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FAQs about Freshwater Puffer Disease/Health
Related Articles:
The Nice Puffer: Colomesus
asellus , the South American Puffer
by Neale Monks,
Freshwater Puffers, Alone
But Not Lonely: The Importance of Keeping Puffers Individually by
Damien Wagaman,
Freshwater to Brackish Puffers,
Puffers in General,
True Puffers, Family Tetraodontidae,
(Big) Pufferfish
Dentistry By Kelly Jedlicki
and Anthony Calfo
Small Puffer Dentistry By Jeni Tyrell (aka
Pufferpunk),
Puffer Care and Information
by John (Magnus) Champlin,
Things That My Puffers Have
Told Me by Justin Petrey,
Related FAQs: FW Puffers 1, FW
Puffers 2, FW Puffers 3,
FW Puffer Identification,
FW Puffer Behavior,
FW Puffer Selection, FW Puffer Compatibility,
FW Puffer Systems,
FW Puffer Feeding, FW Puffer Reproduction,
BR Puffer Identification,
BR Puffer Selection,
BR Puffer Compatibility,
BR Puffer Systems,
BR Puffer Feeding,
BR Puffer Disease, BR
Puffer Disease 2,
BR Puffer Reproduction,
Puffers in General, True Puffers,
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MBU seeming sick HELP!! Please 12/02/08
Hello,
<Hello,>
Over the past year I have had Two MBU puffers. The first
one was given to me as a gift and died within 3 weeks.
<A very difficult
species to maintain; not recommended for home hobbyists without lots of
experience.>
He had ich when I received him and seemed to get through it then
developed a extended rectal area and seemed to swell a little over the entire
body and then died over a few days.
<Likely some type of bacterial infection,
but difficult to say precisely what. Certainly never a good idea to purchase
fish with obvious Ick infections. But since the fish was a gift (!) then that's
not really your fault.>
Now I am on my second MBU. He has done very well for
a couple of months until I put a Palm house plant near his tank I had brought in
for winter.
It seemed it really freaked him out to have this thing in the
same room because he hid for about 2 days and developed Ich himself.
<Hmm...
Ick doesn't come out of nowhere. It's important to understand the Ick parasite
cannot survive outside of a host fish for more than a few days. Hence, once you
exterminate the Ick infection in an aquarium, it should NEVER come back, UNLESS
something else brings new Ick parasites into the system. Do take care to
identify diseases properly: Ick can be mistaken for other things, such as early
stages of Finrot or Fungus. These two infections are MUCH MORE related to
stress. The organisms that cause them are normally harmless, even beneficial, in
healthy aquaria. When fish are in good condition, their immune system prevents
problems. When a fish gets stressed, these previously harmless organisms can
cause disease.>
Now please note he has eaten fine but had to be fed near his
hiding area.
I raised the temperature to 82 F for the Ich. He has about 10
spots that come and go over the past week. My water is; am. 0, nitrite 0,
nitrate 20, ph 7.6, lots of plants, 2 Fluval 405, 1 Eheim 2236 Ecco. in a 100
gal tank.
<Water seems fine. Do ensure the filtration is adequate: I'd
recommend filtration around 8 times the volume of the tank in turnover per hour.
By my reckoning you have 185 + 340 + 340 = 865 gallons per hour total, for a 100
gallon tank, which seems fine. But do ensure the filters are working properly,
not clogged up.>
This has been going on for the past week.
<You must deal
with the Ick immediately. Add salt (5 g per litre should be ample) and raise the
temperature to around 28 C (82 F) but be very careful with the temperature
because Puffers are highly sensitive to low oxygen concentration. The warmer the
water, the less oxygen it contains. Salt is not at all dangerous to this
species: Tetraodon mbu occurs in brackish water in parts of its range and has a
high tolerance for salty water. In fact this is true for puffers generally, so
the addition of salt can be used safely as a way to kill Ick parasites. Leave
the tank "warm and salty" for around two weeks, or at least a week after the
last white spots disappear from the puffer. By contrast, copper- and
formalin-based medications are toxic to at least some pufferfish species and
should be avoided where possible.>
Now to why I am asking you guys to help.
Every night at 7:30 he goes to his sleeping area since I have had him. Every
morning when I turn the light on he takes about 15 min. to wake up and start his
food begging. But this morning he didn't come out. I had to kind of move him out
because I couldn't tell if he was alive or sick. He isn't begging for food and
is sitting on the bottom. He did eat the 3 Prawns I gave him. but is still just
sitting on the bottom.
