Figure 8 Puffers

#1
Okay, so I have been here for a while, and my tank's life and lifestyle are rapidly decreasing due to an error of ignorance on both mine and my fathers side. I am preparing for the worst, as my population of 17 has gone down to 11. I believe a combination of stress from the ich and a bit of an overdose are the key factors in my decreasing biological ecosystem. So, I am preparing for them to die. While I hope they won't, I am planning that, in the event of the final death, to start cleaning my tank extremely, and waiting for four weeks. After this I plan on adding some additional tablets to help in the process of cycling. After this I plan on waiting for about 6 weeks and ten going to buy one figure 8 puffer for my tank, to start over. I also realize that the water should be relatively hard, the pH level being at a steady level of 8. Could anyone help me, I am currently reading up on their care, so I do realize certain things about their care, but I need some help about exactly how to set up my aquarium for them...
 

Feb 27, 2009
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#4
I am preparing for the worst, as my population of 17 has gone down to 11.
17 what? Your signature shows

Tank:30 gallon
Fish: Four sail fin mollies, and a tiger barb
Bottom Feeders: Snail

Tank: 10 gallon
Fish:Betta
Bottom Feeders: NONE

Would be helpful to know: size of aquarium, levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, number and type of fish, how long set up, how often and how much water is changed.
 

#5
Yeah, sorry, haven't updated my siggy and I don't have a reading at the moment, all I know is every morning I wake up to find one dead, I don't know if I overdosed them or if the stress from the ich killed them... All I know is I wake up to find one dead... And I just want to start over... IDK, I'm hoping they make it, if they do that is great, if not, well... Anyway, I don't have a pH monitor, or any of those monitors that read it to you... But, after this I plan on getting a thermometer, a hydrometer because this fish is brackish, and the pH an nitrate and nitrite monitors... Allright, that tank is 30 gallons, I don't have the height or width of the tank though... Anyway, I'd really like some help with recovering from this, and advice about how long to wait since the medicine is still in the tank, and how to set it up. as I only have freshwater supplies at the moment... Remember, the figure 8 puffer is brackish and it likes hard water, if you have experience with this puffer, I would appreciate some help...
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#6
I've not kept that particular puffer, so cannot help with the specifics on it. I've kept freshwater puffers and several marine puffers.

With your current fish tank, take a water sample to the fish store to find out the readings for: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Write down the numbers they give you. While there, buy a bottle of PRIME dechlorinator.

If the ammonia or nitrites are over 1, do a 50% water change and treat the new water with PRIME. Make sure the new water being added is the same temperature as the tank's water. Test again the next day (another trip to the store - this is why its recommended to get an API Master Freshwater test kit, saves trips to the store to check your water parameters). If ammonia or nitrites are still over 1, do a 50% water change again. Keep doing that to delute the toxic levels of the fish waste.

Good luck with your fish.
 

#7
Thanks anyway for the help... I'll definetely am going to do what you said, and I might just return these fish to the store for a refund and sell my freshwater filter and start trying to get a brackish thing set up, I'll then keep reading my data on my tank and start preparing a brackish set up... IDK at the moment though my fish were bought by my father so... IDK, I'm still thinking about it, I'm relatively sure that I'll just wake up one morning to find the last one dead so IDK I am going to follow your advice, but right now it's unsure, and one of my fish devolped a pop eye overnight so I got that to worry about...
 

Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
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#8
:(

I'm still thinking about it, I'm relatively sure that I'll just wake up one morning to find the last one dead so IDK I am going to follow your advice
For the sake of the fish left, take them back to the store. They will not likely give you any money for them, but they might be able to save them.

Its not fair to bring a pet home and not do anything when things are going wrong. You owe it to them to either do the proper maintainence or return them. No fish should be tortured until it dies of a disease/condition that can be prevented or cured.

If you had a litter of kittens, and each day one turned up dead, you'd either get them some medical help (vet's office) or turn them in to an animal shelter to see if they could be saved. Not just wait until you 'just wake up one morning to find the last one dead' !!!

Sorry if I sound harsh, but this is the reality when you take on the care of another living thing. :(:(:(:(:(:(

start preparing a brackish set up
If you had a hard time with freshwater, you will likely have an even harder time with brackish. I've kept freshwater, full marine, and brackish water. Freshwater is by far the easiest of the three.
 

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#9
Dude have you even payed attention, I did not give these fish their disease and I have been trying to treat it, what happened was this: I originally bought some fish, one died of stress, and one got ich, I cleared it up, so my dad went out and bought me another fish from the same store that originally gave us ich... Loe and behold we have another case of ich, only this time it's more severe. I am treating it, and I have been doing proper matinence from the start, but this time it spread and the original medicine wasn't doing any good so I used another medicine, and the fish have started dieing, now, a couple of days later... Sorry, but I tok good care of them it was that pet store that hurt them and I have only had trouble with it because it spread so fast... I think I have stopped it for the most part but I am afraid that the life cycle may not be over and that I may very well have another case of ich because I can't seperate them... Sorry, but I did take good care of them...
 

dyflaus

New Fish
Nov 6, 2009
1
0
0
#14
Okay, so I have been here for a while, and my tank's life and lifestyle are rapidly decreasing due to an error of ignorance on both mine and my fathers side. I am preparing for the worst, as my population of 17 has gone down to 11. I believe a combination of stress from the ich and a bit of an overdose are the key factors in my decreasing biological ecosystem. So, I am preparing for them to die. While I hope they won't, I am planning that, in the event of the final death, to start cleaning my tank extremely, and waiting for four weeks. After this I plan on adding some additional tablets to help in the process of cycling. After this I plan on waiting for about 6 weeks and ten going to buy one figure 8 puffer for my tank, to start over. I also realize that the water should be relatively hard, the pH level being at a steady level of 8. Could anyone help me, I am currently reading up on their care, so I do realize certain things about their care, but I need some help about exactly how to set up my aquarium for them...