitrites testing at 1 is very dangerous to puffers. They are extremely sensitive to amm and nitrites at any level.

oh i didnt realise they were so sensitive to water parameters (hear one thing and read another etc!!) ok well first thing in the morn (its 12.30am here now) i'll do a 25% change. I'm afraid to do too much in one go in case thats bad too!!!! I'll do the 25%, leave it a day or 2 and check it again. if things are still looking grim i'll be back!!!!

Thanks, by the way xxxxx

I would do at least a 50% -80% water change until the nitrites go down. I've done up to 4-50% water changes in one day. It dosen't hurt them to do large water changes. Large water changes are actually very good for them. If you use tap water just remember to use declorinator.

I did a lovely water change the morning after i posted on here, checked the parameters again today (i left it 2 days to make sure the fresh water had circulated properly).

My PH has stayed stable at 7.8
Ammonia is 0.
Nitrate is 5.
Nitrite is FINALLY 0 (YAY)
My salinity has stayed around 1.008 (one reading said 1.006, one said 1.010 and the following 3 readings said 1.008 so i've taken the average cos there was probably an air bubble in the hydrometer).

He still has very dark grey patches so I'm hoping he wasn't suffering from something before I bought him. The only other things I can think of is maybe he's not happy with the temperature (which is between 28/29 c or 82/84 f)

OR

it COULD be the water mixture. I filled the tank using a mixture of tap water (mine...which I use for my freshwater tanks) and ready made salt water (from the shop... which I use for my marine tank). I used this mixture as I was told (naming no names of shops) that they need more fresh water than salt at this size and if i was to use RO straight off, I may as well put them in a marine set up which I don't want just yet.

If these suggestions are not likely to make much difference (given that the readings are ok) what sort of IP's should I treat him for? Is there an all-rounder like methylene blue or malachite green available for brackish tanks? I've already got a chemist cupboard with ESHA oodinex wide range marine treatment, methylene blue, and ESHA freshwater anti-whitespot treatment. Would any of these do the job or should I buy something more specific?

Are you dechlorinating the water?

No. I wasn't told I had to!! I asked the shop if it would be ok to use tap water and salt mix, he said it will be fine as i live in a soft water area. Do you mean the sort of potion that you add so many drops per gallon of water? I cant understand how they're both feeding really well but occasionally I notice the one sitting on the floor, usually near a rock, looking as though he's struggling to breathe but a few minutes later he's up and running again. I've seen fish do this before but they've never got up and fed after (Poor first tank occupants). So i really dont know whats wrong cos the other one is fine!

Woah! Nearly all tap water has chlorine! You definitely need to get dechlorinator, unless you ask your water company specifically whether there is chlorine and/or chloramine present, and they say no to both. Something along the lines of Tetra Aquasafe will be fine.

Yes, if you are on city water you need to dechlorinate. If you can get Amquel or Prime, those are two of the most highly recommended.

If you are on well water, then you don't have a city pumping chemicals into your water to make it safe, so you are okay there. That's usually people that live out in the country and need their own water source.

Can you post a photo of the fish?

Generally with IP's, they will get very skinny again shortly after you feed them instead of staying nice and round. And you'll also see them poop white-ish, stringy feces, instead of dark brown, solid. So watch for those two things for the most part.

Puffers generally don't do very well with most medications, so try not to use the stuff you've listed unless you are absolutely sure nothing else is an option. These are tough, yet very delicate fish.. if you keep their water clean and keep them in the right salinity, they will generally stay extremely healthy and most minor ailments will turn around quickly with some extra water changes.

I wouldn't know where (or how!!) to start when it comes to posting pics haha. I can take them, but that's my photographic knowledge stretched haha!! I haven't noticed his poo being odd but then come to think of it I haven't noticed either of them pooing at all. They're due to have grub in about half an hour so I'll keep an eye on his belly straight after he's eaten and get back to you.....