<I wouldn't bother feeding the puffer while he is
sick.>
This morning I put Jungle products Parasite clear in the tank. I hope
this isn't really bad!
<Would not use this in a Puffer aquarium.>
I did
this because it seemed to fix my little girls Dwarf puffer ( that clearly had
IP) and because I observed some small slug looking things (about the size of
aquarium salt grains) on some Java moss I purchased two weeks ago from the store
I purchased the 1st puffer from who died.
<I have no idea what "IP" is, so you'll need to explain. The white "slugs" are
probably harmless invertebrates, such as planarians. In general, anything
visible in the water or on the substrate won't be disease-causing.
But these
things can be a sign of overfeeding, since they're eating leftover food.>
His
diet consists of snails, prawn, shrimp, crab legs.
<Would vary the diet some.
Crustaceans (i.e., shrimp, crab) contain thiaminase, and this destroys Vitamin
B1, and over the long term WILL make animals sick if fed as a majority of the
diet. So by all means use crustaceans as, say, 20% of the diet, but make the
rest other things.
Snails are good, so are mussels and especially things
like clams and oysters. Squid is a cheap and extremely useful food item. I'd
also add some lancefish. Obviously DO NOT use "feeder fish" because the risk of
making your puffer sick is ridiculously high.>
This is all really
discouraging because I have purchased a couple Eheim 2250's and have a 300
gallon tank on order. And I really am not interested in other types of fish.
Thanks for the help. Ed
<I hope this helps, Neale.>
Re: MBU seeming sick HELP!! Please 12/02/08
Thank you for the fast reply! I have installed carbon and done a 30% water
change to help remove any of the Parasite clear.
<The carbon will remove
formalin, but it'll have no impact on copper concentration.
<<Mmm, not so.
RMF>>
I'd be doing a succession of water changes, 50% a day, for the next
3-4 days if at all possible. The more water you can flush out the system, the
better.>
I have added the salt as recommended. He isn't eating today, so far.
<No big deal. When he's happy, he'll eat. In fact it's a good "barometer" of
pufferfish health: when they're healthy, they will eat anything and everything!>
He appears to be breathing a little heaver and has bouts of what I would
describe as coughing.
<Could be a reaction to water quality, or something in
the water even. Do consider possible toxins: paint fumes, stuff kids might have
tipped into the tank like soda pop, and so on.>
I also have seen him winking
with the eye that has a spot on the rim of the eye. And one other thing I
noticed is he will kind of dart around for a couple of seconds, kind of a shake
would be a better description.
<Darting about is often (though not always) a
reaction to irritation to the gills, sometimes by parasites (Ick, Velvet) and
sometimes to water quality (ammonia).>
I don't know if any of this changes
you thoughts on what could be wrong other than the Ick. Thanks again Ed
<Cheers, Neale.>
Need Help For My Sick West Nile Freshwater Puffer 9/5/08
Talked to you guys last year and you were so helpful. I'm hoping you can help me
out again.
<We'll do our best!>
Apparently my puffer, Tupac, was given bad food. We should have known, but
didn't. It was dried shrimp - and we've been feeding him this for a long time.
We must've gotten a bad batch, because the nitrates shot up in his water. Once
we caught on that he was sick we started working on the water, changing it until
we got it under control. However, Tupac is still sick; but seems to have gotten
a bit better.
<Dried food goes "off" quickly when exposed to air and moisture, so it's always
important to check packages are sealed and then to keep opened packages in
airtight containers. Because of this, I honestly prefer (wet) frozen foods. So
long as they're kept cold, they should be safe.>
At first, he just laid on the bottom of the tank with only his eyes moving; he
wouldn't eat anything. After a few days he started getting better color and
would swim around for awhile, then rest at the bottom again. We have him ghost
shrimp and he ate a couple, then wouldn't eat again for a couple of days. Didn't
want anymore ghost shrimp, but he did eat a snail. We
picked up some frozen shrimp from our aquarium store, and he ate one hunk of
that, defrosted in his own water, but since that initial bite, he won't eat
anymore of that. We've offered him snail, which he will eat, but no more than
one a day.
