What Have I Done?!?!?!?!

[microman2k]

ok...i'm a little stressed right now...
about a month ago i purchased a green spotted puffer..it was in freshwater...and i was told on here to acclimate it to .012 and then raise the salinity a point or two every 5-7 days...well i had and everything was going great...and i was adding in saltwater last night..and i raised the salinity way to high by accident..it went from like .015-.016 to .023-.024 !!
i did not realize this until this morning...and the puffer seemed really sluggish all day long..just sitting in one spot in the tank..definitly weird..he is usually swimming around all day long...so i planned to slowly take the salinity down to .015-.016 when i got back from taking my final today..and when i come back...the puffer has a hole in his stomach!!
i feel beyond bad...and i don't know what to do...

 

[watson3]

That is weird, but if you read ALOT of other posts on here about changing the salinity it was in a matter of hours that worked the best...

 

[microman2k]

ahh...well..he was doing fine..until i accidently put too much salt in the water i did his water change with...and he is all dark..not his normal bright color...and i looked again..and now i can't find the hole...but he isnt eating like he used to either...any ideas on what i should do? leave it all full salt? bring him back down??

 

[watson3]

You werent adding salt directly to the water right? Was this hole on his belly his poop chute?

 

[microman2k]

nope, i premixed the salt and added it in...well it looked like the hole was on his belly...but i checked it again and now it is gone...it was so weird...maybe it was just his pinched belly...where he isn't eating..but i look now and it is gone...and his belly isn't even pinched...

 

[bonebrake]

I would leave it the way it is now. Lowering it back down will just make him even more stressed out than he already is. Sit back and hope for the best.
:joy:

 

[microman2k]

ok its gonna be a long wait though, it will kill me if he dies though...i really like this fish...i get attatched too easily...if there is anything i could do..i'd do it!!
i also have a biology final tommorow that i'll have trouble studying for b/c of this!! but if anyone knows anything i can do let me know!! thanks for the help!!

 

[microman2k]

ok, so i got to looking for him and i couldnt find him in the tank...and then i saw he was stuck to the filter but he is still alive...but his stomach..its caved in...like he is starving to death...ANYONE have ANY ideas??? :help:

 

[a2hotz]

My manager at work told me a story about how he did the same thing to a scat. he said he took out about a half a gallon to a gallon every half hour and replaced it with pure fresh water and gave it a squirt of stress coat.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[mt79]

For what it's worth freshly made saltwater shoulde be mixed for ATLEAST 24 hours before use. Most, if not all, salt mixes are semi-toxic until thoroughly mixed, dissolved, and airated(sp?)-despite what the packaging says. There are many articles on line about the toxicity of freshly made saltwater. That may have been part of the problem.

 

[reefkprz]

In my expirience going to full salt should only be done with a fully matured Puffer as there natural envirionment is fresh. I have had several types of puffer the spotted, figure eight, red eye, and more.
Some species off puffers do best in ceartain water types and I am sorry to say that the spotted is more satisfied with fresh water than marine.
below is a list of puffers for fresh and brackish water and the conditions they like best note that none of them are list as marine
f=Fresh b=brackish fb=fresh over brackish bf=brackish over fresh
Common Names WaterScientific Names Maximum Size
Figure Eight Puffer
Eye Spot Puffer
F*Tetraodon biocellatus
6"+
Common Puffer
Avocado Puffer
Oscillated Puffer
F&BTetraodon cutcutia 6"+
Red Line Puffer
Red Striped Toadfish
B&FTetraodon erythrotaenia 3.5"
Target Puffer
Twin Spot Puffer
F&BTetraodon leiurus
Tetraodon fangi 5"
Fahaka Puffer
Nile Puffer
Globe Fish FTetraodon lineatus
(Tetraodon fahaka is invalid.) 6"+
Miurus Puffer
Congo Puffer
FTetraodon miurus 4"+
Mbu Puffer
Giant Puffer
F&BTetraodon mbu 28"+
Green Spotted Puffer
Leopard Puffer
F&BTetraodon fluviatilis
(Tetraodon nigroviridis ?)
6"
King Kong Puffer
Dragon Puffer
NEW
FTetraodon palembangens 8"
Spotted Congo Puffer
FTetraodon schoutedeni 4"
Pig Nose Puffer
Arrowhead Puffer
FTetraodon suvattii 4.5"
Dwarf Puffer
Malabar Puffer FTetraodon travancoricus
(Monotetrus travancoricus is invalid.) 1"
True Red Eye
(Males and Females look very different.)
FCarinotetraodon lorteti
3"
Brazilian Puffer
Amazon Puffer
Freshwater Puffer
F&BColomesus asellus 6"+
Zebra Puffer
Banded Puffer
BColomesus psittacus 12"
I hope this helps I hate being the bearer of bad news. Keep in mind that I am not saying he cant live in marine water but he wont be happy there ever. Sorry