Adult F8 Question

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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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RockPuff
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Adult F8 Question

Post by RockPuff »

I recently got a 3" F8 puffer from my LFS. When I picked him up at the store I thought he had puffed because his belly was so big, but after several days the belly has remained the same size only decreasing slightly after a 24 hour fast. Could this possibly be internal parasites or is it normal for a large F8 to look like this? If it is internal parasites does anyone have any recommended food treatments. I can't find my camera and he is to fast for my phone's camera, but I'll try to post a picture.
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JRC3
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Re: Adult F8 Question

Post by JRC3 »

I bought one a few years ago that had a large belly. It had IPs and died a week later. viewtopic.php?f=3&t=24334

Your fish also could've been severely over fed at the store, but I would think the belly would go down in a day or two. Have you seen it poop?
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bertie 83
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Re: Adult F8 Question

Post by bertie 83 »

Yes the poo will tell you. Generally ip's cause the belly to sink and look pinched in 24-36 hours unless they are riddled. You would be wise to treat him if he is eating. Jungle fizz parasite tabs are your prime choice. Treat the food not the water. It's never a bad thing to play it safe
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RockPuff
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Re: Adult F8 Question

Post by RockPuff »

It has been large for about 5 days. I haven't seen him poop yet. He is still eating, so I will try soaking the food to play it safe. Thanks for the advice.
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Re: Adult F8 Question

Post by Pufferpunk »

Possibly constipated then. Treat the tank with 1 tbsp Epsom salts/5g.
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