<Leave things be. An adult pufferfish can go a long time without food. Let him
clear his gut out and generally settle down. Maybe offer some tinned peas as a
source of fibre (frozen peas sometimes work as an alternative). But leave it as
that. Once he's healthy, he'll be hungry. If he's unwell, there's no real point
offering him food and risking the problems associated with uneaten food and
nitrate. Fish aren't "warm blooded" and don't need a constant source of calories
like us. So "feeding a fever" may make sense for humans, but it makes no sense
at all with fish.>
He does perk up for short periods, especially when he sees us, swims around a
little, gets good color, then returns to rest in the sand.
<He's out of sorts. Really, all you can do is wait. He's either going to recover
from his bout of poisoning, or he's not; there's nothing much that you can do
beyond optimising water quality and ensuring oxygen concentration is high.>
My questions are, does he have a chance of recovering from this?
<Absolutely impossible to say for certain. My guess would be yes, he'll recover
in time.>
Is there anything we can do to build his strength? Is there some type of tonic
or food that he's likely to take that would boost his recovery?
<Nothing that I'm aware of. A systemic antibiotic like Maracyn might be used,
but it doesn't sound as if the fish has a bacterial infection.>
Any help you can give me is appreciated more than you will ever know. We love
this guy a lot, and we don't want to lose him.
<I think you're doing the best you can.>
Thank you,
Judy
<Good luck, Neale.>
Re: Need Help For My Sick West Nile Freshwater Puffer
9/5/08
Thank you for the reassurance and the advice.
<You're welcome.>
We'll follow your instructions and try not to impose our anxiety on Tupac. I am
inclined to turn his tank light on every morning and off at night; my husband
says he's getting enough daylight through the window, and the light might add to
his stress.
<Most freshwater fish would prefer to be in gloomy conditions, so by all means
turn the lights off/down if you want. Unlikely to make or break things either
way though. Do provide at least some shade for any fish: a flowerpot on its
side, for example, is a great hiding place for big fish. Plastic/silk plants
also work great.>
This argument won't cost us our marriage, but any tips will be received with
gratitude.
Thank you so much for your help.
Judy
<Cheers, Neale.>
State of health declined /
AW: Pufferfish, MBU, with lump - 05/06/08
Pufferfish, MBU, with lump - 06/02/08
Hi Marco & the WetWebMediaCrew,
<Hello Lars.>
Some weeks ago Heike emailed you about our MBU (+50 cm size) with a
lump on the left side next to his mouth.
<I remember.>
Back then - apart from the lump - the fish was in good shape
(active, eating regularly etc.).
<Did you find out what caused the lump, was the lump sampled (e.g.
syringe = a hollow needle) in cooperation with a vet? I understand
this sounds difficult and potentially dangerous to the fish, but it
is done with Koi, and large puffers also have been sedated
successfully in order to cut their teeth. Those samples could have
been cultured and you would have known if it was a lump caused by a
bacterial infection.>
Unfortunately the state of health declined by Wednesday/Thursday
this week, when he (or she) stopped eating. He is not moving and/or
eating anymore.
<I am very sorry to hear that. Sounds really bad.>
Attached please find a picture from today, showing the MBU laying in
the water on his back.
Heike gave the puffer a massage and some air
<Did he swallow air (increase oxygen content of the tank water in
this case)? Or did you see gases that were produced by bacterial
processes inside the fish?>
went off his body already (he/she started swimming a few minutes).
She is keeping up with the massage which hopefully help ...
<I believe touching will rather stress the animal, potentially harm
its protective coat of mucus. Should only be done when air was
swallowed cannot be expelled by the puffer himself.>
If possible, please provide us with additional tips that will help
to save our beloved brother (or sister).
<I suspect (from description, this is not a fail proof diagnosis) a
bacterial infection that originally caused the lump and now has
spread to other organs. You can try an antibiotic treatment (only in
cooperation with a vet and in a separate tank to avoid a kill-off of
filter bacteria), I fear it is too late for sampling and a bacterial
culture now. You know/have called the Koi Vet in Stelle
(Fisch-Reha-Zentrum Nord), east of Bremen? Or Annette Bley a vet in
Bremen?>
Best, Lars.
<Good luck to you and Klaus, even if I have to confess it does not
look good for him. Marco.> |
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Sick Dwarf Puffer 11/23/07
Hi,
I recently bought a 1/2 inch dwarf puffer to kill off the bazillion snails that
are taking over my guppy tank (5 adult guppies/10 gallons). I removed the
guppies, heated the tank to 80 Fahrenheit, and made sure it was ammonia-free.
