hi. I recently bought a blue spot puffer that was shipped to me on Friday morning. Since then he is not eating and staying in one spot next to a rock, sometimes laying literally on the rock. He has white lips and breathing heavily. The same day, I bought a yellow kole eye tang from my LFS who is doing the same thing! White lips and hiding in the tube I have in my QT or in between the rock and the tube. The tang ate a little flake today but is still acting strange. I’ve had a kole tang before that was shipped to me who was active the same day I recieved him. This one I bought from my LFS and is not active at all. Please help. I don’t know what to do. Both are in QT and both have white lips breathing heavily. Is it just stress? Or should I be treating the tank with something for bacterial Infection? Here is a photo of my puffer. This is my first puffer so I don’t know how they act. Thank you!!!
Help! Tang and puffer
- Thread starter Garyf7257
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What was your acclimation procedure? Eg; did you temp and/or drip acclimate the fish into their new environments? If so, for how long and to what levels?
What are the levels like in the tank(s)? Temp, salinity, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite - whatever you can test, do so and share the results.
What are the levels like in the tank(s)? Temp, salinity, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite - whatever you can test, do so and share the results.
I used the floating bag acclimation. I set up my QT using water from my 55 gallon that is cycled. I did get a little bit of bag water in my QT tank when I put him in and when I tested the ammonia today it is 0.8. I don’t know if that would cause him to breath heavily at the bottom and have white lips. I also noticed when he does swim he flashes really bad and he turns his body left and right like he’s trying to balance himself.
0.8 of ammonia is toxic; that's likely the problem (though unlikely to be the only one at this point, it's one that needs solving ASAP).
If you can, doing as near a full water change as possible is the best route. 100% would be great if you can get that from your DT (hold the fish in a bucket or the like while you drain the QT and replace it with ex-DT water).
If you have it, a capful of Prime into the QT would help.
You can also do a freshwater dip to give them some immediate relief.
Once you can get the fish into an environment with ammonia at or near 0, then we can see how they do. It's likely that they have some physical damage as a result of the ammonia burn (sometimes indicated by red-colored gills) that will require medication.
If you can, doing as near a full water change as possible is the best route. 100% would be great if you can get that from your DT (hold the fish in a bucket or the like while you drain the QT and replace it with ex-DT water).
If you have it, a capful of Prime into the QT would help.
You can also do a freshwater dip to give them some immediate relief.
Once you can get the fish into an environment with ammonia at or near 0, then we can see how they do. It's likely that they have some physical damage as a result of the ammonia burn (sometimes indicated by red-colored gills) that will require medication.
