Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
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.
Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
I've had a Fahaka puffer for a little over a month and he is in really bad shape he was doing fine but recently I noticed he hadn't been eating and I thought it was ok to drop in one of those food nibble things in my tank and now he looks really bad. In the past week I've added some new fish as well a Green Terror which is 4-5in and a Bolivian Ram. My Fahaka Puffer is not that big so right now I have him in a 30 gallon tank all alone. This is my first puffer and have been cleaning my tank and maintaining it with water changes and drop a little sea salt every now and then and have the temperature at 87 degrees, he had been doing really good until now. He is breathing really hard and his eyes have lost that blue-ish shine to them. My tank is a 48 gallon that basically consist of south American cichlids a parrot fish and a couple of barbs. Any advice would be much appreciated
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bertie 83
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Re: Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
Sorry I'm a little confused? He is alone in a 30g? What are all the tank parameters? Stop adding salt, he doesn't need any and will do better without. He needs a much bigger tank asap
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
Please answer ALL the Qs above in red, so we can help your puffer before it dies.
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!"
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Tripp
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Re: Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
1 - Your going to need at least a 125g
2 - Get us a picture of him ASAP
3 - Answer all the questions about parameters in the tank you have him in now.
4 - What foods have you been feeding him?
5 - Do not put him with other fish especially the green terror
6 - Soak some clam strips in garlic to get him to eat its like catnip
7 - Leave the lights low and make sure he has some sort of a cave.
8 - Sand Substrate is going to be best for him (Pool filter sand is fine and cheap)
2 - Get us a picture of him ASAP
3 - Answer all the questions about parameters in the tank you have him in now.
4 - What foods have you been feeding him?
5 - Do not put him with other fish especially the green terror
6 - Soak some clam strips in garlic to get him to eat its like catnip
7 - Leave the lights low and make sure he has some sort of a cave.
8 - Sand Substrate is going to be best for him (Pool filter sand is fine and cheap)
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32987
- 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:
Re: Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
All good advice by Tripp, although my fahaka doesn't seem to need sand.
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!"
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RTR
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Re: Fahaka Puffer in bad shape
87 degrees is much too hot for the fish. Is this ambient air temperature? If so, replace the tank top with a mesh screen and keep a fan blowing on it all the time. You need to lower the tank temperature slowly over hours to no more than 80 degrees. The fish is suffocating for lack of oxygen in the water. If you have a bubbler or airstone, add that to the tank as well.
Where's the fish? - Neptune