But rather than doing some snail extermination, the little guy has just been
laying in the sand with his tail curled since I bought him two days ago. He
jumps up a few inches whenever a snail tries crawling on him, but then he
spirals back down.
I don't know what to do. I'm hoping you might help...otherwise, I'll have to
exchange the poor little guy.
Thanks,
Jessica
<Hello Jessica. Pufferfish are basically hardy animals provided their twin needs
for correct water chemistry and good water quality are met. So the things to
check here are water chemistry and water quality. Dwarf Puffers --
Carinotetraodon travancoricus -- are freshwater puffers that appreciate pH
6.0-8.0 and moderate hardness. Water quality must be good: zero ammonia, zero
nitrite, and nitrates less than 20 mg/l. Water changes need to be around 50% per
week. Your water temperature is a bit too high: aim for 25C/77F. As water
temperature goes up, oxygen content goes down, and pufferfish are intolerant of
stagnant water. Pufferfish need a varied diet, not just snail. Bloodworms, brine
shrimp, daphnia and even small amounts of plant material are required (in
planted tanks they will take bits out of the leaves occasionally, but otherwise
supply things like tinned peas). Now, talking of snails... pufferfishes aren't
the solution here. Snails turn excess organic matter into more snails. It's a
simple equation. If you put too much food into the tank, or take too little
organic detritus out, the snails will eat that surplus and make more snails. If
there isn't anything for the snails to eat, they obviously can't multiply
themselves (contrary to popular misconception, snails don't magically break the
laws of physics and make baby snails out of nothing!). So anyone who confesses
to a plague of snails is actually saying they overfeed their fish and don't
clean their fish tank out properly once a week. Denying this is akin to a fat
person saying they don't eat that much. If they ate the right amount, they
wouldn't be fat! Likewise, if you control the amount of food going into a tank
and remove organic wastes from the tank regularly, the snails won't breed
rapidly. In a balanced tank the snails can only eat algae, and that might allow
them to survive, but not much more, so you end up with a steady, small
population of them you can remove by hand if need be. Cheers, Neale.>
My fish... Mis-mixes... FW
dis. issues 11/23/07
Hi WWM crew
I have 5 fish tanks at the moment all freshwater. I had 4 but I had to buy a new
one because my big convict cichlid was picking on the littler one.
Was this a waste because I could have put my little convict in (1.5 inch) with
my grey bichir but I decided since my grey bichir (4 inches) is my favorite.
could I still mix them and have an extra tank? or should I just leave them be.
Also on my goldfish I noticed a black spot on his fin is this bad or should I
just ignore it? Thanks for all of your help.
<Ave! Mixing a female Convict cichlid with Polypterus senegalus could be
possible, though it would depend on the temperament of the two fish. An
aggressive Convict could harass the Bichir. Polypterus senegalus is a very
mild-mannered species that does best in quiet aquaria. A couple of days ago I
visited an aquarium store in London where the retailers had mixed Polypterus
senegalus with a variety of Mbuna; the result was that most of the Polypterus
senegalus had their pectoral fins nipped right down to the bone. Very nasty. So,
in a biggish sort of tank (at least 30 gallons) with plenty of hiding places for
both fish, I'd try it out and see what happens. A female Convict will probably
be fine with the Bichir. As for the black spots on the Goldfish, these could
well be Black Spot, a relatively uncommon disease that is caused by larval
flukes. Normally the infection clears up by itself and causes no problems to the
fish. So for now, just keep an eye on things. If you notice a large increase in
the number of black spots, that would be more serious, and you should then treat
with an anti-helminth of some sort. Jungle Labs 'Gold Care Parasite Care' is
said to treat Black Spot Disease, and there may be others. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Sick Dwarf Puffer
11/24/07
Hi again,
<Greetings!>
Thanks for the advice, but water quality wasn't the problem. I vacuum
out around 10% every week and use carbon and Zeolite in my filter. I'll
replace 50% now, as you suggested. I double checked the
water--nitrates/nitrites, ammonia, pH, hardness, and chlorine/chloramine
content are all safe. Since you mentioned ammonia being a serious threat
to dwarf puffers, I purchased a detector that hangs inside the tank. I
lowered the temperature to 77, too.
