valantini saddle puffer

cav414

Member
Water is clean and my current parameters are pH 8.2, nitrate 5ppm, nitrite 0, ammonia 0, salinity 1.023, temp 80*F. My damsel is very dosile and they are best friends in fact. They usually swim together and play. They have never fought that I have seen.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
If you had a quarantine tank, you could try a course of antibiotics.
 

cav414

Member
I don't have one but I may be setting one up today. I'm getting another water change ready now.
 
If you're making a quarantine, put lots of water from the tank he was in. A sick and weak fish won't stand much changes of parameters
 

cav414

Member
I was going to use all water from my tank, but all I have is a 5 gallon bucket and it would be Wednesday before I could get meds.

I gotta vent for a minute. I am on a Facebook group for saltwater aquariums and I see people all the time who set up a tank and then that's it. They don't research anything and other than algae outbreaks from time to time their tanks do good. I however care about my fish and do my maintanace and research, and have already had one fish die for unexplained reasons and it looks like I'm about to have a second die. Its a little frustrating.
 
You can't win them all but we can fight for their lives. Dont put substrate on the quarantine and put a piece of rock or something he could recognise
 

cav414

Member
IMG_20140901_162115_391.jpg
Okay so I ran to the store and found a 2 gallon plastic container. I have him in it with a piece of live rock. He barely even tried to get away. The smallest power head I have is 350 gph. Should I put it in there?
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Yes, but you should also have waited until the QT was ready to receive the fish. DON'T GO IN HASTE in the hobby. You should have waited until you had options for filtering and meds on hand. Put some dark black background on the back of the tank. Sick fish need seclusion. How did you remove the puffer from the display??

What is your plan for filtration, and keeping water quality good?

See if you can get Maracyn 2 for saltwater fish.
 

cav414

Member
Sorry I had to go on a 911 and just got back. I have a small hob filter but the power head is to much for him. I am going to be doing daily water changes to help with the water quality. To catch him I used my hand and a fine mesh net so that if he puffed up he wouldn't get hurt. He didn't even try to run away. He is still about the same, he is very lethargic but still alive. Should I put him back in the DT? I really don't want him to die but, I definitely don't want him to die and pollute my DT. I'm going try and get someone to go to the LFS for me tomorrow while I'm on duty to pick up the meds.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
No you have in the QT now, so best to leave him. You need to get the filter running. What are you using for water circulation. Remember the med I suggested above. That is what you will need to start with.

For future info, never remove a pufferfish from water. Never. You corral the fish into a small container or a large ziplock with water from the tank, then move the fish. Never have the fish out of water or netted. Worst thing to do when transferring fish, and especially puffs.
 

cav414

Member
Okay thank you for the info beth I will remember that. And the people on the puffer forum said that it is a skin infection and to treat with melafex. So should I do both just in case? As far as flow I pointed the power head strait at the bottom and it cut down on some of the force. I also have it covered as best I can so he feels safe.
 

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Sorry to hear this, cav.

Melafix is pretty useless as far as treating anything so don't ever bother using it.

When dealing with fish illness the best practice is to consider treatment options slowly. Its important to try to ID the problem before jumping into action on treatment. I know that people feel the need to "do something fast" because their pet is ill. But for fish at least, unless you know what that something should be, its best to take sure steps to address a specific problem. Also, many hobbyists who may know specifics about a fish, are not necessarily the best choice for advise when it comes to diseases. Its not a favorite area to investigate for hobbyists but if you are going to keep fish, its a good idea to acquire that knowledge.
 

cav414

Member
Thanks beth and I will definitely be studying up on fish illness and treatments. I really appreciate all the help y'all. I wish I knew what it was that got him though. It surprises me how difficult it is to find info on fish illness unless its ich.
 
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