Hi, I really need your help, I am new to your forum and tried to put down as much information as I could, by following your directions. Any help would be most appreciated.
We have a 75 Gallon Tank with a Dog face Puffer, Snowflake Eel, and a Koran. (3 days new) PH-8.2, Nitrite-0, Ammonia-0, Nitrate-0. Water Changes 25% once a month. Filtration- 3 power heads, 1 bio wheel, 1-Canister for 150G Tank. The tank has been running for about a year, fish are 2-months new, Koran is 3 days new. (We just bought a new canister filter about 2 weeks ago)
Background: Our tank recycled, so we brought the DFP to our local fish store and they babysat for about a week. When our tank was ready we picked up our Puffer, and also purchased a Koran. (the eel made it thru the recycle so he stayed with us) It's been three days and the Koran and Eel are fine, but today the puffer showed all of the symptoms listed below.
Our puffer has lost his brown color on 3/4 of his body and its being replaced with a white/cream/light grey solid color and he also has white lesion's all over his back. (larger than ich) These symptoms only appeared today, and the Puffer is at the bottom of the tank, breathing heavy, tail is curled. He's not looking good at all!!
I immediately added copper to the tank, thinking it was velvet ich, but now these white lesion's have appeared. Any advice would be helpful! We need to save our little guy.
Help, our dogface puffer is dying...
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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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
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T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
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C coranata
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Copper is extremely poisonous to puffers. There is no way to totally remove copper from your tank. NEVER, EVER, EVER MEDICATE YOUR MAIN TANK with anything other than the all natural Melafix of Pimafix. I'd do a 50% water change immediately & add fresh carbon to your filter.
It seems to me that your puffer must have caught something fro the tank it was staying in, or from the Koran (I assume you didn't QT it?). If your system crashes, you can fix it with Bio-Spira.
It seems to me that your puffer must have caught something fro the tank it was staying in, or from the Koran (I assume you didn't QT it?). If your system crashes, you can fix it with Bio-Spira.
Last edited by Pufferpunk on Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Our Puffer Passed Away
Well, if anyone still has any advice as to what happened to our puffer we would be grateful.
He was the most friendliest little guy, he will be missed.
He was the most friendliest little guy, he will be missed.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
So sorry but the copper killed it... You must get that copper out of there & never put any inverts in there, that you want to live. You will never be able to remove all the copper from your tank--it's in the silicone, gravel, decor, etc.
I also suggest you dump the canister & Biowheel & add (cured) liverock & a protein skimmer. This will make your system more stable.
I also suggest you dump the canister & Biowheel & add (cured) liverock & a protein skimmer. This will make your system more stable.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
-
Jager
live rockl requires variying light depending on whatsgrowing on it. and the watts per gallon rule is not very good.
for copper removal a polyfilter pad will remove quite a bit. that and over several years copper dilutes to safe levels in the tanks silicone so you could pull the substrate and try a reef later.
for copper removal a polyfilter pad will remove quite a bit. that and over several years copper dilutes to safe levels in the tanks silicone so you could pull the substrate and try a reef later.