Parasites vs. Air?
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:06 pm
Hi guys,
I'm brand new to (being registered in) this forum. I've read a bunch of posts on here before, but I'm having an issue with my new Figure Eight that I haven't been able to find the answer for.
Water parameters: 10gal tank (Overfiltered; will be moved to 20gal soon) ammonia <.02ppm, nitrate 20ppm, nitrite undetectable (<.5), pH 7.5, SG 1.008.
I got this little guy about 3 weeks ago and he was doing great- buzzing around the tank, meeting me at the front, eating ramshorn/pond snails and freeze fried brine shrimp soaked in tank water. Yesterday I noticed his sides were paler than usual, but I thought I had woken him up because he had been lying on the bottom sand when I walked in the room. But he got up to greet me as usual even though he stayed relatively pale. I checked for nitrates because his color usually lightens when they're getting higher, and they were at about 40. I did a 60% water change this morning to bring it back down to 20. He was sluggish and still pale, and I tried to feed him before I did the water change and he ate half a snail and barely touched the shrimp. About three or four hours ago, he started just kind of floating around the tank even though his fins are moving. He's currently swimming, but his head is pointed up to the top. I read that he may have ingested air if the shrimp wasn't soaked long enough, so I tried to burp him, but he's a little guy (~1in.) and I'm afraid of pushing too hard. It didn't help anything.
His sides are currently still pale, but his belly is white and his back is still a normal black/yellow.
I was wondering if it's possible to tell the difference between when a puffer has air versus when they have a parasite? I'm wondering if, since burping didn't work, if that means it's a parasite. I see nothing on him, but that doesn't really mean anything.
Any help is appreciated!
I'm brand new to (being registered in) this forum. I've read a bunch of posts on here before, but I'm having an issue with my new Figure Eight that I haven't been able to find the answer for.
Water parameters: 10gal tank (Overfiltered; will be moved to 20gal soon) ammonia <.02ppm, nitrate 20ppm, nitrite undetectable (<.5), pH 7.5, SG 1.008.
I got this little guy about 3 weeks ago and he was doing great- buzzing around the tank, meeting me at the front, eating ramshorn/pond snails and freeze fried brine shrimp soaked in tank water. Yesterday I noticed his sides were paler than usual, but I thought I had woken him up because he had been lying on the bottom sand when I walked in the room. But he got up to greet me as usual even though he stayed relatively pale. I checked for nitrates because his color usually lightens when they're getting higher, and they were at about 40. I did a 60% water change this morning to bring it back down to 20. He was sluggish and still pale, and I tried to feed him before I did the water change and he ate half a snail and barely touched the shrimp. About three or four hours ago, he started just kind of floating around the tank even though his fins are moving. He's currently swimming, but his head is pointed up to the top. I read that he may have ingested air if the shrimp wasn't soaked long enough, so I tried to burp him, but he's a little guy (~1in.) and I'm afraid of pushing too hard. It didn't help anything.
His sides are currently still pale, but his belly is white and his back is still a normal black/yellow.
I was wondering if it's possible to tell the difference between when a puffer has air versus when they have a parasite? I'm wondering if, since burping didn't work, if that means it's a parasite. I see nothing on him, but that doesn't really mean anything.
Any help is appreciated!
So sorry...