Hi, well it was Midge birthday yesterday as well as Mine, but what a birthday Midge is lying on it's side with a lump on the side that is not touching the sand, I am very stressed and upset, so please no negative response.
I recently moved him to a much larger tank, (150 Gallons), the Ammonia = 0 No2 = 0 and No3 = 0 PH = 7.3 Temp = 78% Water changes every 3rd day 25% Tank the set up has been over a year only change is tank size. Tank mates are Dwarf Cichlids x 6 and 2 Discus.
So far I have added Epson salts and I always add salt to the water. Treated at the beginning of the week with Fluke Solve as his poo was string like, this has happened before but within a 2 days he is fine.
Observations
Slow breathing , sometimes with a burp
Fins are not clamped all the time
Movement has got worse
Noticed the eye that is on the sand is cloudy
Colour is fine top and bottom
He still moves hi eyes
when this 1st started it was like he was drunk banging in to the glass
Not eaten now for 4 days fed on Muscle out of shell and in shell Prawns cockles fed every3rd day one week the every 2nd day week after
Its now 01:23 UK I am worried sick Please help Thanks
Midge MBU Puffer
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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Mikeyburnsey
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:33 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: I own A MBU, bought 13th July 2010, it is called Midge. Housed in a 88 Gallon Tank External Filter Ehiem Pro 3. HMA water system, Blue and white lights for night and day. 2 Heaters.
- Location (country): Redruth Cornwall UK
- Location: Redruth Cornwall England
- Contact:
Midge MBU Puffer
I take on advice, but refuse to be bullied by those who think they are in control!! Mikey
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puffykid
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 3:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Madison, WI
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
Hi there sorry to hear your puffer isn't feeling well. I was wondering how large the mbu was at this moment and if you could get a much larger tank asap cause mbu's need 1000g tanks as a minimum. He is probably sick because the bio load inside the tank is to much for him to handle.
1 M. Turgidus - 29 gallon
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Nuclear_Glitter
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 971
- Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 1:03 am
- Gender: Female
- Location (country): North Carolina, USA
- Location: North Carolina, USA
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
As puffykid said you need a 1000 gallon tank, and that's with no tankmates. With everything you have your tank is very overstocked.
What type of kit are you using to test your water? Can you post us some result pictures?
You said the tank has been setup over a year? What was it cycled with?
What type of kit are you using to test your water? Can you post us some result pictures?
You said the tank has been setup over a year? What was it cycled with?
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
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sevenyearnight
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
I definitely agree with the tank size suggestion, however his water parameters show good numbers. I say diet is likely to be at least a contributing cause, and this actually sounds very similar to a post not too long back about a fahaka. Bioload *may* not be an issue, but the small tank could possibly have had some ill effects related to stunting, but that is not absolute.
It sounds like possibly IP's or something related to his diet, I'm very sorry I can't help, this isn't something I'm very familiar with.
Epsom salt is a good thing to add, but you also mentioned that you always add salt. What kind of salt and how much? It is unfortunate that the addition of salt is so regularly suggested as it unfortunately can have some awful effects on certain freshwater fish.
I hope someone will be able to help you, good luck.
It sounds like possibly IP's or something related to his diet, I'm very sorry I can't help, this isn't something I'm very familiar with.
Epsom salt is a good thing to add, but you also mentioned that you always add salt. What kind of salt and how much? It is unfortunate that the addition of salt is so regularly suggested as it unfortunately can have some awful effects on certain freshwater fish.
I hope someone will be able to help you, good luck.
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puffykid
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 3:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Madison, WI
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
good points seven I never even thought about that.
+1 to your comment about the salt I was just about to ask myself.
But he also hasn't told us what kind of test kits he uses yet and so the readings he is giving us could be skewed, and with a tank that overstocked idk how he is getting such good readings actually..
+1 to your comment about the salt I was just about to ask myself.
But he also hasn't told us what kind of test kits he uses yet and so the readings he is giving us could be skewed, and with a tank that overstocked idk how he is getting such good readings actually..
1 M. Turgidus - 29 gallon
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Mikeyburnsey
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:33 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: I own A MBU, bought 13th July 2010, it is called Midge. Housed in a 88 Gallon Tank External Filter Ehiem Pro 3. HMA water system, Blue and white lights for night and day. 2 Heaters.
- Location (country): Redruth Cornwall UK
- Location: Redruth Cornwall England
- Contact:
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
puffykid wrote:good points seven I never even thought about that.
+1 to your comment about the salt I was just about to ask myself.
But he also hasn't told us what kind of test kits he uses yet and so the readings he is giving us could be skewed, and with a tank that overstocked idk how he is getting such good readings actually..
TANK IS NOT OVERSTOCKED STAY WITH THE PROBLEM
I take on advice, but refuse to be bullied by those who think they are in control!! Mikey
-
Mikeyburnsey
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 46
- Joined: Fri Jul 16, 2010 5:33 am
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: I own A MBU, bought 13th July 2010, it is called Midge. Housed in a 88 Gallon Tank External Filter Ehiem Pro 3. HMA water system, Blue and white lights for night and day. 2 Heaters.
- Location (country): Redruth Cornwall UK
- Location: Redruth Cornwall England
- Contact:
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
and he is not sick because of the BIO loadMikeyburnsey wrote:puffykid wrote:good points seven I never even thought about that.
+1 to your comment about the salt I was just about to ask myself.
But he also hasn't told us what kind of test kits he uses yet and so the readings he is giving us could be skewed, and with a tank that overstocked idk how he is getting such good readings actually..
TANK IS NOT OVERSTOCKED STAY WITH THE PROBLEM
I take on advice, but refuse to be bullied by those who think they are in control!! Mikey
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
The tank is overstocked but we'll still help you.
What type of test kits are you using as it's very rare to have 0 nitrates. Could you possibly take the water to a store and have them test it with a liquid test kit? It sounds like it could be nitrite poisoning but since your results aren't showing that I'm at a loss. Personally, I'd do a large water change and see if it helps a bit.
What type of test kits are you using as it's very rare to have 0 nitrates. Could you possibly take the water to a store and have them test it with a liquid test kit? It sounds like it could be nitrite poisoning but since your results aren't showing that I'm at a loss. Personally, I'd do a large water change and see if it helps a bit.
It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
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sevenyearnight
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
Ok, I found the thread that this reminded me of, but please don't let it discourage you, as your puffer may pull through whatever it is that is ailing him, but the discussion covered a lot of aspects that may relate to you.
I mentioned thiaminase as a possible link, but I believe cockles may be the only shelled bivalve that does not contain that enzyme, so that's one good thing. Also do you use any vitamin supplements on his food? This is a great way to help ensure the diet isn't deficient. Vitachem was suggested to me, you can order it online.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26852&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... ick+fahaka
I mentioned thiaminase as a possible link, but I believe cockles may be the only shelled bivalve that does not contain that enzyme, so that's one good thing. Also do you use any vitamin supplements on his food? This is a great way to help ensure the diet isn't deficient. Vitachem was suggested to me, you can order it online.
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=26852&st=0&sk=t&sd= ... ick+fahaka
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puffykid
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 3:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Madison, WI
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
Ya to be back on topic showing 0 No3 means that there is something very wrong with the water.
1 M. Turgidus - 29 gallon
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sevenyearnight
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
I know that you are stressed out and worried, but don't take it out on us.
This really is unnecessary, and rude, I promise everyone wants to help you as this is a very caring community. Please keep an open mind, and try not to get defensive, it makes it much harder for us to help you.TANK IS NOT OVERSTOCKED STAY WITH THE PROBLEM
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sevenyearnight
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
Not necessarily, a heavily planted tank could keep 0 No3 indefinitely, and most times it has to be added to the tanks because of the high consumption rate of the plants.puffykid wrote:Ya to be back on topic showing 0 No3 means that there is something very wrong with the water.
Also, if it's the API nitrate liquid test, you really have to shake the Bob Saget out of the second bottle or it will read zero.
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puffykid
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 537
- Joined: Mon May 30, 2011 3:16 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Madison, WI
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
I was basing the fact that it probably wasn't a very heavily planted tank on one of his previous posts where he showed a picture of his tank download.php?id=3937&mode=view but maybe thats enough plants to keep No3 at zero. I'm still pretty nooby at puffers, learning though!
and he could have added more plants since that picture was taken.
and he could have added more plants since that picture was taken.
1 M. Turgidus - 29 gallon
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Nuclear_Glitter
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 971
- Joined: Sun May 29, 2011 1:03 am
- Gender: Female
- Location (country): North Carolina, USA
- Location: North Carolina, USA
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
The quickest way to get help is to let us know what test kit you're using. What is his exact diet? How often is he fed? Where do you buy your food. Also, the question about what type of salt you're using needs to be answered.
What's everything you put in your tank normally? When and how often? List things like medicines, conditioners, supplements, anything.
The quickest way to get help is to just be cooperative. Like seven said we're truly a caring community.
What's everything you put in your tank normally? When and how often? List things like medicines, conditioners, supplements, anything.
The quickest way to get help is to just be cooperative. Like seven said we're truly a caring community.
"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -- Henry Ford
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sevenyearnight
Re: Midge MBU Puffer
He did say that he recently moved him to another tank, so that may be a picture of his old tank.