The Puffer Forum

Before i begin, i like to apologize to anyone who reads my post because they are going to hate me after this....but i know my mistake and im slowly correcting it...I made an effort to read everything inside e forum after i got my puffers..

Basically i got 5 small puffers (1inch +) in a ten galloon tank . It was kinda like a gift.. 3 of em are green spotted and 2 of em are fig 8s. My tank is uncycled..my fish are extremely restless and the 2 Fig8s seem to be afraid of the green spotted ones. They are always hiding at the bottom unless its feeding time. One of my green spotted puffer is turning black..its breathing really heavily and the belly is black..

I just purchased a whole bunch of stuff, melafix, API master water test kit, and a med to cure Itch. The pump that i used comes with the tank as one set. This are the parameters which i just tested. I also have a sucker fish inside the tank.

Okay my Ammonia : 2.5
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 2.5

Diet: I feed em raw human shrimp, blood worms

Decor: i got a sea plant (forget e name), and some wood structures and clay for em to hide in.

I know my values are really high but now i make an effort to change my water (80%) on a daily basis. I added melafix, API super ICH cure, Aqua genie Anti chlorine so far. I got a bottle of chichlid lake salt but i haven added it yet. Should i add this before or after my tank is cycled? Now im raising brine shrimp to feed em.

So this is my list of problems:
1)Water isnt cycled
2) High ammonia and nitrite
3) Water isnt brackish
4) FIg8s are afraid of the green spotted
5)They are always swimming up and down at the walls of the tank or just lying at the bottom..

now that everyone is hating me, can you guys give me any other advice to safe my puffers?

that tank isnt big enough for even 1 of those puffers, let alone 5

yea i know but it was kinda like a gift..and i dont have space to purchase a larger tank for now. Can they be released back into the wild?

no please dont do that!!is there a fish shop near u that would maybe take them off u?

Ok first off stop using the API super ICH cure, Puffers don't have any scales and these meds can be very harmful to them.

Releasing them means certain death to the puffs, if you cannot care for them all and have no means of getting a bigger tank take them to your local fish store or find someone in your area that can care for them.

Are you keeping them in fresh or brackish water?

Ok I re-read your post...you are keeping them in freshwater..

If you haven't read the article in the library about emergency cycling please do. This can give you some good information


library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

Doing large daily WC will help you out alot, make sure you declorinate the water each time you do a change, and keep the temps the same as the water in the tank. Is there any way you can get some filter media from a friend or from the local fish store? This will speed up the process of getting your tank going. Right now you need to focus on getting the water healthy but if your puffers are showing signs of ich you'll also need to take steps to make them more comfortable in that department. Here is a good article on how to do this without using Meds to treat them.

library/hospital/fwich/

Doing these things will only put a bandaid on your problem and hopefully save the fish. In the end you cannot keep them all in this tank. Each GSP requires 30 gallons of water each and the F8's require 15 gallons each. The GSP's are more aggressive than the F8's as you've noticed and they each have different water requirements. The GSP's will need a higher SG when moved to brackish. But let's not worry about going brackish at this point.

Nobody hates you.... at least you care enough to come here and tell us your mistake and you are trying to get the right information to rectify the situation. It's a shame that you weren't able to find out more about these puffers before they came into your care, but if someone gave them to you, then that was out of your control.

Are you positive your puffers have ich, or did you just purchase the meds in case they got ich?

I really hope your puffers pull through this, it is definitely not going to be easy on them, and I also hope you can find someone experienced to take care of them. It would be preferable for you to find someone to take them rather than taking them back to another LFS because all that might happen to them is what just happened to them with you. Obviously if you can't find any one to take them, then it's better for them to go to an LFS than to be released into the wild, or die outright.

I wish you all the luck that this all works out and that your puffers come out of it alive and healthy.

Where in Asia are you? Are the GSPs natural to your area? I'm thinking you might be able to release them if you are absolutely positive they are natural to there. The F8s might have a better chance of survival for you.

No worries, no one will hate you. It sounds like you didn't get yourself into this situation, someone else did.

Best of luck.

Thanks for all the help. So far, 4 of the puffers look okay and one of em is looking really sickly. Its mouth has ulcers and its belly is really black..i added melafix but it doesnt seem to be working. The fish looks like it wont last a long time . As for now, i make sure that i make a 90% water change daily to keep the ammonia and nitrate levels in check. I will see what else i can do. Im trying to raise some brine shrimp to feed em. Is there any supplements i can soak my food in and feed to the puffers to help em? Thanks

Im from Singapore and these puffers have been known to be found along our shores. The water conditions around our shores are probably tropical and its really salty and greenish lol

Side note: How big do fig8s normally grow to? i seen some videos on youtube and they all look so small hmm..

F8's will get to be about 3 inces. If you are sure that the puffers are found locally then maybe you should consider that option as PP said. You may want to look into getting them treated for IP's since they are so stressed out right now they can easily have problems with IP's and ich.

Your top priority should be getting the water healthy. Have you been able to find a friend that can give you some healthy filter media or tank decor? You need to get some good bactiera started in the tank. If you don't know anyone maybe your LFS can give you some from one of their tanks. A 90% WC daily will help out alot.

Have you made any changes since yesterday? Like raising the temps and adding some aquarium salt to ease their stress and help with illness?

If they are natural to your area, you might seriously consider letting the GSPs go free.

Okay thanks for all your advice. My ammonia is still at 0.25 Is that a considerably safe level or must i get it down to 0? I been making an effort to change the water (90%) daily and i added some melafix and primafix to prevent any fungal infection.

One question about addition of sea salt..how much sea salt shd i add per galloon? and whats the ideal pH for my tank to be?