Could it be ich?

[Saltwater Hobbie]

I have a porcupine pufferfish in a 120 gallon aquarium housed with a Brown Powdered Tang, and a Black Banded Cat Shart that was the newest to the tank we noticed her getting (shark) getting a little red and did small amounts of water change with RO water because we found our salinity to high and we had to do water changes 3 days in a row because the salinity was to high and than our nitrate spiked due to the shark not eating and we sought out advice from our reef store and was told what to do thats why all the water changes took place. I took out the fx6 filter an cleaned it really well and before I cleaned it I used a hose that I use on that tank only and sucked up any left over food to clean it all out. Tried feeding the puffer last night and he had no interest in eating and I caught the puffer half barrel rolling in the tank. I just want to nip it in the but if it is because I lost the tang last night while I was sleeping and found him dead in his cave it liked. I don't want to lose the other two too what do you think?

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

I have a porcupine pufferfish in a 120 gallon aquarium housed with a Brown Powdered Tang, and a Black Banded Cat Shart that was the newest to the tank we noticed her getting (shark) getting a little red and did small amounts of water change with RO water because we found our salinity to high and we had to do water changes 3 days in a row because the salinity was to high and than our nitrate spiked due to the shark not eating and we sought out advice from our reef store and was told what to do thats why all the water changes took place. I took out the fx6 filter an cleaned it really well and before I cleaned it I used a hose that I use on that tank only and sucked up any left over food to clean it all out. Tried feeding the puffer last night and he had no interest in eating and I caught the puffer half barrel rolling in the tank. I just want to nip it in the but if it is because I lost the tang last night while I was sleeping and found him dead in his cave it liked. I don't want to lose the other two too what do you think?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

How high was the salinity and what is it now?
What is the ammonia level?

You said the tank has high nitrates because the shark isn’t eating? That doesn’t work like that. Nitrates won’t be an issue here, but ammonia could be.

Bamboo sharks often get red skin when there is a water quality issue.

Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

I took my water into the reef store to be tasted they said all levels are where they should be bu my nitrates were on the high end and to do a water change and add a little of salt water and some ro. I am getting a sump put in on Friday with a skimmer. I am new to all this I am 4 months into the hobby. The puffer ate 4 of my clowns that were large and it took out the enemy I had as well so I did not put any of those back into the tank. The reef store said that my nitrates are probably spiked a bit because of the kills, and the protein skimmer will help along with a water change. I just want to do this right so I can have a beautiful tank that works and looks appealing to the eye.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I took my water into the reef store to be tasted they said all levels are where they should be bu my nitrates were on the high end and to do a water change and add a little of salt water and some ro. I am getting a sump put in on Friday with a skimmer. I am new to all this I am 4 months into the hobby. The puffer ate 4 of my clowns that were large and it took out the enemy I had as well so I did not put any of those back into the tank. The reef store said that my nitrates are probably spiked a bit because of the kills, and the protein skimmer will help along with a water change. I just want to do this right so I can have a beautiful tank that works and looks appealing to the eye.

Hi, I really want to try and help, but first, you need to give us some background information. as I mentioned;

How high was the salinity and what is it now?
What is the ammonia level?

Nitrate isn't an issue for fish unless it is VERY high, greater than 50 mg/l nitrate-nitrogen. The puffer eating the clownfish wouldn't cause excessive nitrates since if the puffer hadn't eaten the clown, it would have eaten some other food.

You had a rather eclectic mix of fish - puffer/clowns/tang and bamboo shark. That grouping likely wouldn't have worked out in the long term. The bamboo shark will outgrow that tank in a year or so. I've seen them reach 4' long.

So you still have the puffer and the shark? Are there any other fish in the tank? Are there any invertebrates? Is the puffer still eating? The baby shark is just a tiny hatchling, is it eating for you?


Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

Hi, I really want to try and help, but first, you need to give us some background information. as I mentioned;

How high was the salinity and what is it now?
What is the ammonia level?

Nitrate isn't an issue for fish unless it is VERY high, greater than 50 mg/l nitrate-nitrogen. The puffer eating the clownfish wouldn't cause excessive nitrates since if the puffer hadn't eaten the clown, it would have eaten some other food.

You had a rather eclectic mix of fish - puffer/clowns/tang and bamboo shark. That grouping likely wouldn't have worked out in the long term. The bamboo shark will outgrow that tank in a year or so. I've seen them reach 4' long.

So you still have the puffer and the shark? Are there any other fish in the tank? Are there any invertebrates? Is the puffer still eating? The baby shark is just a tiny hatchling, is it eating for you?


Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

Yes the shark and the puffer are eating the puffer has been snubbing its nose to the clams he wants just krill but he needs the clams to sharpen its beak that concerns me. The only other thing in the tank is a pencil urchin. My ammonia is zero and the salinity is at 1.020

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Yes the shark and the puffer are eating the puffer has been snubbing its nose to the clams he wants just krill but he needs the clams to sharpen its beak that concerns me. The only other thing in the tank is a pencil urchin. My ammonia is zero and the salinity is at 1.020

O.K., the salinity is a bit low for the pencil urchin, but good for the shark and puffer.
Puffers can be weird about their diet - changing food preferences for no apparent reason. As long as it is taking some food, then I wouldn’t worry about that.
So - no current symptoms on either fish aside from the red belly on the shark? If not, then I’d be inclined to wait and see if things settle down on their own.
Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

O.K., the salinity is a bit low for the pencil urchin, but good for the shark and puffer.
Puffers can be weird about their diet - changing food preferences for no apparent reason. As long as it is taking some food, then I wouldn’t worry about that.
So - no current symptoms on either fish aside from the red belly on the shark? If not, then I’d be inclined to wait and see if things settle down on their own.
Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

No red belly the only reason he was put on krill was because with this pandemic I couldn't get clams for a bit and he needed something. What should the salinity be for the urchin? With the puffer being such a sloppy eater I figured that the urchin would help with clean up.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

No red belly the only reason he was put on krill was because with this pandemic I couldn't get clams for a bit and he needed something. What should the salinity be for the urchin? With the puffer being such a sloppy eater I figured that the urchin would help with clean up.

The urchin is more of an algae eater. They do better at a specific gravity above 1.022
Jay

 

[Saltwater Hobbie]

Thank you