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Stars and Stripes Puffer

post #1 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:01am
Thread Starter 

Help!

Our stars and stripes puffer has been suffering from what I believe to be ich.

He is creating very hard, his eyes are a bit sunken, and hasn't eaten in about 2 days.

We treated our DT with Ich Attack and didn't notice any difference.  We then did a water change and started using melafix and pima fix, thinking that maybe this isn't ich at all.

 

No one else in the tank has any spots or is displaying erratic behavior.

 

What should we do??

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post #2 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:02am
Thread Starter 

Oops.....breathing very hard.

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post #3 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:19am

You should set up a hospital tank ASAP....STOP treating the DT asap too

 

Can you post a picture?    You know if it is ich the whole tank is affected ......ichattack does not work.....hypo (IMO) would be the best way to go...BUT you have totreat all your fish, and leave the DT empty of fish for 6-8 weeks

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post #4 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer View Post

You should set up a hospital tank ASAP....STOP treating the DT asap too

 

Can you post a picture?    You know if it is ich the whole tank is affected ......ichattack does not work.....hypo (IMO) would be the best way to go...BUT you have totreat all your fish, and leave the DT empty of fish for 6-8 weeks



+1,+1,+1,+1,+1.........to infinity

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post #5 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:40am
Thread Starter 

Sorry....don't have a pic to post.

Not sure it really is ich because it is just the puffer that seems to be affected.

Have 2 other large fish that are not affected at all.

The puffer is really breathing heavy...added a pump to increase oxygen flow.

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post #6 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:43am

You should also make up some new SW and do a water change to get the meds out of the dt

 

what are your exact water parameters?   and tank stats? (tank size, age, equip etc)

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post #7 of 42
2/22/12 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 

It is a fish only 125 gallon tanks with live rock and some sand as the substrate.  It is a well established tank, of about 7 years.  Have had the fish that are now in there for the majority of the tank life.  Puffer is about 6 years of age?....Nitrites are 0, nitrates tend to run high around 40, ammonia is 0, and ph around 8.

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post #8 of 42
2/22/12 at 8:50am
Thread Starter 

I do have a protein skimmer and UV sterilizer as well.  I just don't know why the sudden outbreak of ich (or whatever it is) came from.  Having  used the melafix and pima fix for 3 days now, I have seen an improvement in my puffer, but not thrilled with his behavior.  Hasn't eaten, pretty lethargic and breathing heavy, especially at rest.  When he does get up to move around he doesn't breath as hard.  Any other suggestions?  Will definitely do a water change.

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post #9 of 42
2/22/12 at 9:04am

I think I have read that those medications affect the oxygen levels also...could be a reason for the heavy breathing..

 

w/o a picture it is hard to say what it could have......is the puffer still eating?   Do you have any vitamins?   

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post #10 of 42
2/22/12 at 9:18am
Thread Starter 

No, he hasn't eaten in about 3 days.  Have been using garlic as a supplement to the food.  Have some vitamins too, can add them the next time I feed him.

I will try to post a pic.

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post #11 of 42
2/22/12 at 9:37am
Thread Starter 

20120222122340.jpg

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post #12 of 42
2/22/12 at 10:33am

What are the other two fish?

Did anything change in the tank/get added to the tank? Even something as silly as snails, etc?

 

Was he full grown when you got him?

 

What have you tried feeding? 

 

Obviously you know how to care for this fish as you've had it for multiple years, so please don't take my questions as insulting your care of it. I'm just trying to see the whole picture. My gut says that it might just be old age...

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post #13 of 42
2/22/12 at 10:48am
Thread Starter 

Believe me, I am not offended.....just desperate to help the little guy out!  Or big guy, I should say as he is full grown.  I have a porkfish and an angel, both sturdy and long tank inhabitants.  In addition, I have 2 small damsels in there as well.  A yellow tail and a striped damsel. We have had other inhabitants in the past but have lost them over the years.  We have not had any kind of disease outbreak in many years.

 

Have been feeding/attempting to feed mussels, clams, shrimp, anything he will eat.  He was a baby when we got him, probably like 6 years old now.  Been attempting to feed him by hand but he really wants no part of it.

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post #14 of 42
2/22/12 at 10:59am

What makes you think this fish has ich?  Do you see any spots? Are you familiar with ich? Please describe symptoms in detail.

 

Have you done the water change as suggested?

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post #15 of 42
2/22/12 at 12:49pm
Thread Starter 

He has an almost sandpaper appearance to him.....or did, when we used the IchAttack for 3 or 4 days.  The sandpaper appearance seems to have lessened, but he still hasn't eaten.

Have not done the water change yet, but did increase the aeration.

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post #16 of 42
2/22/12 at 1:41pm

You need to do the water change.

 

What does sandpaper mean?  Does the fish have ich spots?  There are examples of ich here:

 

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/127010/diseased-fish-pictures#post_914785

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post #17 of 42
2/22/12 at 3:26pm
Thread Starter 

He has a "sandpaper" appearance, not sure what it is....though he does look better than a few days ago.  Still not eating.  Water change done.

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post #18 of 42
2/22/12 at 4:51pm
Thread Starter 

His skin almost looks "leathery" if that makes sense, still hasn't eaten.  How long can he go without eating? I did see him poop today, which was some kind of chalky white substance.....

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post #19 of 42
2/22/12 at 5:22pm

He can go awhile without eating.  Post your water readings.  What you describe is not the symptoms of ich.  What do you have running in the tank for circulation?

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post #20 of 42
2/22/12 at 6:01pm
Thread Starter 

Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates around 40, and have been for years, PH running 8.1.  Salinity .02

We had the skimmer off and the UV sterilizer.  Have 3 pumps.....and the wet/dry pump.

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