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Valentini help please!

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:53 am
by Friendlyfish
Please please help ASAP

My valentini has been lethargic and laying down all day.
Seems puffed buy hard to tell from angle. No marks and usual color. Breathing seems labored and hastened.
Appears in distress
Rescued an already established tank last year. Got everything stabilized and everything has been going well- fish, coral, parameters all happy.
Been trying to find more info and looked through threads , but am not finding my exact situation and getting really nervous for puff.
Yesterday, While doing some regular maintenence, the magnetic scrubber fell near my valentini. It didn't look like it hit puff, but it did scare him and he puffed a little and was a little more wary instead of his usual following me around the tank.
He started acting more lethargic last night and seems puffed again , but I do not remember him looking so puffed last night. He has been laying down on the bed on the tank since yesterday evening. He ate some music this morning, but didn't react at all during dinner.

After the magnet fell, I was mid 25% water change and only observed him for a short while, other than being a bit more wary, and puffing a bit, he was acting normal.

Here are changes/variables that happened yesterday:
25% water change
Added new frags( frags clean and no chemicals or hitchhikers)
Scrubbed walls with magic eraser
Normal feeding.
Lighting was a little different than usual to help acclimate frags
I usually try to wait to change filter floss opposite water changes, but changed it just in case today.

1) Your water parameters -
pH- between 7.8 and 8 -just recently was getting lower readings (winter?)
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates between 5 and 10
salinity 1.025

2) 42 gallon
Fish- valentini, angel, hawk, file,
Other- urchin, snails, hermit, mussel, and variety of corals- Kenya tree, palys xenia, duncan, mushroom, candy cane.
All corals and other fish are doing good and look and acting healthy.
 
3) sparse TDO pellet in morning, mysis cube evening- i defrost and feed slowly do not give full amount unless they eat quickly. Give seaweed about 2xs a week sometime more. I have tried giving puffer an array of class, snails, shrimp... doesn't eat any of them. He does hunt the critters in the live rock at night though.

Water change- 25- 50 % change every week, occasionally every other, but not often.
I have rodi at home and use tropic marine salts.
I do not add anything to tank. I tests parameters weekly and sometimes daily especially when something is off- been trying to get ph higher and nitrates lower so have been doing more 50% changes than 25 and weekly changes.
Have protein skimmer, floss, live rock

4)isted above but also:
Had usually used hakari music butt LFS was out of them so bought sanfransisco brand instead.
Put in new T 5 light bulbs Sunday night
Was reccomended to use magic erasers to clean- they aren't suppose to have any additives but I rinsed them in ro water thoroughly before using... can't think of anything else

5) took in aquarium Dec of last year- i believe in had been running for few years. I took all water and it did not recycle.

Re: Valentini help please!

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 1:20 pm
by Infinity8
It sounds like you’re really doing everything you can for him. Fingers crossed. When you say magic erasers, do you mean like...the mr. clean ones? Did you use one the day before puff started having issues??

I hope he’s been okay in the time that’s passed.

Re: Valentini help please!

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 3:51 pm
by Friendlyfish
Thank you for your reply. PufferPunk was amazingly helpful and was messaging with me. Puff did pass early the next morning. I still do not know exactly what happened, but will not ever use magic erasers again. He is so greatly missed- everyone else is doing well.
They are just a melamine sponge and had been recommended by many people and fish groups and I thought I had researched thoroughly, but some hypothesize that fibers can go into the water. I had only used them that week and will not be using them again- the tank is acrylic and has quite a few scratches. Hopefully will find an affordable glass peninsula in the bear future.
Thank you all so much for all the advice and help on this forum. Hope everyone and their aquatic families are well

Re: Valentini help please!

Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:50 pm
by Infinity8
Oh goodness, I’m so sorry you lost him. The community here really is wonderful. I appreciate you letting me know what happened! Your experience will help someone else down the line I’m sure. I’m glad the rest of your tank is doing well. Maybe another puff some day- the orange spotted tobies have similar requirements and are quite striking!

Best of luck to you!