<OK. Removing 10% per week is completely inadequate even for generic
fish, let alone puffers. So I find it hard to imagine the nitrate levels
were low. Carbon is useless in this sort of tank and so is Zeolite, so
remove those and replace them with more biological media. To cut a long
story short, carbon removes things water changes dilute anyway, and
Zeolite removes ammonia which is being used up by the filter bacteria
more efficiently. So neither does any good. Their main purpose is to
remove money from the pockets of less experienced fishkeepers. Simple as
that.>
I admit I was definitely overfeeding the guppies for a while to ensure
that their fry got enough food near whatever rocks they were hiding
under, and God only knows how much my mother gave them while I was away
at school.
<Hmm... overfeeding is never good.>
So I decided to feed the growing snail population algae discs to make
them nutritious enough for a dwarf puffer (and to get them to leave my
plants alone).
<Won't work. Snails will either completely ignore plants (e.g., Malayan
livebearing snails and Nerites) or view them as a salad bar no matter
what you feed them (e.g., Apple snails, pond snails). Putting aside
extra food for your snails is simply going to cause the snails to feed
and breed more rapidly.>
It turns out that my puffer was killed by an unknowing pet store worker.
A much more knowledgeable worker told me today that the symptoms I
mentioned are from the puffer having puffed air, which is fatal, which
he must have done while he was being caught and transferred to the bag.
<Nope. Pufferfish are perfectly able to gulp air and puff themselves up
safely. They do this when captured by terrestrial predators like water
birds. It certainly isn't fatal! What sometimes happens is they can't
deflate themselves. This doesn't kill them directly, but means the fish
can't stay underwater, and its gills dry out, and it suffocates. So
unless the Pufferfish was floating upside down at the top of the tank
with its belly out of the water, air wasn't the problem, and I have no
idea where that store worker got that idea from. The "cure" when puffers
do this, by the way, is to hold them head-upwards by the tail so the air
can bubble out. This problem is exceedingly rare. Almost all, REPEAT,
ALMOST ALL, pufferfish deaths in captivity are caused by improper water
chemistry and/or water quality. They are otherwise extremely robust and
easy to keep animals. So please, make sure you do large, regular water
changes using a good dechlorinator and, in summer, if it gets too warm
provide extra aeration to prevent the water becoming stagnant.>
I received an exchange puffer, and this little guy is having all sorts
of fun chasing snails and a couple fry that I had missed when I moved
the guppies. Thanks for suggesting other foods for him--I ordered
bloodworms and blackworms online today.
<Very good. He will off course attack the Guppies, so not a good idea
mixing them.>
Thanks again for your help!
Jess
<Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Sick Dwarf Puffer
11/24/07
Hello once again,
<Indeed, Hello again!>
Sorry, I actually clean 20%-- two gallons out of 10. Sometimes more,
when I've got an empty cat litter container I can use. I don't do the
math thing very well sometimes...
<I know the feeling..>
So carbon and Zeolite are useless?
<Not useless, but rather they have specific functions in freshwater
aquaria. In the average tank, neither is essential and indeed wastes
space in a filter that could be put to better use.>
A few sites said that Zeolite was okay if I cannot find Bio-Spira, which
I can't.
<They don't do the same thing at all, so I have no idea what those sites
were babbling about. Zeolite is an ammonia remover; nothing more,
nothing less. You use it *instead of* biological filtration. Suppose you
had an aquarium at pH 5.5 for acid-loving Apistogramma, you'd have to
use Zeolite, because filter bacteria won't live at this acidity.
Bio-Spira is a culture of filter bacteria used to jump-start a new
aquarium's biological filter. You add it as per the instructions when
setting up and (in theory at least) the tank will be near-instantly
matured, read for adding fishes.>
I used to have some, but all the stores in the area have stopped selling
it. Do you know of a good alternative or a site for information about
it?
<This one, for a start. But regardless, once an aquarium has been
running for more than 6 weeks, the filter bacteria will be more or less
fully established. So Bio-Spira becomes completely redundant.>
The point of the extra food was to make the snails breed more. Once I
had decided to get a puffer, I wanted to have lots of healthy prey for
him, and a forum suggested using a few of my pleco's algae discs. I know
the fish will kill guppies; that's why I moved most of them. I missed a
few fry, but losing two out of 30 is not a big deal. Besides, they're
good food for the puffer, I hear.
