HELP! DP in trouble!

[pnyklr3]

I have set up a DP tank for a fellow teacher of mine. It is a cycled 10 gallon with 2 DPs and good coverage (plants and lots of pots). She takes care of them, feeds them and such, but I do the water changes for her. I went in today, and she told me that she thinks she lost one. I looked into the tank, and saw a bit of black move. It was the "missing" Dp at the bottom of the tank. He/she was swimming, but barely. I instantly scooped him up and brought him home.

He is just sitting on the bottom. I can't see any damage to him at all. He is VERY dark (nearly black) and VERY thin. I thought that maybe his fins were damaged, but they are all intact. What could be wrong? When he swims, he coasts along the bottom, and I haven't noticed him eat at all. ATM, he is in a breeder net in my 55 gallon, because I have no where to put him; but it was the only place that I could keep an eye on him, and make sure that he got the food he needs.

EDIT: The tank has been running in the current set-up for about 3 months now.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

when's the last time yor friend saw them both eat? someone on here once mentioned that he had a dp which refused to let any tankmate eat.

can you post a pic?

 

[pnyklr3]

I'll have to ask her tomorrow when she last saw them both eat. I also can't get a very good pic right now. I only have a webcam and Since he's not swimming, nothing turns out clear at all.

Is there anyhting I can do right now other than offer food and wait? I offered bloodworms, but he didn't even attempt to eat them...at least not while I was watching.

Has anyone else seen a DP look/act this way? Like I said, he is very dark (almost no yellow at all, save the belly), very skinny, and very lethargic. I'm sorry that I can't offer anymore info/pics right now, but I will keep trying.

EDIT: He seems to be perking up a little bit. He is swimming a little every now and then; although the swimming is a bit wobbly. I can see both side fins when he swims. His color isn't as dark, but he still isn't eating food, even when I pipette it right in front of his mouth. A side note: What would happen if his beak was too long? Would he have a problem closing his mouth, or opening it? I can't get a great look at his mouth, but I'm not noticing his beak being too long.

 

[Torrean]

snails. He needs snails. drop a couple pond snails a little bigger than his eye in with him. That will help if you haven't already been doing this,

 

[SirMinion]

If his teeth were too long it would mean he couldn't pick up food (try picking up a coin with really long fingernails, same principle), but you would be able to see the teeth easily, even on a dwarf, so I doubt that this is the problem.

As I'm sure you know, black is a puffer stress colour so it's a good sign that his colours are coming back.

Most likely causes are; competition from the other puffer ( as pica mentioned) or some sort of infection/parasite.

Medication of puffers is difficult, but you would be safe using a tonic bath of 'waterlife paragon' which can work wonders if you can get it, or a small dose of marine salt,

To tempt him to eat, you're going to need live foods. Bloodworm is good but as Torrean said, snail hatchlings would be ideal. I've Never met a dwarf puffer who could resist a tiny snail!
If you can't get snail hatchlings or live bloodworm, live adult brine shrimp might do the trick, and they're generally the most easily available live food in my experiance.

 

[pnyklr3]

I was dropping snails into their 10 gallon every couple of weeks or so, and I put one into the net to see if he'd go for it. As of this morning, he is a little bit more active, and when I tried to pipette some food to him, he swam away. I'm taking this as a good sign, because last night I could touch him with the pipette and he wouldn't move!

His color is getting lighter, but is still not light enough. He is more of a brown now, than a black. He is also still hin, but I think (although my eyes may deceive me) that he is not as thin as last night. It could be better lighting or false hopes...

Thanks for the help so far. I hope he continues to get better!

EDIT: As for the live food...The only things I have seen (given that I don't hunt for it) are crickets, wax worms, earth worms, and possibley mealworms. I will look around today, though.

 

[pnyklr3]

Well, I lost him. I came home for lunch today and he was on his side. He hadn't paled any, so I think I found him soon after it happened. Would have been nice to know what caused him to stop eating (even when he was alone).

 

[SirMinion]

Bummer.

Well done for trying.

 

[TorPeteO]

It's a very sad happening. I experienced it, as well, in my first attempt with DPs. I tried two in a 5 gallon, and will never again recommend this as desirable, or remotely healthy, for any DPs.

I figure that you'd ended up with the unfortunate pair of two males. One of which quickly became the dominant, and the other the subservient. The health of the lower male deteriorated while the dominant male continued to get healthier. Oftentimes, it will take a while (a few weeks is time enough) for the alpha male to become 'confident' enough to take control of the entire tank, and excercise his dominance over the other.

If it's any consolation, the puffer you have left should do well. Continue to take good care of him, and he'll enjoy the tank space. Good luck with him!

 

[pnyklr3]

Males have a stripe on the belly, right? Because the belly of both puffers were white. I figured that I had lucked out and gotten 2 females. Do the stripes show up with maturation?

 

[Erised]

The stripes are there when young as well, but I've noticed them fading on moments, even to the point where you simply can't see them anymore. The males however, Always have wrinkles behind their eyes, the females don't have them.

The wrinkles on the male can be seen here (and yes, I know my male has a very weird coloration, no clue why, but he's never had normal colours, he's perfectly healthy though):

 

[pnyklr3]

Hmmm, I didn't see any wrinkles on either of them.....def not the one that just died. I'll check the other one tomorrow when I am at the school. Thanks! I forgot all about the wrinkles