The Puffer Forum

I have 2 young gsp, under 2 inches, the smaller one is doing great swimming happy and eating plenty. The larger one is very very ill, im affraid he wont make it, he hasnt eaten in 24 + hrs, he hovers in the bottom of the tank hardly moving, is dark colored now, he is also swelling, he is 2X maybe now 3X his normal size and growing, his mouth just stays open, he wont really swim around, his butt looks huge, which is kinda graffic, sorry, no changes in tank. One fish has no change at all, and is acting completly normal, while keeps getting worse and worse, i am worried it may have some kind of parasite, but i also dont want to treat it if it doesnt, i dont know if thats harmful?

5 gl tank, which i now know is too small, brakish water, the specific gravity is at about 1.005, the salinity is about 7, there is a filter going at all times, i have a tank light, that i turn off at night ( dont know if i should?), i dont know how to cycle a tank, so i dont think that i have done that, they do have a fake coral thing, a fake plant, and a little rock hide out, i know fish like to be able to hide out

any help would be great, im affraid he will die and i want to save him!!

do you have a test kit that will tell you the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels?

Do you mean a 5 gallon tank?

When was your last wate-r change?

Sorry about this inconvenience, but for April Fool's, the forum shows the word "ocean" instead of "t a n k" and "poodle" instead of "p u f f e r."

How long have you had this tank?

Please read these articles.
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/
library/water-filtration/fishless-cycling/
library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/

Welcome to the forum! If you have any more questions, please ask.

you are in good hands!

welcome to the forum!

Welcome to the forum!
Let us know what you decide to do with the puffers. I hope you decide to keep them though! And keep us updated.

My GSP has inflated, i think the problem has been narrowed down to, i was feeding him wrong, (freeze dried food without soaking), and i need to burp him... this has proven to be very confusing, has anyone ever burped a gsp? i tried to following the instructions given on this site, but i dont know if gently put pressure on the belly means to push a tiny bit and repeat, or to hold the push for a second? very lost, my attempts have proven to make him far more lively, though hes still puffed... and also do i continue to burp him untill hes no longer puffed?

If he can swim normally, they he has no air in him:
library/hospital/help-my-puffer-is-air-filled/

thanks for ALL the help! It was, well, helpfull haha. i think the problem is that he has puffed, or somehow filled with air, maybe from my lack of feeding education. i tried to burp him as par directions on here, but i dont know that its working. i will keep trying, since i attempted he has gotten a tiny bit more active, still not healthy looking. i officially decided im not going to take them back so that they can be killed, and i think im going to do my best to save them, i dove into this and i should stick with it, practice makes perfect. if anyone knows a bit more on burping gsp's let me know! The only thing that is still odd to me, is that he stopped eating, then slowly got puffed over a 24 hr period, there was NO fast expanding, just slowly got bigger

http://pbckt.com/sb.deKZ - this is the poor fella, before burping attempts, face down in the gravel, and MUCH larger than normal! Ignore the krill, turns out i was also over feeding, krill removal tomorrow morning, and i have changed 20% of the water and added aquasafe (which is new), going from there

One of my F8s was like this before he died. He was full of worms.

Good Lord, mrgreen, all that was worms???

If he's facedown in the gravel, I'd say it's not air. That would result in floating, not sinking.

Yes. I had thought Octo Puff, but when I cut her open....

she said he was swimming a bit clumbsy...

I hope it is just air and not worms!!

i tried to burp him, no air at all coming out. should i invest in some kind of medicine? he is somehow still alive and in the same condition

I'm afraid, without giving him the proper housing, you may not be able to save him, no matter what you do for him, other than 90% water changes 2x/day.