<They're not good food for the puffer at all. No captive pufferfish
needs to eat live fish. Some people enjoy feeding live fish to their pet
fish, and that's a different issue. But there are absolutely no
advantages whatsoever to feeding live fish to vast majority (99.999%) of
aquarium fish sold as pets. Quite the reverse in fact. In any case, the
natural diet of your species of pufferfish, and indeed Carinotetraodon
spp. generally, are insect larvae. If you look at their mouths, they are
slightly upturned and are used for snapping up small insects they find
around and among water plants.>
I know that larger puffers can puff air, but every site I've gone to
says that dwarf puffers will nearly always die if they do.
<Some aquarium sites are great, some not so much. All I can tell you is
that the writers at WWM know what they're talking about. Go look at a
copy of this month's 'Tropical Fish Hobbyist' and you'll see an article
by me all about freshwater pufferfish including your species and its
maintenance. But let's suppose air somehow "killed" your puffer -- the
symptoms would be obvious. The pufferfish would be floating upside-down
with its air-inflated belly sticking outwards. Its gills would be unable
to get below the waterline easily, and that's how they die, they
suffocate. Unless your pufferfish did this, air wasn't the issue. End of
story. Simply lifting a pufferfish out of a tank and putting it into a
bag won't kill it. If the fish was swimming underwater when it arrived
in your aquarium, then it hadn't inflated with air, and air wasn't the
issue. So, was your fish floating upside-down or not?>
Another person on here had one with the same symptoms as mine, and the
helper didn't know what was wrong. I was just hoping that maybe someone
else would know...
<Not sure what your symptoms were. You may need to remind me. If we're
talking about "the fish was kind of unhappy in my tank, it didn't eat
anything, stayed at the bottom, and then died" that's almost certainly a
water chemistry/water quality issue.>
Maybe it's nobody's fault and he was simply stressed from being shipped
to the store, stuck in a tank full of other puffers, chased by a big
net, not very carefully tossed into a bag, and driven for half an hour.
<Nope. That's not enough to kill this species at all. I've done far, far
worse to pufferfish and they've settled down afterwards just fine. I
just rescued a species about a month ago that was emaciated, had no
tail-fin, and couldn't eat because its teeth were overgrown. It's fit as
a fiddle now. Pufferfish are really and truly very robust animals. I'm
not saying that things can't go wrong, but if you do this precisely by
the numbers, there's no real difficulty keeping these fish, and they're
certainly well worth keeping.>
Sorry for being a nuisance and thanks again for all your help,
Jess
<One last thing. Do check your Dwarf Puffer actually was a Dwarf Puffer.
Sometimes brackish water species -- and even marine species -- get sold
as freshwater fish. The name "Dwarf Puffer" really applies to
Carinotetraodon travancoricus, but sometimes a variety of other puffers
get sold under this name. Different species have different requirements.
When I was at university, I picked up two "Dwarf Brown Pufferfish" from
a freshwater aquarium store. Imagine my surprise when I discovered these
were juvenile marine pufferfish (Arothron hispidus) that grew to more
than 40 cm in length! This is why experienced hobbyists sooner or later
abandon common names and stick with Latin names -- it's simply so much
easier! I hope this helps, Neale.> |
Nile Puffer losing color and becoming
listless 9/16/07
We've had our Nile puffer for about a month. Tupac was doing great in the 20
gallon tank he calls home, until we did a water change two days ago. We emptied
out about a third of the water, replaced it with water and conditioner and
biological treatment. Since then he's been pale, appears to be ?breathing? in a
labored fashion, hangs out at the bottom of the tank behind the décor, and
doesn't interact with us as he usually does. We had the water tested yesterday,
and there's a slight trace of ammonia, although (we've been told) not enough to
bother him. Because of the ammonia's presence, we added a bit of a different
conditioner yesterday and today, and plan to do the same tomorrow. But Tupac
still remains unhappy. What can we do? Please help. We have very little
experience with this type of fish and have become very attached to him.
<Greetings. Tetraodon lineatus are -- like all freshwater puffers -- very
sensitive to ammonia. The reason yours is "out of sorts" is almost certainly
because of this. In the long run, the fish will die. A pufferfish aquarium
should have consistently zero levels of ammonia and nitrite. There's no safe
levels of either other than zero, this point cannot be stressed too strongly.
