Puffer help!

[JAKEPIN]

My dogface puffer was acting all normal until today. He is now a darkish black color and is still moving, but quite literally bouncing off the tank walls. If i can get anybodys's help, that would be great. Btw, he is in quarantine right now. PLEASE HELP! Parameters are normal.

 

[saltcreep1025]

If you want a reasonable response you need to give more information. Dark and running into the walls isn't a whole lot to go on... What size tank, how old, tankmates, etc

 

[J8kpin]

He was in a 100 gallon with a humu humu trigger, a blue hippo tang,and a porcupine puffer. Update, he died in the quarantine last night. im pretty sure he was old. I had him in the tank for about 4 months

 

[baron1282]

100 gallon tank is way to small for all the animals listed. All of them require a bigger tank!

4 months is not old for a fish, but you only had him in your tank for 4 months?

How old is the tank? What is your test say?

 

[huma-huma]

Jake, judging by your other thread you started, you need to take a minute and re-evaluate your tank. Id put together a complete stock list and go from there. Also dog face puffers get huge, sp unless he was a ft long, id say he wasnt old

 

[JAKEPIN]

The tank is 6 months old. He was my 1st fish to get after my tank was cycled. Personally, i think they were fine in the tank they were in, as ive read that fish grow to the size of your tank. What im trying to find out by going to you guys is what killed my dogface puffer. Im planning to upgrade to a 180 once they get too big to be happy in their current home. The puffer was a black color, when he was normally white. Does anybody know what this means?

 

[huma-huma]

Fish dont grow to the size of the tank, they become stunted. Stunted growth can cause amy sort of health issues. Wed love to help but without specific information and knowing the exact details of the situation.

 

[jwh0818]

The tank is 6 months old. He was my 1st fish to get after my tank was cycled. Personally, i think they were fine in the tank they were in, as ive read that fish grow to the size of your tank. What im trying to find out by going to you guys is what killed my dogface puffer. Im planning to upgrade to a 180 once they get too big to be happy in their current home. The puffer was a black color, when he was normally white. Does anybody know what this means?

See thats the problem. How will YOU know when their too big to be happy? How will YOU know when they are at their max size? Your best bet is do like huma-huma said and re-evaluate your stock list because you cant put fish in a tank thats tok small for them. You have to base the purchase on adult size and if your tank can support adult size.

 

[JAKEPIN]

Ok. Huma huma said for a detailed explanation, here it is. I got home from work two days a go when i went to do my daily tank check and feeding, he was at his usual spot next to the overflow box. When he got off to eat, he was a dark blackish color, when he is normally white. This happened before, but it only lasted for a couple of minutes. He was literally crashing into the tank walls, so i got him in a transportation box and put him in quarantine. His color started to return, but he was still crashing. I keep checking up on him, until 2:00 am when i go to let out my dog, i find him dead in the quarantine.
Parameters are normal, and nothing dropped or anything. Salinity was 1.023, ammonia was 0, nitrite was 0, nitrate was 15, ph was 8.1. If you have any ideas on what problem this situation? Thanks for your support!

 

[TheTodd]

Had it been eating? What were you feeding? How are the other fish? Could the trigger have been bullying it? I've got a Singapore Angel that is bugging my Volitan Lion, which I would never have imagined being a problem. They are going into a 240g soon and I am hoping that solves that issue.

I've got to agree with the others that are saying to re-evaluate your stocking or get a larger tank. One thing that I have seen time and time again in my many years with aquariums is that certain fish need certain amounts of space. Put them in a tank that is too small and things start to go bad. The argument that they are small now does not seem to matter. It seems rational, but nature. Is not always rational. If you spend time reading about people with strange fish problems and/or diseases, it is almost always a fish that is in a "too small" tank. That can't be coincidence.

