I'm so glad to have found a place to voice this concern.
Recently, as of about a day ago, my green spotted puffer developed a relatively large (a little more than a quarter of an inch in diameter) blockage near the base of his tail.
I presume that it is at the end of his digestive system, but it might not be.
At a first glance it looked like a piece of shell that had managed to embed itself in the poor guy, but upon gently petting him I discovered that it was somewhat soft.
Being careful not to squeeze too hard, I tried to help whatever the blockage was out, however to no avail.
Does anyone have any idea what we might be facing?
Here are my answers for the routine questions:
-The salinity is at a concentration of 1.015 and the pH is approximately 6.6.
-The tank holds 40 gallons and is much longer than it is tall.
-I change the water approximately once every three weeks or when it looks dirty.
-He usually eats half a small clam in the morning and various bites of bloodworm throughout the day.
-I have added API Quick Start and Aqueon Water Conditioner to the tank in appropriate dosages.
-I have made no changes in the previous week and my last cleaning was about a week and a half ago.
-The aquarium has been set up for several months.
-The closest thing I did to cycling it was to add extra Quick Start (as directed) and transition water from his old tank to the new one.
Any help would be appreciated, thank you.
~Jack
GSP Blockage Near Tail
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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Re: GSP Blockage Near Tail
Hi Jack & welcome! Can you do some testing of your water please: ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? At a SG of 1.015, I am really surprised your pH is so low.
Try using Epsom salt for the blockage at 1 tbsp/5g. I'd do a 50% water change--stirring up the substrate well & then remove the water & use Prime to condition the water, before refilling. You can add it directly to the tank. Stop using the Quick Start. Not necessary at all, in an established system.
What's your substrate?
Try using Epsom salt for the blockage at 1 tbsp/5g. I'd do a 50% water change--stirring up the substrate well & then remove the water & use Prime to condition the water, before refilling. You can add it directly to the tank. Stop using the Quick Start. Not necessary at all, in an established system.
What's your substrate?
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: GSP Blockage Near Tail
Thank you for responding so quickly, and I apologize for not being able to do so myself.
My ammonia level is around .1 which I have heard is alright.
My nitrate level is close to 160, apparently pretty terrible.
I was unable to get what I needed for nitrite testing.
I use a fine gravel substrate.
The water source that I use for the GSP's tank is just fine in both respects, so I blame the filter.
Tomorrow I'm going to follow your advice in doing a major tank cleaning and filter replacement, minus the usual Quick Start.
As an update, the blockage appears to have shrank slightly from yesterday.
Thanks again,
Jack
My ammonia level is around .1 which I have heard is alright.
My nitrate level is close to 160, apparently pretty terrible.
I was unable to get what I needed for nitrite testing.
I use a fine gravel substrate.
The water source that I use for the GSP's tank is just fine in both respects, so I blame the filter.
Tomorrow I'm going to follow your advice in doing a major tank cleaning and filter replacement, minus the usual Quick Start.
As an update, the blockage appears to have shrank slightly from yesterday.
Thanks again,
Jack
Re: GSP Blockage Near Tail
I am not sure why, but it appears that the message I posted yesterday was deleted for some reason.
I found that my ammonia was .1, apparently alright, whereas my nitrate was at an uncomfortable 160.
I didn't have the tools to get a nitrite reading.
My substrate is a gravel-like sand.
I also said that I would go ahead and do a large water change, which I did today.
My other update for today is that, with gentle massaging, I managed to dislodge the blockage.
Terrifying but true, it was actually a small piece of a clam shell.
Although it appears that he is not in any pain, the hole left behind from the shell is discerning to me.
What should I do to help it heal?
Thanks again,
Jack
I found that my ammonia was .1, apparently alright, whereas my nitrate was at an uncomfortable 160.
I didn't have the tools to get a nitrite reading.
My substrate is a gravel-like sand.
I also said that I would go ahead and do a large water change, which I did today.
My other update for today is that, with gentle massaging, I managed to dislodge the blockage.
Terrifying but true, it was actually a small piece of a clam shell.
Although it appears that he is not in any pain, the hole left behind from the shell is discerning to me.
What should I do to help it heal?
Thanks again,
Jack