My puffer fish has little white dots on him,

Question
QUESTION: hi i recently bought a 300l tank of a friend which previously had tropical fish in it, i bought a new skimmer cleaned the filter and added salt, i have in my tank at the moment a puffer fish about 4 inch , a cow fish about inch and a half, and a hawkfish (about 3 inch),The tank temp is 27/28 degrees C. i checked the nitrite levels several times when they first went in and it was 0.05, the following day  it was 0.1 ,i noticed tiny white dots on my puffer fish i was told marine fish cant get white spot as salt kills it, the puffer fish seems to be a bit more lazier from when he first went in he keeps lazing around for long periods, however the cow fish and hawk is the opposite to him. i am expecting a UV filter through the post anytime now, should i worry? is it to soon to add more fish?

ANSWER: Hey Tim,

Welcome to my world...hehehe

I am going to need some more information and hoepfully not jumpt to to many conclusions although it sounds like you might be in for a rought ride...

typically, we use different filters in saltwater tanks.  So, i am not sure what filter you are using. Is it a bottom filter, that has a plate under the gravel/rock/sand?  that draws water through the bottom and up to a small hang on the tank filter that has a pump maybe and some sponges and stuff?  Do yo uknow the name of this filter?

The filtration syste we employ is called ;biological', and in essence it is bilogical organisms, that will grow on and in the rock and sand and on the tank walls and pump equipment and plumbing, etc..

these organisms convert the ammonia/nitrites/fish poo an dpee into NITRATES

This does not happen quickly and it actually goes up and down and back and forth, which is why the process is called, 'CYCLING'

the biological organisms will grow and multiply to the amount needed for your specific tank, and the number of fish you have.  so if you have no fish, you wont have many organisms, if yo uhave some fish, you will develope enough for that amount of fish, if yo uadd more fish then the organisms will again grow, hopefully..

anyways, it really doesnt sound like you 'cycled' your tank yet, an dif not, then you are going to run into problems as ammonia and nitrites are basically poison, and your fish are not going to be happy..

You will need to do more water changes and do larger water changes..

(water changes is a routine that is done to 'dilute' the nitrates, (NITRATES).  nitrates is what is the 'end product' of the organisms conversion of the ammonia and detritus.  We constanty dilute the water to keep the bad stuff from building up..

anyways, i am going to give you a link, and want you to read and research some more and please come back and we can talk some more and get into some details that yo umay still be having problems with.

Utnil then I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for good thins fo ryour fishies...

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/startinganaquarium/How_to_Start_a_Saltwater_Aqu


good luck


bill



btw:  you can check out my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com  IT has a live chat box so we can chat live, or you can chat with anyone who happens to be on at the same time...

Hope to se you there



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi again , thank you for the info , the filter is a extrenal one called a FLUVAL 403, the pipes hang over the top of the tank then feed to the skimmer then to the filter pump. still need to know if i have to get treatment for my puffer? and the nitrite levels have dropped again to 0.05 nearly '0' phew!.

Answer
Helo,

I dont know of any 'treatment' for nitrite / ammonia poisoing.  You could always relocate them to a more established tank until your tank becomes more stable??

Keep in mind the reason why it is called a 'cycle'... it, test results, and water quality, 'swing' up and down like a pendulum on a clock.  What is good one day isnt necessarily good the next.

Establishing routines for maintenance and water top offs without disrupting or affecting the water conditions is important to successfull aquariums.

so, please read up, and start practicing the routines and try to recover from this balk start.

good luck and pleae let me know how things progress for you

bill