Experienced in Puffers and ich? Nothing's working and I need help.

[BToast]

I can't tell you much about this skimmer the ad does'nt, but it does require parts you don't seem to have. How effective it will be I don't know, but it can hang on the back of your tank. Also has nothing to do with an r/o unit, so don't worry about that. Maybe someone with personal experience with this model will chim in. Also, I had the exact skimmer you have in your tank. After adjusting countless times and pulling my hair out, I concluded the best location for this skimmer would be the nearest trash can. Sorry! I finally broke down after years of dealing with the cheap and poorly designed models. I ended up with an aqua c remora, which has been super easy to maintain, not to mention effective. A skimmer is a valuable piece of equipment, but the research in the choosing of the right one is important. I can't believe how many piles of S are still being sold in stores. Hopefully you can get the one you have complete and running. Good luck!

 

[BToast]

Off subject for a second, what stores are you making your purchases from? I'm also in Orange County, and may know some that may be better. I think I've been to just about all the local stores.

 

[davina]

Ok, I found out the model by looking up the brand of the skimmer my friend gave me. Your post was exactly what I saw. I have all the parts but I can't use it without totally tearing up the canopy I custom made and drilling new ports in the acrylic tank, or switching to a custom sump filter...which may be more trouble than it's worth.

I took the advise and added another power head that I had in storage, and guess what? He loved it. He swam in the current and seemed to be much happier. Thanks guys for the advise. So I now basically have a circular current going on. The intake to the filter is at the far end from the wall and the exhaust is at the other closest to the wall...then i put the power head above the exhaust...forcing the water back toward the intake. I hope that makes sense! haha. You can refer to my pics I posted before of my tank.

Puffer still is striking against the rocks, but I really think the white spots on him are debris. Tonight he started closing up one eye...don't know if you puffer owners have ever seen that happen, but it was weird and intriguing. Like I said before, he still has white spots on his eyes....but man, the rest of his body looks as though the spots are on the slime only.

So that leads me back to the whole reason I came here in the first place...the ICH. I decided to put the carbon back in the filter and see how it goes for a couple of days. My ammonia went up to .50 ppm and nitrates went up to 20 ppm! But nitrites were 0 ppm. So I think it really is going through a mini cycle. I don't quite understand why nitrites are 0, being the middle phase, but that's my test results. I did a 6 gal water change on the 60 gal tank. Hopefully that will help. I'll test again tomorrow (today actually) after the water cycles over night.

 

[davina]

I go to The Fish Connection in Placentia on Yorba Linda Blvd and Rose Dr. I don't think their fish are bad...just maybe that the damsels "ruined a good time".

 

[Pufferpunk]

You MUST get those parameters to 0! This will stress the puffer further & then you will see spots.

 

[AndyKatz]

Hi Davina,

I hate to go against the majority, but I do think you have ich. We also have crushed coral and it literally spews dust into the water whenever disturbed, but even when particles collect on the fish's skin it doesn't cause them to rub. Also what you've written about the puffer's eye is consistent with ich.

Regarding the ammonia, it doesn't sound as though you even have a minicycle. It sounds as though you're starting from scratch. Did you remove the live rock when using the copper? My understanding is that copper compounds can be toxic to live rock. If your bacteria inhabited the rock, and it was in the tank during treatment that may explain why your suddenly at the beginning of your cycle.

I agree that more medicine isn't the answer.

If you can, perhaps add more live rock, or swap out some of the rock you have with fresh ones. Keep up your water changes, daily if need be (and I think they do need to be, so long as there's any ammonia in the tank). Maybe some of that emergency Amquel or other appropriate absorbent media for now. Some keepers recommend raising the temp to 82-83 degrees. That increases the parasite's metabolism causing them to die off faster. Not everyone agrees (just as not everyone agrees with fresh water baths). In my experience a puffer should have no problem tolerating that temperature, so I would think it worth a try.

I would also reduce feedings until the ammonia problem is sorted out, because any treatment notwithstanding, stress will render your baby vulnerable to ich or other parasites.

Once the stress level is reduced and water quality restored, *then* consider additional treatment if the ich doesn't resolve on its own.

Hope that helps,

Andy

 

[davina]

This morning after doing the partial water change last night, the ammonia went down to .25 ppm and the nitrates are still at 20 ppm. I added the AmQuel again. I have this stuff called AZ-NO3 Absolute Zero Nitrates. I'm not sure if i should use it or not. It seems really high tech and you have to actually wean the tank off of it over a period of 4 weeks after the nitrates fall to 0. I think it might be safer to let it runs its course and do partial changes.

Ok, I'm uploading a photo so I can respond to Andy and let you guys know what's going on with the meds, the white dots and all that.

 

[davina]

Ok. I didn't use a copper based med because puffers can't have that. I used Rid-Ich + which actually is reef safe and won't kill the biological filter. (But anything is possible I guess). Plus I used 1/2 strength due to the puffers skin being sensitive to burns. It is malachite green and formalin.

Actually I still have little worms and snails on the rocks, so I don't think there was a lot of damage done, but who knows.

I am happy to report that he has totally come around today. :clap: He seems to not want the jumbo shrimp anymore, so I guess I'll be off to the grocery store to try some other foods. He did eat his brine shrimp today and is still begging for food.

I think the combination of everything with the power head, continued water changes and putting the carbon back in helped. He's actually been swimming around for about 3 hours instead of hiding under the rock where he sleeps.

As for the questionable ich, i took this photo this morning on macro setting. You can see the spots at the top, and honestly I really do think it's debris...what kind of debris looks like that in a tank...I have no idea. I think that most likely I got rid of the ich because his eyes look clear today and he just mostly has bubbles on him from the increased oxygen i put in.

HOWEVER....he continues to bang against the rocks. And I actually did see him this morning rub his belly against the rock to get some crushed coral off that was stuck to the slime. So there continues to be questions but that's what this forum is all about right? Hopefully we'll continue to learn things, I know I'm learning a lot!!!

I am currently uploading a video to youtube so I'll post the link in like 10 hours when it finally finishes processing :wall: This way you guys can see how I observe him and maybe have some more ideas!!


Here are the mystery spots...And of course you can see it on the plastic plant in the background too. Dead ich is microscopic right? Aren't the white spots on the fish kinda like pimples, that are only on the fish itself? You can see that these spots only tend to be on the top of him now. The bottom of him is covered with air bubbles.

 

[davina]

Here is the youtube video. Sorry about the loud Sesame Street in the background, my son was watching tv. He was eating brine shrimp, but you can kinda tell how he's thrashing in the water which he does all the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i65sYQ_-_Xc

 

[darthgoby]

I would like to comment on your choice of LFS. From reading your postings they seem to be giving you bad or incorrect advice. I really have to wonder about a fish store where every fish they give you dies.

Have you thought about trying another fish store regardless of what happens? Over the long run, I believe that having a good LFS accessible to you is a key in having a successful tank.