The Puffer Forum

i'm new here, and i have a huge problem...

i had a gsp a few weeks ago that died of ich, which was a horrible experience, considering i did everything right and it had ich when i got it from my lfs

my new one came from the same store because they said that i should just medicate him and he'd be fine [they really do know what they're talking about there, but the puffs' conditions aren't great because of lack of space]

tank conditions: 10 gallons; pH: 8.0; salinity: light brackish [haven't been able to find a hydrometer yet! it's 1 t marine salt to 1 gallon]; temp: 82; tank mate: pleco; ammonia: low

anyways, he was doing fine for a while, but now he's not been eating anything [i've tried snails, shrimp, and bloodworms] and he's swimming kind of jerky and shuddery...

i'm really really worried! is there anything i can do? i've tried searching google and stuff for something useful, but i'm not finding anything.

please help! thank you in advance to anyone who can give me some advice

Start doing water changes! He needs clean water ASAP.

Any ammonia is bad, very bad, for puffers. And a 10 gallon tank is way too small for a GSP, they are messy fish, very sensitive and grow HUGE.

Heck a 10 gallon tank is way too small for a pleco! Those suckerfish grow over a foot long, get him out of there as well!

that's the trouble - there's hardly any way that i can get my hands on a bigger tank.

the lfs told me that my problem was that i was doing too many water changes! :O i don't think i'm going back to them...

i just checked up on him, and the funny thing is that he seems okay...despite the stressed dark coloring and twitchy swimming, he's bumbling around just like before.

another thing, i read that puffs eat a whole lot, and mine doesn't eat at all...that seems like a problem to me...is there any way that this could be affecting him, and if so, how do i get him to eat?

He doesn't eat because he's being poisoned by his own waste. Eating more would make him poo more and make it more toxic for him. He needs 50% water changes every single day until the tank is cycled, so for about 6 weeks. A puffer will always die in an uncycled tank. Your last puffer likely died of New Tank Syndrome, not the ich. The pleco also responds terrible to salt, he'll die at the SG the puffer will eventually need, and adds bioload on the tank. It should go back to the store unless you can get a 55 gallon or larger freshwater tank going on top of the 30 gallon or more brackish puffer tank.

yikes! i was told by the lfs girl, and a handful of reliable sites, that the pleco could be adjusted to brackish...guess not...he seems to be doing awesome right now though

could the puffer have gotten the ich from the new tank? because he did have ich - the cotton spots over his body and the itching on tank furniture...

i just did a 50% water change, so i'll plan on doing those from now on. i'll also look into a larger tank. we tried craig's list, but one of the only things standing in the way was my mom not wanting to drive to lacey to pick up the would-have-been-awesome 60 gallon [rolls eyes]

thank you so much!! this helps a lot!

No problem, I want your puffer to live a long healthy life if possible If the last puffer had ich, this puffer almost certainly got it from the tank, as it takes quite a while to die once it's in the water, a month or so with no fish. Keep up with the salt, and get the temperature up to about 82. That will kill the ich in a couple weeks time. If you can find a product called Biospira, it can cycle the tank right away for you, you would just do one more water change, then pour it into the back of the filter, then do no more water changes for about 3 days. It's kept in the fridge at some fish stores, and costs 15-20$. Don't buy anything else they might try to sell you, no matter what it is, it's bunk, only biospira will work, and other products might make your puffer worse. A pleco can get used to very very light brackish, your puffer is a high end brackish fish that will require water 1/2 to 3/4 as strong as seawater as an adult(what you are doing is fine for now and will help with the ich, don't change the amount of salt until the tank is cycled, and then SLOWLY), and would do well at full marine.

My point is that pleco's are messy fish and he is contributing to poisoning the puffer, along with himself.

No matter what, right now you have to keep that water clean or the fish will die.

Even if you can get a bigger rubbermaid type of a storage tub for a temporary "tank", talk it over with your mom. That isn't an option if you have small brothers or sisters that could fall in and drown though!

that'll be fine - my sister's only a few years younger. thank you so much for the advice! i'll see what i can do