The Puffer Forum

1) Water parameters - pH- 8 Ammonia - 0 , Nitrite - 0.25 ppm , Nitrates- 0 ppm

2) Tank size: 20 gallons

3) Feeding: 1 block of Frozen Mussle by the "San Francisco Bay Co." or 1 block of Forzen Blood Worms by the same Company. I do a 35-45% water change every week (usually on Sundays)

4) The only changes I have made in the last week were food types. One of my Puffers wasn't really into the Muscle so I went out and bought the bloodworms. They both LOVED it. I've been giving it to them since last sunday (May 2)

5) My tank has been cycled since before I got my puffers and i've had my puffers for a good 3-4 months.

Now, I woke up this morning and noticed one of my 2 puffers has black, almost fuzzy looking things growing on his belly. I have no idea what it is and I can't seem to find any useful information online. He's acting normal except for scraping himself across different things in the tank every now and then so i'm assuming it itches. Is it black ich maybe? Please help me Puffer community!

have you got your water parameters the right way round?
if so, its not cycled?

What test kits are you using, something's not right. Also, are you defrosting & rinsing those frozen blocks of food?

Pufferpunk wrote:What test kits are you using, something's not right. Also, are you defrosting & rinsing those frozen blocks of food?

I am using the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. I noticed it was freshwater when I bought it and asked the worker who showed me it if it would still give me accurate results for a Brackish tank, he told me it would. Was this false information? And i rinse the puffer-blocks before putting them in the tank. Is there more I need to be doing?

They will work for BW, yes. A pic of the puffer's belly would help.

Pufferpunk wrote:They will work for BW, yes. A pic of the puffer's belly would help.

I'm pulling out my camera now, might take a few minutes to get a good one and upload it though!

Just tell him to STAY!

Pufferpunk wrote:Just tell him to STAY!

My goodness he wouldn't told still lol! This was the best picture of him I could get. I hope it's at least a little helpful :/ They're very small but I can see them whem he swims up and down the glass. They almost look like little pieces of black lint. Also he's been stressed all day. His belly is patchy and black unless he's eating.(I put in just a little food then I took the picture in an attempt to get him still)

ug.php/v/User_Galleries/CheesePuff/IMG_ ... ewsIndex=1

If the link doesn't work im sorry! It's right in my gallery

He looks fine to me. I am a bit concerned about your parameters though. Could you give us a little history on the tank?

Pufferpunk wrote:He looks fine to me. I am a bit concerned about your parameters though. Could you give us a little history on the tank?

The tank was first used by my mother some years ago then had been sitting for a few years. I took it outside and washed it out for about an hour, made sure it didnt leak, and added water from my mothers man-made freshwater pond.(Cycled right?) She has goldish, a koi, and several other varieties of fw fish in there. No cholorine so I figured it would be puffer-safe.I added Instant Ocean Marine Salt and let it sit with the filter running for about 2 weeks before adding Saltwater Biozyme(it says Living Nitrifying Bacteria and Enzymes) and Puffers shortly after that. I don't know much about Parameters but i'm trying to learn. Does this cover what you wanted to know?

No, water, by itself, is not "cycled". The bacteria needed to cycle a tank, lives on surfaces, not in the water column:
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

Pufferpunk wrote:No, water, by itself, is not "cycled". The bacteria needed to cycle a tank, lives on surfaces, not in the water column:
library/water-filtration/emergencycycle/

Thank you for this article! I am about to do a BIG water change, and hopefully that will help. Did the Biozyme I added do nothing in the way of bacteria? My local pet store is not a reliable one. Thier puffers have ich and are kept in freshwater, and I have no friends with Brackish tanks. Do you know anywhere else I can get one of the sponges mentioned in the article?

Biozyme has no LIVE bacteria in there. How long have the fish been in there?

Pufferpunk wrote:Biozyme has no LIVE bacteria in there. How long have the fish been in there?

A couple of months and they seem happy enough. They swim around alot and greet me at the glass whenever i walk in the room. Ill work on getting some LIVE bacteria. Is there anything else I need to know?

How quickly did the water go from fresh to brackish?