Hello, I have a Fahaka 2.5" that I got about 10 days back and seems to be having some issues.
The Ammonia and Nitrate level is zero and PH 7.0
The ammonia and nitrates are almost non existent because I just did a water change also because the tank is planted. as well.
He's in a 14 gallon tank (i know its very small for him and I'm getting a 33 Gallon tank tomorrow evening - will upgrade to a bigger one once I move in a couple of months).
He's the only one in the tank.
He seems to not be doing soo well... he has been burrowing himself in the substrate for like 95% of the time, I don't know if he's scared or its just what he likes to do...
I fed him snails to wear his teeth down which wasn't a problem, I also fed him some live black worms the day before that, I got it from a guy who sells fish locally.
Also I fed him frozen blood worms, he ate everything without any problems and this was the first 4 days of having him. Oh and he didn't burrow once in the four days.
From the fifth day onwards, I've only seen him burrowing himself all the time also he's not eating, I put in a small crayfish in the tank he didn't go after it, also I put in a small fry of convict cichlid and he didn't go after that as well. I tried feeding him krill, he didn't eat it at all, I tried feeding him mysis shrimp, he didn't go after that.
He seemed to have some furry white fungus type stuff all over his top from day 6 onwards also now today I noticed that his top back fin is turning orange/reddish also he's not moving that fin. So clearly he seems sick and I've been trying to find some stuff online but can't spot what the problem is and how to fix it.
I've been doing regular water changes of about 50% every second day to keep the water crystal clear for him, also I've not made any changes to the tank other wise. The tank was properly cycled before he went in there. I cycled the tank with 6 Krribs about 3 months back. After that I had about 9 tetras and 7 rasboras in the tank for over two months and then they went out and this guy went in.
I hope the above information is enough to enable you to provide with helpful advise.
Please help me out!!!!! I want to save this guy and keep him for as long as I can!!!!!!
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
Zee.
Fahak Puffer is not doing well... Please Help!
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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zhasan
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Fahak Puffer is not doing well... Please Help!
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Fahak Puffer is not doing well... Please Help!
I posted to you when you 1st mentioned the fungus to treat with Melafix & Pimafix. Have you added anything to treat this?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
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Blaine
Re: Fahak Puffer is not doing well... Please Help!
Fahakas love to bury themselves,...especially after they eat. Not an issue IMO.
Melafix or Pimafix might help the infection.....
Ammonia and Nitrites should always be 0 with sufficient filtration but most tanks will show some trace of Nitrates, especially with a puffer. I would double check your test results by taking a water sample to the LFS.
Best thing is to move him asap to the larger tank
Melafix or Pimafix might help the infection.....
Ammonia and Nitrites should always be 0 with sufficient filtration but most tanks will show some trace of Nitrates, especially with a puffer. I would double check your test results by taking a water sample to the LFS.
Best thing is to move him asap to the larger tank
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Dadof4
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Re: Fahak Puffer is not doing well... Please Help!
That's sure looks like a fungus. Pimafix is the main med for fungus and Melafix will help too but, pristine water conditions are just as important. If you use them remember to add an airstone because Pimifix can interfere with oxygenation in the water.
We addressed this in the other post so I'm not going to repeat all the details but, you do realize that that Fahaka isn't going to survive in that tank. He will outgrow it within a month and will need a massive tank in the future.
Repeat your nitrate test again but really follow the directions carefully, shake the bottles and test tubes exactly as it says. This is the most commonly errant test because of mistakes (I still mess this one up from time to time.)
We addressed this in the other post so I'm not going to repeat all the details but, you do realize that that Fahaka isn't going to survive in that tank. He will outgrow it within a month and will need a massive tank in the future.
Repeat your nitrate test again but really follow the directions carefully, shake the bottles and test tubes exactly as it says. This is the most commonly errant test because of mistakes (I still mess this one up from time to time.)
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