The Puffer Forum

Hey again everyone. Ya the energy level of my little guys have gone down significantly over the past 3 days. Their color is darker a majority of the time and their bellies are seldom white. One didnt eat today and hes been clinging to the filter for several hours and when I move him he just goes and lays on the ground. The other guys are way more mellow too, still eating but spending a lot of time in the corners of the tank. Ammonia is 0, nitrates are 5, SG is 1.011. Ive had em for about a month and the tank was fully cycled before they moved in. Also i did about a 20% water change yesterday and that didnt help. Any advice?

Also they look like they're panting heavily.... thanks

Is there much water movement. Perhaps an airstone or 2 would help with their breathing?

im not an expert by any means
but do know you would need to answer the questions in red in fill
ie what size of tank, how you cycled and raised salinity, proper test readings, ie nitrite, water conditioner and type of salt etc?
how many gsps do you have?
they do sound like sick little guys
hope you get some advice soon

Yes, I have to agree with Lesley. I was curious how big your tank is myself .... and you didn't mention your nitrite reading, which is just as important as the ammonia reading.
So if you can give us more information, we may be able to help you.

Sorry guys im new. my nitrites are 0 as well. I have 3gsps almost 2 inches in a 45 gal. my water temp is 78F and i have fantastic water movement. I cycled this tank with bacteria from a tank i know to be healthy. Ive raised the salinity by .002 over the past few weeks to get to where i am now. I use marine salt and Prime water conditioner.

your tank does sound cycled looking over your past posts.
tho your tank is small for 3 gsps
what kind of test kit are you using? just to make sure your params are correct

Im positive my water parameters are fine, I have a refractometer and test strips and im anal about checking that stuff 3 times a day. I know 45 is small but as soon as they get about 3 inches i was gonna move em to a 120. They're still juvies so im sure they are ok in the 45 right now and they are by no means aggressive... and I actually think 2 are in love, they sleep next to each other and cuddle a lot. Im starting to get some action out of them but not like they were last week. I dont know what their deal is?

You really should get yourself a good test kit (API is a very good one) that uses water in test tubes NOT test strips. Test strips can give incorrect readings and I doubt you are getting the true state of how things are using them. Ditch the strips and get a good kit, you will be doing yourself a big favour.

yea like i say im no expert, but does sound like water quality to me.
try a larger WC, and see any improvement?
I know how you feel, when I had my first wee fahaka, I was paranoid about water params and quality etc
But liquid tests by API would be so much accurate.
Even tho your little guys are small, could be putting more waste than you think.
How often and how much of a WC do you do on a regular basis?

Awesome thank u guys! I will make the switch asap. I usually change around 30-40% every weekend.

your water changes sound ok.
some others do larger, some do 40% as well
i have one gsp in a 40g with 3 bbgs, i do 2 wc's a week, a smaller one to remove poo etc and then a larger one at weekend to remove poo, shells and renew the water.
hope they pick up and you get some more advice from others...

Holy walrus never ever will I use test strips again, i went to PS to buy a test kit and i brought my water in for them to test it and my nitrites came back 10+ and my nitrates at 10+!!!!! The strips said 0 on the nitrites and 5 on the nitrates! WC and lots of Prime about to happen right now... any other advice?

See, that's what I was afraid of. Test strips make you think things are fine when they aren't, besides not giving you numbers to follow. Glad you got your water tested and have got the better test kit now. Best thing you can do is 50% water changes weekly and try to get out any leftover food as soon as possible, as that can be the cause of high nitrites too.

thank u guys so much u prolly saved my little guys again! im doing a wc right now ill keep ya posted!