Riley My Mbu Is Not Well

[sharon000111]

Hi there

I've been keeping an eye on Rileys progress but didnht want to reply to the other post as it go WAY out of hand
It's nice top see he is starting to sit on his belly now instead of his side , hopefully he will beat this though he could be left not being able to swim very well even when he gets better but as long as he can eat and seems healthy and happy then i'm sure you wont mind him swimming odd .
I had a blackmoor that had swimbladder disease (i know thats different to what poor Riley has) even when he was fully cured he ended up swimming upside down and on his side but he mated well with the females lol and has been alive for 13 years - he spent 4 in a tank and the rest of the time he has been in my grandads pond and he is still going and still swimming on his side and upside down .
I know a lot of people would have euthanised him but he still eats well and chases the males when a female is laying and my grandad said he is still the first up when foods around - he's also one of the chubbiest fish - they're getting fed up again to winter over .

Take care and good luck with Riley

Sarah xxx

hello sarah...yes the last post was terrible..still not sure what happend there...but all good responce now...riley is still not happy although he looks realy healthy..except the side that was on the gravel...he has not eaten for a week now..its good he is back on his belly...but i still dont know if he will ever swim...its strange !! his tail is open thats a goodsign also...confused realy...now my Ph is very low and i dont know why...have just given miss wiggle my water test results so just waiting now....i will keep you all updated...again thank you so much...sharonxx


hello miss wiggle..



just done another water test

ammonia 2.0
nitrate 10
nitrite oppm
ph 0.50 dont know what is going on there...would the ammo lock do this ??

 

[rdd1952]

.50 for the pH has to be wrong as that is basically pure acid equivalent to what is secretd in your stomach to break down food. You may want to check that again. The Ammo-Lock shouldn't have any noticable effect on the pH.

Although all of the filters are running, UGFs are prone to "tunneling". This is caused as trash gets sucked into the gravel and clogs it up. Suddenly all the water is going through small "tunnels" in the gravel which can lead to very poor filtration, far below the normal turnover for the filter. For instance, instead of getting 400lph, you may be getting only 200 and if that is the case with both UGFs, suddenly, you've had a major drop in the filtraton capacity of the tank resulting in an ammonia spike.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes i agree with rdd, i strongly suspect the filters are not working properly.

i've no experience with UGF's, can someone please advise on the correct way to give the UG's a good clean without disrupting the bacteria?

 

[mark7616]

you should not be using UGF with big messy preds. I pointed it out in the last thread but it seem to get completely ignored. There is not enough filtration running on this tank to sustain the fish being kept. Internals and UGF are useless for this kind of thing. I solely use my 2252`s to pack them with polyfilter to give me crystal water and remove any free floating debris or remove meds if I have used them. You need 2 large externals on that tank.

 

[tibby25731]

Think she knows this now - can we keep this thread to useful suggestions to get the fish well? If he pulls through, THEN make suggestions for the future.

 

[fish.com1]

Just google imaged mbu puffer. Wow thats a nice fish!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

effective filtration is a sensible suggestion for now, without it the water won't clear up and expecting the fish to recover with ineffective filtration is like trying to recover from a serious illness in a hospital rife with MRSA.

if the water quality is not brought back to where it should be the mbu doesn't stand a chance.

i don't think mark was being rude or personal or anything like that, sometimes you have to give a bit of tough love.

 

[sharon000111]

going to do another ph test now

 

[sharon000111]

ph is 100% 0.0...

the filters on my tank are..

2 x fluval 4 inside the tank
1 x ehiem professianal 11
the filter that come with the cleair tank...that runs along the top
and 3 undergravel filters


what do i do please

 

[mark7616]

Keep the pro 2 and get one or two pro 3`s or fx5`s

 

[orange shark]

its impossible for your pH to be 0...

 

[sharon000111]

Keep the pro 2 and get one or two pro 3`s or fx5`s

shall i disconnect the undergravel filter...will the tank be ok with the remaining filters...i have done major gravel clean ups and i swear there is no food or waist on the gravel...but i dont know whats under it....i should have known...my last tank had 2 pond pumps and more...i have only fed the fish half there normal amount...riley has eaten nothing for a week...the arowana is on 2 lance fish a day ( and starving )..i have put no bloodworms or treats in..just basic fish food but not realy enough to feed them all..to scared at the moment...

its impossible for your pH to be 0...

my ph is 0.0 its yellow...

 

[orange shark]

a pH of 0 is pure acid...completely impossible for anything to live in it

 

[sharon000111]

a pH of 0 is pure acid...completely impossible for anything to live in it

i swear my ph is 0.0 it is yellow...my test kit is..FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT...i am using the pale blue bottle with PH INDICATOR SOLUTION add 3 drops..bottle...it also has a high ph range bottle in shall i do that one as well to see

 

[WILDER]

Glad you are getting the help now.
The undergravel filter should only be removed once the external or internal filters have cycled.
I once had a undergravel filter and it kept getting blocked it was more troulbe than its was worth.
I agree undergravel filters are no good with large fish.