The Puffer Forum

Friday- purchased GSP from a freshwater tank

set up freshwater tank- did not cycle (I'm not even sure what this is)
puff looked like he had fungus...

Spent the weekend reading and researching...he had the little yellow dots and some white cotton on his skin...

I added some aquarium salt- 1TBS

he seemed to be doing OK otherwise

Monday- bought Rid Ich+ and added 2 tsp to water (it's a 20 gallon tank)
added 1 TBS aquarium salt and raised the temp from 78 to 80

Monday night- puff was at the bottom of the tank curled in a little ball- I did an emergency 40% water change and he started swimming again.

I also fed him 2-3 snails and added two pH stabilizing tablets (Fritz brand) set at 7.5

Also, I used some quick dip test strips and all the indicators seemed ok...the alkalinity seemed a little low but I attributed that to the fact that I don't have a saltwater tank

he was ok but was swimming against the wall for a really long time

Tuesday morning- added another half dose of Rid Ich+ since I'd changed so much water...he was ok for a while

then at 11:45 I noticed he was balled up in the corner again

I immediately took out 20% of the water and he started swimming again. I didn't replace it yet since I was thinking about starting to add some brackish water to bring up the salinity.

I just did another test strip check and it all seems ok except Nitrites are inching in between safe 0 and caution .5

Anyway, any insights you might give me would be very much appreciated. Frankly I'm wearing thin and wondering if I've made a colossally bad investment here.

I know I know.. I should have cycled the tank...

Welcome! I'm going to try to help you and your puffer, but I'm typing fast since I have a meeting to get to, no offense intended if I seem a bit curt. First, if the tank isn't cycled, you can't wait until he's nearly suffocated before performing water changes - every day you need to change 50% of his water. Second, throw away the test strips. In the trash. They aren't accurate and are usually outdated, get a full set of liquid reagent tests. Third, throw the rid ich out. In the trash. Next, throw the aquarium salt out. In the trash. (unless you have some FW fish you might potentially have to treat for ich someday) If you can find it, buy Biospira. If not, you have to do 50% daily water changes until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some measure able nitrate. Don't buy anything they try to sell you to cycle the tank other than biospira, it won't work, just drain your wallet, and be something else to throw out, in the trash. You need to buy marine salt mix for this puffer, I use instant ocean for mine this will buffer the ph as well, so you can throw those PH stabilizer tablets in the trash, too. Follow the directions on the package, and buy a refractometer or hydrometer to make sure you are mixing the salt water accurately. Slowly add very low salinity water, about 1.002, to the tank as your change water. This along with elevated temperature will kill the ich and give your puffer a more suitable environment. You will eventually need a 30 gallon tank for this fish, so if you can return your 20 and get a 30 now, you will save money in the long run and not have to cycle another tank later.

I too had a GSP who got very sick, and I lost him last night. I hope all turns out well with yours. Another member pointed out a great article on this site. It is by PufferPunk, its under the Learn drop down menu above, Puffer Library, Puffers in Focus, and the article is called "An Introduction to Green Spotted Puffers". I found this very helpful.

thanks for the replies...

I could not find Biospira so out of deperation bought the stuff the guy at the LFS said worked (Stability by Seachem) May be a waste but felt I had to something

Did a 30% change in the morning, added some saline water and the stability

Came home and he was curled up in a ball again...did a 50% water change again and he's now swimming though mostly near the top and sides

I've stopped using the Rid Ich+. My instinct is to get the tank stable and then deal with the fungal thing.

He's still got an appetite which seems positive...

My hydrometer is not registering the salt additon yet, I'm wondering if with all the water changes if it's going to be effective...

Also, am only running the filter that came with the tank..is this enough...

Anyway, thanks for the help! It is encouraging.

Sorry about the puff loss, Z-factor

You have to mix brackish water with the marine mix to use for each water change, doing it the day before is better to be sure it's totally disolved, but with such a low salinity it will disolve near instantly so it's not as big a deal. With 50% daily changes at 1.002, your tank will read a bit above 1.001 in two days, and by 4 days should read just about 1.002 solid. Leave the SG there until the tank fully cycles, using water at SG 1.002 for all changes. What marine salt did you get, I may say instant ocean, but any marine mix is ok, instant ocean is just one of the cheapest and works well for me. If you have the water bobbing hydrometer, it won't really read properly unless it's in totally still water in a separate container.

Nothing other than Bio-Spira, will cycle your tank. It's the only product that contains LIVE bacteria. Everything else contains dead bacteria & can hurt your tank.