Hi everyone,
I'm new to the pufferforum and I need some urgent advice. My puffer has been doing very poorly the past weeks. It has become deathly skinny but until last night was feeding normally. Now it is refusing to eat blood worms. I suspected a parasite to be the cause of his skinniness and, hence, used a 10 day course of Waterlife Sterazin treatment (as directed on the bottle). However, I don't think it helped. I included the details of the tank below. Please help, as I am very worried about it. Any advice is welcome. Thank you very much in advance.
Riverpig
1) water parameters -
pH: 7.5
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrates: 0
salinity: 1.001
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants: 90 Litres, 3 Gobies, 1 Nerite Snail
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank
Products: API stresscoat, filter boost
Feeding: Life blood worms, frozen blood worms, freeze dried blood worms, some small snails, some shrimp, several smaller portions spread across the day
Water changes: 20% every 4 days
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.
Medication: 1 Course of Waterlife - Sterazine
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it?
Since January, 2 weeks cycle with gobies and filter boost
Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
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.
-
Pufferpunk
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burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
Unfortunately, those bottles direct you to treat the water & FW fish don't drink water. The FOOD must be soaked in the med, to treat internally: library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/
If your tank has been set up since Jan, why are you still adding Filter Boost? You should be showing nitrate in there, too.
If your tank has been set up since Jan, why are you still adding Filter Boost? You should be showing nitrate in there, too.
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!"
-
bertie 83
- Moderator
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Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis - Location (country): Brighton, England
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Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
Welcome to the forum. What type of puffer do you have
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
It's a figure 8, nitrate appears to be zero somehow from the test kit. I am trying to feed it medicated bloodworms but it is refusing to eat. It occasionally puffs up too, but deflates itself in a few seconds. It is laying on the bottom, being somewhat wobbly. I have made sure there is no ammonia present, so I am still unsure what would be the best option. Does it sound like internal parasites, or could it be bacterial? Thanks all your advice in advance!
-
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:
Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
Soak the worms in garlic. What test kit are you using? Are you sure you're shaking the products as long as the directions suggest?
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!"
Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
Thank you everyone for your help but unfortunately my puffer didn't make it. 
-
bertie 83
- Moderator
- Posts: 5298
- Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:28 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis - Location (country): Brighton, England
- Location: brighton , england
Re: Sulking/Skinny Figure 8
Sorry to hear this
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly