Topic: Stupid pet tricks

[Stormbringer]

I have 5 green spotted puffers (Leopard Puffers) in my aquarium. They are very bright for fish. I noticed that they can see the food container and know what it means when it is near the tank. They track it like a heat seeking missile. I moved the container back and forth from one end of the tank to the other and the puffers follow it as fast as they can. Today I noticed that they were in a group at one end of the tank. I got out the food and went to feed them. They locked on to the container. I moved the container a few inches side to side slowly and in perfect cadence and in unison they turned to track the food. They looked like they were watching a tennis or ping pong match; looking first one way and then the other, back and forth.  

[SL-Punisher]

I have some in my tank at home too...very intelligent fish.

[Stormbringer]

How long have you had them? I've had them for almost two years and I've ran across a  few problems I don't have answers for. Have you noticed that everyone says they are agressive and mean but they are one of the most docile fish I've seen. Any agression is between puffers and then only if they are overcrowded like you see in pet stores?

[SL-Punisher]

It depends on the fish, if you have small tetra sized fish in your tank then the puffers will nip at them, especially when you aren't looking.  One thing I've noticed about puffers is they seemingly move very slowly, but when they need to they can dart halfway across my 60 gallon tank in a split second.

I've had my current batch of puffers for about 1 year.

 

[Stormbringer]

Yeah. But a lot of thier nipping is just to see if something is food or not. I've seen one looking at a stationary fish and jockeying a round as if to look at it from all angles ,then heasitate... moves forward looks at it....backs off... looks conflicted as if fighting temptation; then "oh what the he**" Chomp! at which point the heretofore stationary fish takes off like and the puffer looks startled  and all innocent "...What?     What happened?"" I didn't do nothin!"

Anyway, two problems I've seen are excessive tooth growth and a blackening of the belly and lateral area where it is normally white. I've tried to feed them snails and other hard shelled food to wear them down. But MTS snails are not tough enough. I've been told some people anesthetize them with a couple of drops of clove oil in a gallon container and clip them with toenail clippers. I don't know but if the teeth grow to big thier jaws don't work right they cannot eat and thee is danger of infection.

The blackened belly thing is another Thing I am trying to get more info on. It can dissappear in minutes but seems to be abnormal. And none of the remedies I have tried are effective. antibiotics, tea oil, aquarium salt, methyl blue malachite green and so forth.

[Ravok]

 Are you using fresh or brackish water?  

[Stormbringer]

Slightly brackish. Not really much salt because of other fish in the tank. Only one puffer has the scale problem and the teeth problem. The rest are fine.

[Ravok]

 Storm if you can give me a detailed description i may be able to help you. ( scales standing up etc.), Fish disease's are one of my specialty's.
  ( Been a rabid hobbyist for 38 years).  
  Geez i must be tired i just remembered puffers are scaless.

[Stormbringer]

. Dark grey in the white of the belly and on the sides. Variable like a rash. sometimes scales do stand up but there is no sign of parasites or septiciemia. I thought it might be but can't see any and treatments do not change the condition. The fish does not scratch itself on tank decorations or gravel. The odd thing is that at first this rash could clear up in a matter of minutes but is more or less constant now. I thought it might be an ammonia burn but the readings on my sensors show good water conditions. all other fish are happy and I have a 50 gallon filtration ssytem on a 30 gallon tank which has carbon /ammonite baskets in addition to the two standard filter cartridges.  

[Ravok]

 Whats your PH & KH?  
 What color is the rash?

[Stormbringer]

I'll take some readings and get back to you, my sensors are for ammonia only. It'll take a kit reading to get the PH and KH values. The rash is grey to dark grey and covers the rear sides in the lateral area going down onto the belly but leaving the middle part of the belly white like normal. It occurs only on the parts of the fish that should be white not above the lateral line into the green and spotted portions of the fish. I'll get the readings for you tomorrow. I'm turning in for the night because I did not sleep last night prior to my road trip.

* just looked at fish closely the rash is lessened. Just on the sides and in small round blotches that run together to look like one mass. As I said the area it covers is rapidly variable.

[Ravok]

  see ya tomorrow.  

[Stormbringer]

I have 5 green spotted puffers (Leopard Puffers) in my aquarium. They are very bright for fish. I noticed that they can see the food container and know what it means when it is near the tank. They track it like a heat seeking missile. I moved the container back and forth from one end of the tank to the other and the puffers follow it as fast as they can. Today I noticed that they were in a group at one end of the tank. I got out the food and went to feed them. They locked on to the container. I moved the container a few inches side to side slowly and in perfect cadence and in unison they turned to track the food. They looked like they were watching a tennis or ping pong match; looking first one way and then the other, back and forth.  

[SL-Punisher]

I have some in my tank at home too...very intelligent fish.

[Stormbringer]

How long have you had them? I've had them for almost two years and I've ran across a  few problems I don't have answers for. Have you noticed that everyone says they are agressive and mean but they are one of the most docile fish I've seen. Any agression is between puffers and then only if they are overcrowded like you see in pet stores?

[SL-Punisher]

It depends on the fish, if you have small tetra sized fish in your tank then the puffers will nip at them, especially when you aren't looking.  One thing I've noticed about puffers is they seemingly move very slowly, but when they need to they can dart halfway across my 60 gallon tank in a split second.

I've had my current batch of puffers for about 1 year.

 

[Stormbringer]

Yeah. But a lot of thier nipping is just to see if something is food or not. I've seen one looking at a stationary fish and jockeying a round as if to look at it from all angles ,then heasitate... moves forward looks at it....backs off... looks conflicted as if fighting temptation; then "oh what the he**" Chomp! at which point the heretofore stationary fish takes off like and the puffer looks startled  and all innocent "...What?     What happened?"" I didn't do nothin!"

Anyway, two problems I've seen are excessive tooth growth and a blackening of the belly and lateral area where it is normally white. I've tried to feed them snails and other hard shelled food to wear them down. But MTS snails are not tough enough. I've been told some people anesthetize them with a couple of drops of clove oil in a gallon container and clip them with toenail clippers. I don't know but if the teeth grow to big thier jaws don't work right they cannot eat and thee is danger of infection.

The blackened belly thing is another Thing I am trying to get more info on. It can dissappear in minutes but seems to be abnormal. And none of the remedies I have tried are effective. antibiotics, tea oil, aquarium salt, methyl blue malachite green and so forth.

[Ravok]

 Are you using fresh or brackish water?  

[Stormbringer]

Slightly brackish. Not really much salt because of other fish in the tank. Only one puffer has the scale problem and the teeth problem. The rest are fine.

[Ravok]

 Storm if you can give me a detailed description i may be able to help you. ( scales standing up etc.), Fish disease's are one of my specialty's.
  ( Been a rabid hobbyist for 38 years).  
  Geez i must be tired i just remembered puffers are scaless.

[Stormbringer]

. Dark grey in the white of the belly and on the sides. Variable like a rash. sometimes scales do stand up but there is no sign of parasites or septiciemia. I thought it might be but can't see any and treatments do not change the condition. The fish does not scratch itself on tank decorations or gravel. The odd thing is that at first this rash could clear up in a matter of minutes but is more or less constant now. I thought it might be an ammonia burn but the readings on my sensors show good water conditions. all other fish are happy and I have a 50 gallon filtration ssytem on a 30 gallon tank which has carbon /ammonite baskets in addition to the two standard filter cartridges.  

[Ravok]

 Whats your PH & KH?  
 What color is the rash?

[Stormbringer]

I'll take some readings and get back to you, my sensors are for ammonia only. It'll take a kit reading to get the PH and KH values. The rash is grey to dark grey and covers the rear sides in the lateral area going down onto the belly but leaving the middle part of the belly white like normal. It occurs only on the parts of the fish that should be white not above the lateral line into the green and spotted portions of the fish. I'll get the readings for you tomorrow. I'm turning in for the night because I did not sleep last night prior to my road trip.

* just looked at fish closely the rash is lessened. Just on the sides and in small round blotches that run together to look like one mass. As I said the area it covers is rapidly variable.

[Ravok]

  see ya tomorrow.  

[Stormbringer]

I have 5 green spotted puffers (Leopard Puffers) in my aquarium. They are very bright for fish. I noticed that they can see the food container and know what it means when it is near the tank. They track it like a heat seeking missile. I moved the container back and forth from one end of the tank to the other and the puffers follow it as fast as they can. Today I noticed that they were in a group at one end of the tank. I got out the food and went to feed them. They locked on to the container. I moved the container a few inches side to side slowly and in perfect cadence and in unison they turned to track the food. They looked like they were watching a tennis or ping pong match; looking first one way and then the other, back and forth.  

[SL-Punisher]

I have some in my tank at home too...very intelligent fish.

[Stormbringer]

How long have you had them? I've had them for almost two years and I've ran across a  few problems I don't have answers for. Have you noticed that everyone says they are agressive and mean but they are one of the most docile fish I've seen. Any agression is between puffers and then only if they are overcrowded like you see in pet stores?

[SL-Punisher]

It depends on the fish, if you have small tetra sized fish in your tank then the puffers will nip at them, especially when you aren't looking.  One thing I've noticed about puffers is they seemingly move very slowly, but when they need to they can dart halfway across my 60 gallon tank in a split second.

I've had my current batch of puffers for about 1 year.

 

[Stormbringer]

Yeah. But a lot of thier nipping is just to see if something is food or not. I've seen one looking at a stationary fish and jockeying a round as if to look at it from all angles ,then heasitate... moves forward looks at it....backs off... looks conflicted as if fighting temptation; then "oh what the he**" Chomp! at which point the heretofore stationary fish takes off like and the puffer looks startled  and all innocent "...What?     What happened?"" I didn't do nothin!"

Anyway, two problems I've seen are excessive tooth growth and a blackening of the belly and lateral area where it is normally white. I've tried to feed them snails and other hard shelled food to wear them down. But MTS snails are not tough enough. I've been told some people anesthetize them with a couple of drops of clove oil in a gallon container and clip them with toenail clippers. I don't know but if the teeth grow to big thier jaws don't work right they cannot eat and thee is danger of infection.

The blackened belly thing is another Thing I am trying to get more info on. It can dissappear in minutes but seems to be abnormal. And none of the remedies I have tried are effective. antibiotics, tea oil, aquarium salt, methyl blue malachite green and so forth.

[Ravok]

 Are you using fresh or brackish water?  

[Stormbringer]

Slightly brackish. Not really much salt because of other fish in the tank. Only one puffer has the scale problem and the teeth problem. The rest are fine.

[Ravok]

 Storm if you can give me a detailed description i may be able to help you. ( scales standing up etc.), Fish disease's are one of my specialty's.
  ( Been a rabid hobbyist for 38 years).  
  Geez i must be tired i just remembered puffers are scaless.

[Stormbringer]

. Dark grey in the white of the belly and on the sides. Variable like a rash. sometimes scales do stand up but there is no sign of parasites or septiciemia. I thought it might be but can't see any and treatments do not change the condition. The fish does not scratch itself on tank decorations or gravel. The odd thing is that at first this rash could clear up in a matter of minutes but is more or less constant now. I thought it might be an ammonia burn but the readings on my sensors show good water conditions. all other fish are happy and I have a 50 gallon filtration ssytem on a 30 gallon tank which has carbon /ammonite baskets in addition to the two standard filter cartridges.  

[Ravok]

 Whats your PH & KH?  
 What color is the rash?

[Stormbringer]

I'll take some readings and get back to you, my sensors are for ammonia only. It'll take a kit reading to get the PH and KH values. The rash is grey to dark grey and covers the rear sides in the lateral area going down onto the belly but leaving the middle part of the belly white like normal. It occurs only on the parts of the fish that should be white not above the lateral line into the green and spotted portions of the fish. I'll get the readings for you tomorrow. I'm turning in for the night because I did not sleep last night prior to my road trip.

* just looked at fish closely the rash is lessened. Just on the sides and in small round blotches that run together to look like one mass. As I said the area it covers is rapidly variable.

[Ravok]

  see ya tomorrow.