The Puffer Forum

Oh my gosh, I was devestated. I stuck my hand in his tank and it was so hot, 100 degrees, I almost died. I put some ice cubes and ice frozen thingys to cool it off and then i hooked up the python and sucked up about half of the hot water and put cool water in replace but not to cool cuz i didnt want to stunn him. we got it down to 76 range 78 before we went to bed. He made it thru the night and i noticed the krill was gone from when i went to feed him and noticed the water was hot. So at some point he ate. He was so stunned or in shock that i actually had my hand around him and was physically rubbing the top of his head it was the best thing I ever felt. Like a mom to fish cuz i have no kids so it was a moment. He seems to be doing fine I just thank god I put my hand in there when i fed him or i wouldnt of noticed and had a cooked puffer in the morning.

What brand heater were you using? Just curious, certian brands have a bad rep, even the ones that always "were" good.

its probably happened to all of us, thank goodness you caught it in time.

I would not recommend using ice or frozen things to lower the temp, as it will lower it too fast and can shock them. Small partial water changes repeatedly with slightly cooler water will lower the temperature better at a slower rate.

If you use ice in sealed containers/ziploc bags, frozen water bottles or "freezer packs" sealed in ziploc bags, it can be as good as or better than cooler water changes. You don't want to add ice though that will melt directly into the tank or cold water, causing cold spots, you want the cold to gradually warm up the water flowing past it.

I agree Myaj I'm sure I've said it before but I have a large bottle of frozen water or ice as most people call it When placed in the tank with the lid on its acts like reverse of a hot water bottle and as the cold dissipates it cools the tank

Myaj wrote:If you use ice in sealed containers/ziploc bags, frozen water bottles or "freezer packs" sealed in ziploc bags, it can be as good as or better than cooler water changes. You don't want to add ice though that will melt directly into the tank or cold water, causing cold spots, you want the cold to gradually warm up the water flowing past it.

I didnt know how long the water had been hot i know it hadnt been like a whole day or night cuz i always got my face or hands in or by thier tanks. We held the ice cubes in our hands til they melted which wasnt long and then like swirled it around i only used a few. But the Icees frozen blue things like you put in a cooler i put one of those i there and then it was still way hot but we got it down to 80 which i knew was compfy for him and i swirled my hands to check for cold spots and there wasnt any. He was very still and let me do whatever i needed to do. He seems to be fine now the water has been the same now for a whole day and night so. He is ok i hope

Same thing happened to me once, only it was my discus and she cooked. Lucky you caught it in time. I hope all turns out ok.

fishlover420 wrote:I didnt know how long the water had been hot i know it hadnt been like a whole day or night cuz i always got my face or hands in or by thier tanks. We held the ice cubes in our hands til they melted which wasnt long and then like swirled it around i only used a few. But the Icees frozen blue things like you put in a cooler i put one of those i there and then it was still way hot but we got it down to 80 which i knew was compfy for him and i swirled my hands to check for cold spots and there wasnt any. He was very still and let me do whatever i needed to do. He seems to be fine now the water has been the same now for a whole day and night so. He is ok i hope

Make sure you watch your ammonia/nitrite levels closely for the next week or so, even though your fish survived, your nitrifying bacteria colony may not have been so lucky.

I would buy a new heater (my personal choice are visi-therm stealths, I've never had a problem with them) and a thermometer so you can monitor the temp. I like the sticker ones on the outside of the tank, some people say they are inaccurate, but they work well for me.

anothere thing to consider is the reduced amount of oxygen at higher temperatures, I would look to get more surface agitation by aiming powerheads up to the surface or get a bubbler, you want a nice ripple on the surface. Then get to the LFS and geta reputable heater

I've had this problem twice using penn-plax heaters, though I'm not sure if this is a universal problem with them as the two heaters I had were ancient. Now I use Visi-Therm submersible heaters and I haven't had a problem. Be sure to use some sort of in-tank thermometer as the stick-on types aren't very accurate and IME get worse with age.

I'm glad to hear he is ok, it was a close call.

Hate to disagree but stick-on thermometers have been proven to be quite accurate when used correctly (above the substrate, etc.) but for larger tanks, more than one should be used as there can be hot and cold spots sometimes from the current not getting everywhere equally.

I only use Visi-Therm Stealth heaters, will never again use another glass heater.

jake_vdb wrote:

fishlover420 wrote:I didnt know how long the water had been hot i know it hadnt been like a whole day or night cuz i always got my face or hands in or by thier tanks. We held the ice cubes in our hands til they melted which wasnt long and then like swirled it around i only used a few. But the Icees frozen blue things like you put in a cooler i put one of those i there and then it was still way hot but we got it down to 80 which i knew was compfy for him and i swirled my hands to check for cold spots and there wasnt any. He was very still and let me do whatever i needed to do. He seems to be fine now the water has been the same now for a whole day and night so. He is ok i hope

Make sure you watch your ammonia/nitrite levels closely for the next week or so, even though your fish survived, your nitrifying bacteria colony may not have been so lucky.

I would buy a new heater (my personal choice are visi-therm stealths, I've never had a problem with them) and a thermometer so you can monitor the temp. I like the sticker ones on the outside of the tank, some people say they are inaccurate, but they work well for me.

Ok so i just tested the water for the puffer and i have a liquid test kit and the ammonia is 0 and the nitrites is 0 his ph level is real high like 8.0 to 8.4. I was just wondering why u would think i wouldnt have a thermometer in there. Actually when i got the tank it has a outside sticky one like u said u use. and from the hydrometer has a digital theremometer and i have a floaty one so lets see sounds like i have 3. Then i bought the heater from walmart the $30.00 one for the 29 gal tank size so i didn't go cheap there.

I want to add sand and some fake coral for him with some caves but how in the heck do you rinse sand????????? I won't do anything til i hear from a few of you. Right now he has nothing on the bottom. Oh and with the sand will real plants grow ok in that??????? The flow from the filter is heavy and sometimes i slow that down and i do have a bubbler in there. Let me know peeps.

Gosh, the really good Jager heaters are under $20! I cooked a breeding pair of gobies & their fry once... You're not alone here. Great that you caught it in time. Your puffer should be kept at a steady pH around 8.

Boxermom wrote:Hate to disagree but stick-on thermometers have been proven to be quite accurate when used correctly (above the substrate, etc.) but for larger tanks, more than one should be used as there can be hot and cold spots sometimes from the current not getting everywhere equally.

My newish ones are ok (still prefer in-tank ones though), but I have two that are about 10-15 years old and they read 3 separate temperatures.

fishlover420 wrote: I was just wondering why u would think i wouldnt have a thermometer in there.

Sorry, you said in your post "I stuck my hand in his tank and it was so hot, 100 degrees, I almost died." I just assumed you didn't have a thermometer.