Let's recap the basics. This is a big pufferfish (around 30-40 cm in captivity)
that needs a suitably large aquarium (around 300 litres, 75 US gallons being
about the minimum). Filtration should be appropriate to the size of the fish,
producing not less than 4x the volume of the tank in turnover. In other words,
for a 300 litre tank, the filter should have a turnover of 1200 litres per hour
or more. Water changes must be generous, around 50% per week, if not more. A
suitable dechlorinator should always be used, and if your local water board uses
chloramine in the water supply, choose a dechlorinator that neutralises
chloramine as well. Water chemistry is relatively unimportant as this species is
found in a variety of fresh (and to a less extent brackish water) habitats, but
ideally you want neutral to slightly alkaline, moderately hard freshwater. These
are difficult to look after, and I'm afraid failure to cover any of these bases
inevitably ends in the death of the fish. I hope this helps. Good luck, Neale.>
Re: Nile Puffer losing color and becoming listless 9/20/07
Very helpful info. Thank you so much for your help. It appears we were
overfeeding poor Tupac. We cleaned the tank and filter and have cut him back on
the munchies. Your quick response was reassuring and helpful.
<Cool. Just keep on top of water changes, and make sure ammonia and nitrite stay
at zero. Do that, and your fish should recover quickly. They're nice fish, but
difficult to keep. So do things "by the numbers". Cheers, Neale>
Ich-look-alike? Skin parasite on Dwarf Puffer –
06/17/07
Hi Crew,
I really need your help with my male dwarf puffer.
First, the vitals:
two dwarf puffers, heavily planted six gallon tank, one
Amano shrimp tankmate. Water tests with a consistent 0
Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, 5 Nitrates (which is how it comes
out of the tap in these parts). Weekly 30% water
changes, and their diet is 80% Grindal worms that I
raise on a high-quality dog biscuit and 20% snails from
my large planted tank.
About six weeks ago, he began developing a handful of
white specks that looked to me like a classic case of
ich.
<These are almost certainly Cercariae...>
I thought it fairly strange, since I've had him & his
female tankmate seven months with no additions to the
tank. But I began a heat/salt treatment right away,
bringing the temp to 82 with the addition of 1/2 tsp of
salt per gallon of water.
After two weeks's time and no change whatsoever in the
appearance of the spots, I began thinking I was
mistaken. Perhaps these were just skin flaws of some
kind?
<Mmm, no. Please read the second, third ref. here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cercariae+on+puffers&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7PCTA>
I have treated many cases of ich over the years
successfully with heat & salt, and have always seen that
familiar dropping off of the cysts after a few days of
treatment. So I brought the heat back down and waited. A
few more weeks went by with no change, and then in the
course of a week the spots began to increase. I tried
again, this time with the temp at 84 for two weeks. No
change. Heat back down to normal. Spots are now
increasing slowly but steadily. The poor boy is at least
eating and remains active, but I am seeing occasional
flashing so I know this is bothering him. Whatever it
is, it's spreading, and I am stumped. The female is
totally unaffected by the way.
Any ideas? Is this some kind of ich-look-alike skin
parasite? There are no visible worms, no red spots, no
clues of any kind. I am in terror of using anything
stronger than salt on such a sensitive fish as a DP, but
the heat and salt are obviously doing nothing.
I've attached a couple really poor photos which will
likely be too blurry for a diagnosis of any kind but
will at least give you a sense of scale and placement.
Thanks in advance for your help.
<Will need to use an anthelminthic... My choice?
Prazi/quantel... particulars are posted on WWM. Bob
Fenner> |
|
Ich-look-alike? Skin parasite on Dwarf Puffer
– 6/19/07
> >> I really need your help with my male dwarf puffer...
> >> About six weeks ago, he began developing a handful of white specks that
looked to me like a classic case of ich.
> > <These are almost certainly cercariae...>
> >>Thanks in advance for your help.
> ><Will need to use an anthelminthic... My choice? Prazi/quantel...
particulars are posted on WWM. Bob Fenner
Bob, picked up PraziPro on Sunday and began treatment (bath, following label
instructions). Two full days now and no change at all in the cysts. If anything
he seems to be getting weaker. Recommendations? Is there anything else it could
be?
<Yes... and I absolutely hate this guessing... Do you have a microscope? A way
to send along pix from such? BobF> |
|
Re: Ich-look-alike? Skin parasite on Dwarf
Puffer 6/20/07
>> >> I really need your help with my male dwarf puffer...
>> >> About six weeks ago, he began developing a handful of white specks that
>> >> looked to me like a classic case of ich.
