Listless puffer
Posted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 3:24 am
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.
pH = 7.4
Ammonia = 0.25-0.5 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 0-5 ppm
Salinity = 1.01
Temp = 79 degrees F
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.
2 GSP, 20 gallon. Purchased a 60 gallon on craigslist today and will move the fish to this one when I have my area setup.
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)
Just bought the fish 5 days ago. One day before adding the puffer fish I put some waste on the bottom of my betta fishes bowl and my betta fishes hammock in the puffer fish tank in hopes that I would add some beneficial bacteria. Feeding twice a day. Fed the fish bloodworms, frozen clam, freeze dried shrimp, live brine shrimp. Added instant ocean marine salt from 1.003-1.01 yesterday. Tank is uncycled (doing fish in cycling). I've used prime water conditioner to temporarily neutralize ammonia and nitrite even if there is low levels of it. I created a bag of crushed coral using cheese cloth and rubber band in order to slowly increase the pH of the tank.
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.
When I added the salt yesterday I added quite a bit after reading a forum post saying that the best conditions for the fish to be in even while juvenille is marine salinity level. Therefore, I increased the spec. grav. from 1.003-1.01. One puffer fish which is smaller than the other is doing fine and is engaged when I come near the tank. The other puffer is not doing well and this is the one I am concerned about. The puffer is listless and is not eating. He was eating small amounts when I purchased him, but now he is eating nothing. He also has been suctioned onto the filter nozzle twice and when I pushed him off of it he acts like nothing happened nor is it concerned with anything around it. When the other puffer comes nearby the fish does slowly back away from it. Usually a fish darts away. The colors of the puffer are a white belly with green and black spots, but they are dulled. I am hoping that I did not add too much salt and shock the fish to the point where it will die, but it was not acting too energetic when I bought it anyways. He also has a strange ring just below his lower jaw which is a perfect gray/pink circle. I am wondering if this fish is suffering from a parasitic infection. I plan on doing a 50% water change this sunday.
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.
Aquarium set up for 1 week and I am doing fish in cycling.
pH = 7.4
Ammonia = 0.25-0.5 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 0-5 ppm
Salinity = 1.01
Temp = 79 degrees F
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.
2 GSP, 20 gallon. Purchased a 60 gallon on craigslist today and will move the fish to this one when I have my area setup.
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)
Just bought the fish 5 days ago. One day before adding the puffer fish I put some waste on the bottom of my betta fishes bowl and my betta fishes hammock in the puffer fish tank in hopes that I would add some beneficial bacteria. Feeding twice a day. Fed the fish bloodworms, frozen clam, freeze dried shrimp, live brine shrimp. Added instant ocean marine salt from 1.003-1.01 yesterday. Tank is uncycled (doing fish in cycling). I've used prime water conditioner to temporarily neutralize ammonia and nitrite even if there is low levels of it. I created a bag of crushed coral using cheese cloth and rubber band in order to slowly increase the pH of the tank.
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.
When I added the salt yesterday I added quite a bit after reading a forum post saying that the best conditions for the fish to be in even while juvenille is marine salinity level. Therefore, I increased the spec. grav. from 1.003-1.01. One puffer fish which is smaller than the other is doing fine and is engaged when I come near the tank. The other puffer is not doing well and this is the one I am concerned about. The puffer is listless and is not eating. He was eating small amounts when I purchased him, but now he is eating nothing. He also has been suctioned onto the filter nozzle twice and when I pushed him off of it he acts like nothing happened nor is it concerned with anything around it. When the other puffer comes nearby the fish does slowly back away from it. Usually a fish darts away. The colors of the puffer are a white belly with green and black spots, but they are dulled. I am hoping that I did not add too much salt and shock the fish to the point where it will die, but it was not acting too energetic when I bought it anyways. He also has a strange ring just below his lower jaw which is a perfect gray/pink circle. I am wondering if this fish is suffering from a parasitic infection. I plan on doing a 50% water change this sunday.
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.
Aquarium set up for 1 week and I am doing fish in cycling.