F8 appears neurologically inappropriate?
Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 2:24 pm
To whoever can help me,
Summary:
I've had my juvenile F8 for a little over three weeks now and since Monday morning I've seen a drastic change in behavior. His swim pattern is erratic--a lot of vertical and horizontal pacing (more than what he originally did) and he is also running into tank decor. He does not swim in any particular pattern or move his eyes on the lookout for food as he did in the first couple of weeks that I had him. He also does not respond to movement near the glass which he did previously. It's as if he is blind, but his eyes are clear. His body is also free of any injuries or apparent illness. His coloration is very bold which I attribute to his increased stress level. He has not eaten since last Friday at this point, his stomach his flat and white. I am very worried.
Diet: Up until Monday he was fed a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and daphnia. He also ate several ghost shrimp over the previous weekend while I was not around to feed him frozen foods. He has also eaten the bodies of several ramshorn snails opportunistically as their shells were too large for him to eat at this time.
Water Quality:
pH:6.5-7.0
GH: 120ppm
KH: 80ppm
NO2: 0ppm
NO3: <20ppm
Ammonia: <0.25ppm (API liquid test; all other parameters were measured with API test strips)
temp: 80°F
SG: I have not added ANY salts (neither aquarium or marine) due to his juvenile status. I was planning on adding marine salts this week but his odd behavior has deterred me. I don't want to cause too much stress at one time but I also know that being a brackish water species means he should be very tolerant of a change in salinity. I would love some input here.
Tank Setup:
5 gallons
three plastic plants
faux driftwood
sand substrate
Tank Mates:
1 surviving ramshorn snail
1 surviving ghost shrimp
(both of which seem very appreciative that he is not acting right and are spending a lot more time out in the open than before)
Additional info: The tank was initially cycled for over three months while I was waiting for the right time to purchase my F8. Last Friday I went to my LFS to purchase my first filter cartridge replacement since having my F8 and was talked into buying a Cascade 300 internal canister filter. I completed a 20% water change at this time as well. I initially wondered if I removed all of my good bacteria with the filter and had an ammonia problem. I tested the water Monday and found I did, indeed, have ammonia that measured between 0.25ppm and 0.5ppm. I countered this with the addition of Fluval Cycle Concentrated Biological Booster for fresh and salt water and have now achieved the above water quality parameters.
P.S.
I have not yet tried medicating for internal parasites because I was attempting to rule out the ammonia as causing an issue. I've also heard that the addition of marine salts will kill whatever parasites he may have because they cannot tolerate the salinity. This idea seems sketchy to me considering that any internal parasite they may have picked up in their natural environment could also be particularly hardy to the salinity gradient.
UPDATE:
Since my first post a few hours ago, I feel as if my puffer's condition has worsened. I re-tested the water and the ammonia was at 0.5ppm!!! I don't understand how it is increasing so rapidly?! I did another water change (~35%) and retested the ammonia at <0.25ppm. His behavior has actually seemed to improve slightly.. or maybe I'm just wishful thinking... I don't have another tank to put him in but I can make a makeshift one using a 1 gallon bucket if I need to. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Please help!
Savannah
Summary:
I've had my juvenile F8 for a little over three weeks now and since Monday morning I've seen a drastic change in behavior. His swim pattern is erratic--a lot of vertical and horizontal pacing (more than what he originally did) and he is also running into tank decor. He does not swim in any particular pattern or move his eyes on the lookout for food as he did in the first couple of weeks that I had him. He also does not respond to movement near the glass which he did previously. It's as if he is blind, but his eyes are clear. His body is also free of any injuries or apparent illness. His coloration is very bold which I attribute to his increased stress level. He has not eaten since last Friday at this point, his stomach his flat and white. I am very worried.
Diet: Up until Monday he was fed a mixture of frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and daphnia. He also ate several ghost shrimp over the previous weekend while I was not around to feed him frozen foods. He has also eaten the bodies of several ramshorn snails opportunistically as their shells were too large for him to eat at this time.
Water Quality:
pH:6.5-7.0
GH: 120ppm
KH: 80ppm
NO2: 0ppm
NO3: <20ppm
Ammonia: <0.25ppm (API liquid test; all other parameters were measured with API test strips)
temp: 80°F
SG: I have not added ANY salts (neither aquarium or marine) due to his juvenile status. I was planning on adding marine salts this week but his odd behavior has deterred me. I don't want to cause too much stress at one time but I also know that being a brackish water species means he should be very tolerant of a change in salinity. I would love some input here.
Tank Setup:
5 gallons
three plastic plants
faux driftwood
sand substrate
Tank Mates:
1 surviving ramshorn snail
1 surviving ghost shrimp
(both of which seem very appreciative that he is not acting right and are spending a lot more time out in the open than before)
Additional info: The tank was initially cycled for over three months while I was waiting for the right time to purchase my F8. Last Friday I went to my LFS to purchase my first filter cartridge replacement since having my F8 and was talked into buying a Cascade 300 internal canister filter. I completed a 20% water change at this time as well. I initially wondered if I removed all of my good bacteria with the filter and had an ammonia problem. I tested the water Monday and found I did, indeed, have ammonia that measured between 0.25ppm and 0.5ppm. I countered this with the addition of Fluval Cycle Concentrated Biological Booster for fresh and salt water and have now achieved the above water quality parameters.
P.S.
I have not yet tried medicating for internal parasites because I was attempting to rule out the ammonia as causing an issue. I've also heard that the addition of marine salts will kill whatever parasites he may have because they cannot tolerate the salinity. This idea seems sketchy to me considering that any internal parasite they may have picked up in their natural environment could also be particularly hardy to the salinity gradient.
UPDATE:
Since my first post a few hours ago, I feel as if my puffer's condition has worsened. I re-tested the water and the ammonia was at 0.5ppm!!! I don't understand how it is increasing so rapidly?! I did another water change (~35%) and retested the ammonia at <0.25ppm. His behavior has actually seemed to improve slightly.. or maybe I'm just wishful thinking... I don't have another tank to put him in but I can make a makeshift one using a 1 gallon bucket if I need to. Any thoughts are appreciated!
Please help!
Savannah