 

[baron1282]

Ok. Huma huma said for a detailed explanation, here it is. I got home from work two days a go when i went to do my daily tank check and feeding, he was at his usual spot next to the overflow box. When he got off to eat, he was a dark blackish color, when he is normally white. This happened before, but it only lasted for a couple of minutes. He was literally crashing into the tank walls, so i got him in a transportation box and put him in quarantine. His color started to return, but he was still crashing. I keep checking up on him, until 2:00 am when i go to let out my dog, i find him dead in the quarantine.
Parameters are normal, and nothing dropped or anything. Salinity was 1.023, ammonia was 0, nitrite was 0, nitrate was 15, ph was 8.1. If you have any ideas on what problem this situation? Thanks for your support!

The problem is your tank. He kept crashing into walls because he wanted more space. Plus your nitrate is way to high, should all be 0. Nitrate can kill a fish as well. It's a sign of your tank not being fully cycled.

From all my research I did for you, it sounds like he was stressed. Plus the Nitrates can be an issue. In my honest opinion I don't think the tank size is your issue here. I think your tank is not done cycling and the Nitrates are too high. The tank size is a concern because it can cause problems down the road. The crashing into the sides could be a sign of him being stressed because of the tank issues. How often do you do a water change? I would do at least a 20% water change every 2 days for at least a few weeks.

 

[TheTodd]

Nitrates being present does not mean a tank is not cycled, it is ammonia and nitrites that show that. Many tanks will have nitrates, which is partially the reason for regularly scheduled partial water changes. You do want to keep nitrates as close to zero as possible, but they typically don't stay at zero without help.

 

[JAKEPIN]

Ok. I've thought about it, and im gonna take your advice about the stock list. Im thinking of trading in the trigger, because he is getting too aggressive ( I think is about like you said, it could be because of small conditions) . Im thinking of converting to a more fowlr reef fish setup. Would a porcupine puffer work in that along with a blue tang? I know you guys may think my mind is all over, and it kinda is, but this is my first tank,and I unfortunately have learned a little bit the hard way. I know that these fish may outgrow this tank, but I will either trade in or upgrade tank. So, any advice ??? Thanks thetodd for sharing the advice about too big fish. That all ads up now.

 

[TheTodd]

Both of those would do better in a larger (180+) IMO. It could work for a while if they are small, but then my argument about "too small tank" kicks in.

What I would suggest is look at liveaquaria.com for Suggested Tank Sizes. They tend to go larger than places like Bluezooaquatics, but I tend to agree that going big can not hurt...going smaller had potential for negative consequences.

Being all over the place probably happens to most of us. I've got a 240g that I am setting up and I change my stocking list daily.

 

[JAKEPIN]

Okay. I've already looked at liveaquaria , infact, im gonna start using them for future purchases. (Not good stores in Southern California besides stores in LA, which is a 2 hour drive. ) what my main question is is will a porcupine puffer be able to live with small fish like ocellaris clownfish and watchman gobies.

 

[TheTodd]

I am not sure...I have never owned one (thinking about it for my 240g, just not sure).

Where are you in SoCal? I lived in Orange County and used to like the store in Brea and there was one down in Alison Viejo that I liked. I connected with someone on Craigslist that can get just about anything and his prices are much less than any LFS (aussie Harlequin Tusk for $75, Foxface $20, Mystery Wrasse $60, Blue Jaw Trigger $30, etc). I'm going to try him out and see how that goes. He's based out of Cerritos.

 

[JAKEPIN]

I live in riverside. Have you heard of global aquatics?

 

[baron1282]

With a 100 gallon tank you can get all sorts of colorful fish! I personally wouldn't limit myself to a few BIG fish! You can so much color it would be crazy! Get a Six Line Wrasse! They are really cool fish!

Good luck, and the trigger fish is a very good looking fish, but they can be very aggressive and limit your stock list. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if your Dog Face was being chased by him.

 

[JAKEPIN]

Ok. Thanks! By uncle had reef tanks, so I bet he had a six line before. Any others? And also, would a porcupine puffer work with these fish? Im planning on keeping him until he gets too big for the tank.