Gsp Problems

[Gator]

Hello All!

I would like any suggestions regarding our Green Spotted Puffer. We have had him appox 6 weeks, and over the last week and a half he is not doing well. We first noticed dark spot under each eye followed by his belly/tail area turning gray.

He was originally in the common 75g aquarium with a salinity of 1.004. He was moved last Wednesday into a 5.5g isolation tank, salinity 1.008. He is doing worse each day. Today is day 4 of him not eating. I read an old blog that stated he may possibly have parasites. Friday evening we treated him with Jungle Parasite Clear. We did a 25% partial water change this morning and plan on retreating again in a few hours.

Here are a few pics of him last night, his color looks good when he is swimming about... but looks real bad when laying on the bottom... which he does most of the time.

Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks!

http/i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Go...66/P2230280.jpg
http/i159.photobucket.com/albums/t158/Go...66/P2230279.jpg

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Water stats would help. Was the tank cycled? The black could be ammonia burns. How big is the puffer? Depending on how big he is, he could benefit from a higher salinity.

Hope all goes well,
Ryan

 

[Gator]

Water stats would help. Was the tank cycled? The black could be ammonia burns. How big is the puffer? Depending on how big he is, he could benefit from a higher salinity.

Hope all goes well,
Ryan

Thanks Ryan!

I knew I forgot something... lol... Yes, the tank was previously cycled and we are testing the water daily with test strips. Everything looked fine this morning. I would guess he is appox 1 1/2 inches long, still a juvenile I'm assuming.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Yep, still a juvie. That sg should be fine. Do you have the exact water stats? I can't tell from the pics, but is his belly sunken at all? If it is, it could mean internal parasites. Is he flicking or rubbing? What were his tankmates? Did any of them have any symptoms? Was he beat up at all in the other tank? What does his color look like while laying on the bottom?


Ryan

 

[Gator]

Yep, still a juvie. That sg should be fine. Do you have the exact water stats? I can't tell from the pics, but is his belly sunken at all? If it is, it could mean internal parasites. Is he flicking or rubbing? What were his tankmates? Did any of them have any symptoms? Was he beat up at all in the other tank? What does his color look like while laying on the bottom?


Ryan

I do not know the exact water stats, but every one of the 5 things on the test strips appear excellent. No signs of him rubbing and his belly doesn't appear sunken. We did treat him for parasites hoping that would help. His other tankmates were Tetra's and small African Cichlids, and two Danio's. He pretty much had the tank to himself, none of the other fish payed any attention to him at all. He was eating well being fed with forceps. His color is very dark brown while he is laying on the bottom.

 

[BracKeeper75]

In regards to the tank that your puffer is currently in..
Are you using a good Marine Mix, or are you just using Aquarium Salt? (Aquarium Salt Does Not Make A Tank Brackish) Is the Ph in your tank around 8?( It Should Be) I would personally take the sg up to around 1.010 SLOWLY! (with a good marine mix, which will bring up the ph to around 8 as well) if it were me! What is the temp, if he is not feeling well I would raise that a few degrees too( I think 80 is good for these fish in general, i would try raising it 2 degrees)! Are the test strips for both Freshwater and Saltwater, or just freshwater? The tankmates listed will not like the salt or the high ph so IMO it would be better to keep him in his own tank! And if you dont have already, get a test kit that is good for both types of water, that way you get better accurate readings. In closing the needs of this fish are very different that the needs of Your "Average Tropical Fish" Please do a little research and find out exactly what this fish needs to be happy and he will live for a long happy time!

 

[SirMinion]

Unfortunately, those pictures don't seen to work, but by your description, his colour when resting may not be entirely unusual.
Puffers indicate mood by colour change and will often subdue their colours when resting.

I have one other thought: Are you absolutely sure that what you have is Tetraodon nigroviridis the green, spotted puffer? Other species with superficial resemblances are often sold as green-spots including a couple that are true freshwater species. If that's the case, the salt may be doing more harm than good for your little fella.

