The Puffer Forum

Hello,
I appreciate in advance any help anyone can give me on this.
Here is my tank info:
___________
75 Gal. Marine w/gravel and fake rock
Been fully cycled for one year now - I used Damsels to cycle.
Have 2 fish: Golden Puffer (approx. 8") and a Maroon Clown (3")
PH: between 7.7 and 8.0
NH3: 0
NO2: 0.3 mg/l
NO3: 20 ppm
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It all began when I got behind on water changes about 2 months ago and the PH got really low (I lost 3 fish from that and these last two are the survivors).... I used a buffer along with frequent water changes to raise the PH (which I know now was probably not the best thing to use).
My puffer got blister bubbles all on his belly during this period and they seem to have gotten worse this past 2 weeks.
The PH got under control - then the NitrAtes went up, and up and up.
Come to find out my RO system was in bad need of a filter change. I changed the filters and have done a 15 gal change two days ago and then a 25 gal water change today - I tested the water right after the change to see what the NitrAtes were registering and the color did not move a bit!
Is it bad to keep changing and changing out the water? How long should it take to see a difference in my NitrAtes? Should I be concerned about the blisters on his stomach?
Here is my second problem:
I purchased Silverfish from my LFS because I have been reading on this forum about teeth getting long - and I was scared that mine were too long although his appetite has been fine (feed him cubbed krill which he likes to eat the cube whole).
This past week he has lost both of his top teeth and although it does not seem to affect his appetite - I am wondering if I should be concerned.
Again, any advice offered is greatly appreciated!

When you say he eats the cube whole, is it still frozen?
Changing the water shouldn't do any harm, but it's a bit odd that there's no nitrAtes...wondering of your tank's crashed.
Can you get us the results for ammonia and nitrItes as well?
Pami.

Hi,
When he eats the whole cube it has been thawing in tank water... I just try to float it into the tank so it doesn't fall apart - it seems to be easier for him to eat it that way - it is not hard when he eats it. I will admit that he likes to bite all of the equipment in the tank and some of the fake plants and rocks... I think maybe that is how he lost his teeth. I am just wondering if he will be okay and has anyone ever heard of a puffer breaking off his teeth.... or is this an impossibility and maybe losing his teeth was due to the chemical imbalance in the thank....
There are NitrAtes - it is the NO3 number I gave you and it is at 20 ppm.
The amonia tests at zero and the nitrItes tests at 0.05 ppm - which is suppose to be in range.
Thanks again for any input!

Any nitrItes are very toxic to puffers, so you need to up the water changes and test daily till it's gone. There should be no detectable nitrIte at all. This is v. impo.
It's poss that he's broken his teeth...if it's not affecting his appetite, I wouldn't worry too much..they'll grow back.
Pami.

Can you post a photo of your puffer? I'm not familiar with the name "Golden Puffer". Is it a Dogface Puffer?

What's the salinity, and what kind of skimmer are you using?

I would be very concerned about blisters on the stomach. Get those nitrites to zero ASAP, using as many water changes as necessary. I presume you're premixing the salt with replacement water several hours prior to water changes?

If you can, please tell us more about your maintenance regimen.

Good luck!

Hello Bred,
Thanks for the interest in my delima. The situation has still not changed. It is hard for me to do a water change every day because my RO tank is only 5 gallons and it takes a full day to fill up 20 gallons of buckets, so right now I am doing the water changes every other day (and I mix the salt the day before).
My salinity is at about 1.016 and 1.017.
I use a Remora Skimmer (I also use one of those sterile light things).
My regular maintenance plan was to do water changes every 2-3 weeks. During the change I check and clean if necessary one of the two filter systems I use (then the next water change I check the other filter). I clean the filters either by rinsing them in tank water before I dump it or I put in a clean filter (I have a Filstar and an Eheim filter system). I have cleaned out the ceramic beads and rocks once a couple of months ago in used tank water because it looked gunky. I changed the spongy black filter and the charcoal bag in the Filstar probably one month ago.
I feed both of the fish once a day and they eat one or two blocks of krill and a little bit of silverfish. I make sure that they are eating all food and I scoop what they don't eat.
I am not sure how to attach a pic of my puffer but here is a website that I found that has a pic of one: http://www.marinedepotlive.com/golden-p ... ffers.html

Thanks again for all of the info and support![/img]

That sounds pretty good.

When you lost those fish 2 months ago, did that coincide with you cleaning the filter?

Other things:
Two reasons why you should thaw the krill in a bowl of water, rather than placing the cube in the tank. 1) Ingesting frozen food may well harm your fish, and 2) pre-thaw and pre-rinse will keep all the smaller food particles from gunking up your tank. This is probably contributing a huge amount to your nitrate levels.

The best foods for crunch are snails, crabs, crayfish, cockles, and other shellfish. Silversides aren't going to help substantially with the teeth. Once your puff has teeth again, consider varying up his diet.

Sounds good, thanks for the advice.
I am just going to continue the water changes and monitor the filters and see what happens.

Thanks Everybody!

You might want to try a little Melafix to help heal up those blisters. I've seen it work wonders on Puffer wounds. Make sure you have extra aeration in the tank if you use it. (It can lower the oxygen level).

Feathers&Fins wrote:Make sure you have extra aeration in the tank if you use it. (It can lower the oxygen level).

Where did you read that, F&F?

Me thinks me is mistaken. That's what I get for posting so late at night/early in the morning. I must have been recalling upping the heat to treat for ick, then Melafixing. (It was the higher temperature that lowered the oxygen level, not the Melafix).

It happens... Everyone gets 3 grace mistakes, then we start with the removal of limbs.

Limbs, or fins?

We'll make you choose....you or your puffer....heh heh!
Pami.