We keep our Tetraodon nigroviridis at an SG of around 1.005 to 1.010, we feed them cooked prawn, cooked whelk, frozen bloodworm and live river shrimp.

Also: Hello everyone, I'm BAAAAACK!

 

[Gator]

I fixed the links... Whats wrong with aquarium salt? I was told by LFS it was fine... That is the thing one I dislike about this hobby the most... Ask 3 people the same question, you get 3 different answers... ??? Also, the strips are Jungle Quick Dip 6 test, fresh/salt...

We treated another does of parasite clear last night. If parasites are his problem, how long could it take to notice results? Today is day 5 of him not eating...

 

[DarkEntity]

I fixed the links... Whats wrong with aquarium salt? I was told by LFS it was fine... That is the thing one I dislike about this hobby the most... Ask 3 people the same question, you get 3 different answers... ??? Also, the strips are Jungle Quick Dip 6 test, fresh/salt...

We treated another does of parasite clear last night. If parasites are his problem, how long could it take to notice results? Today is day 5 of him not eating...

get a couple of side on images that will help ID him, but if it is a GSP then you need marine salt mix to raise the salinity.

[=side note=]

Welcome back SirMinion how is Martha keeping of late, good i hope

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Strip test kits can be notoriously unreliable, as they can get contaminated easily. I am familiar with these test kits, the "safe" range for these kits sometimes isn't safe at all.

DarkEntity is right, you do need marine salt, not aquarium salt to raise the salinity.

Ryan

PS Happy to see you again SirMinion! How's Martha? Hope all is well.

 

[SirMinion]

Yep, looks like a GSP and yep, it has to be marine salt.

Welcome back SirMinion how is Martha keeping of late, good I hope.

Happy to see you again SirMinion! How's Martha? Hope all is well.

Thank you, she's fine. Nice to be back. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Gator]

Cool, thanks... How do you recommend I change the salt over to marine salt? How many water changes?

I checked the temp, 79* F.

 

[BracKeeper75]

Cool, thanks... How do you recommend I change the salt over to marine salt? How many water changes?

I checked the temp, 79* F.

Do you have a hydrometer? Its a rather inexpensive device used to measure the salinity of water. I would get one and check the salinity of the water. Do a 25% water change and mix the new Marine mix in a bucket to the same sg(making sure it is fully dissolved) and then replace. You can even go up .002/week. Your ultimate goal right now IMO is to get to 1.008-1.010 and then as he grows up to 1.018 or more as an adult. This will make him much more happy.

Temp is ok IMO however with him possibly being ill I would rais it 2-3 degrees!

Never trust LFS employees, always do your own research, as it makes thing much easier in the end.

Aquarium salt does not contain and the minerals and different types of salt that are found in ocean water. It also does not buffer the water to get the desired Ph for this and most brackish fish. Since this fish Lives in Brackish water( where rivers meet "Oceans" ) the best way to mimic this is with marine salt.

 

[DarkEntity]

When mixing a brackish water up remember that the "SG" specific gravity is variable by the water temperature, so mix the water at the temp of the tank for best results.

 

[kimberly*brackish]

ya i have 2 GSP and i love them to death in my 72 gal tank. my sal is at 1.003 ive talk with a great fish store guy about my tank quite often. by his advice and what i have researched while your puffer is still pretty young yet, he doesnt need a high sal!!!! 1.002- 1.005 i would say. then i wouldnt add ne salt for a yr even!! of course with ne brackish tank like thier natural habitat the sal. fluctuates slightly and is good for them! i would NOT recomend bringing up the salt levels! with ne changes in the water they say the belly turns a brown or black splotchy color mine do all the time often after they eat! its completely normal for the bellies to change. not normal if he doesnt eat. what has he been eating? mine eat ghost shrimp freez dryed blood worm and brine shrim along with frozen blood worms and on occasional snail. the puffer actaul has like a beak or ''teeth'' and they grow all thier life they can actualy overgrow so a hard shelled guy to eat is great for the puffer!