>> > <These are almost certainly cercariae...>
>> >>Thanks in advance for your help.
>> ><Will need to use an anthelminthic... My choice? Prazi/quantel...
>> particulars are posted on WWM. Bob Fenner
>Bob, picked up PraziPro on Sunday and began treatment (bath, following label
instructions). Two full days now and
>no change at all in the cysts. If anything he seems to be getting weaker.
Recommendations? Is there anything else it could be?
><Yes... and I absolutely hate this guessing... Do you have a microscope? A way
to send along pix from such? BobF>
No, not anymore. Years ago I could've gotten you a lovely scanning electron
micrograph.
<Look into the cheapy but great QX-3 to -5 units... on the Net>
What to do? Malachite dip?
<No... perhaps a regimen/one-shot treatment with Flagyl/Metronidazole... but
this is only speculation... starting from the more likely to be efficacious to
the outright guessing... B>
Thanks again.
|
|
|
Floating Puffer (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) 5/16/07
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I found my pea puffer in an odd position, floating vertically with her nose at
the surface of the waterline. I've never seen this before and she stayed like
that for several hours yesterday.
<Is it possible she swallowed some air at the surface?
See:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/hospital/help-my-puffer-is-air-filled/
>
I didn't see her eat any bloodworms or little snails that we added to entice
eating and her belly doesn't have the roundness that it usually does. Today,
she is only in the surface position intermittently and does swim around and
contemplate for a few minutes before returning to that odd position.
<It is possible she could have internal parasites.>
We added 3 small mollies to help with clean-up
<Mollies prefer brackish water.>
and completed a water/filter change as we always have over the past 2 years but
no other change was made. Do you have any ideas about what may be wrong and how
we can fix it? It is so disconcerting to watch our puffer in this one position
for so long, with very little interaction or curiosity. Thank you for any
advice to help
our Puffy feel better.
<If it is indeed internal parasites (Maybe brought in by the mollies) & the
puffer is not eating, you can try treating with Flubenol 15:
http://www.flubenol.co.uk/
You can also try enhancing appetite by soaking it's food in garlic. If after
eating again, it's still skinny, you can soak it's food in Levamisol:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7
I hope your puffer is feeling better soon! ~PP>
Puff-n-Diablo
Auriglobus modestus with Lip Problem 3/29/07
Hi there,
<Hi Leanne, Pufferpunk here>
I have written to you in the past about the 2 Auriglobus modestus I purchased
at the end of August/06.
<Cool fish, one of my favorite puffers!>
Unfortunately one did not make it, he just wouldn't eat.
<I had 3 of them. One jumped out of the tank (forgot to close the lid) & one
just died. The 3rd one is getting very large & seems quite happy, living with a
big, Royal Pleco.>
The other one has been doing great, until yesterday I noticed that he has a red
bump on his top lip. It went away when I fed him last night but it is back
again today. (He gets a diet of raw shrimp tails every other day and snails
sometimes.) I gently cradled him in my hand to get a closer look at it. It is
not a cracked tooth, they look to be in good shape and it is on his top lip,
right in the center of his mouth and protrudes out and down so that you cannot
see the top tooth unless you gently move it. It looks like a little
bubble/triangle blister. I was wondering what it is and how to treat it. He is
acting normal, swimming about happily and eats with vigor. Water parameters
are as follows: nitrate 20ppm, nitrite 0ppm, hardness 120ppm, alkalinity 180, pH
7.5 and temp 79. I do weekly 1/4 tank (20gal tank) water changes and vacuum the
gravel. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have grown very fond of him.
<1st of all, I'd bump those water changes to 50% weekly & get the nitrates
<20. Check out this thread:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8448
I'm not sure if it's the same thing or not but it wouldn't hurt to post at that
forum about your puffer's lip. ~PP>
Thanks, Leanne
Pufferpoo 1/26/07 Mbu health
<Hi Shazza, Pufferpunk here>
I have a 5 month old Mbu Puffer, he has always been fine, eats well and happy.
Today ive <I've> noticed a very large bowel movement coming from him,<.> its
<It's> thick and lumpy, whitish with red veins going through it. I am very
worried. It is still joined to him and is as long as he is (4.5 inches at
least)<.> Please help<!>
Thanks<,> Shazza
<Please read your letter before sending, to be sure you have used the proper
punctuation & capitalization. I corrected this one. These have to be posted in
our FAQs. My thought about your puffer is that it may have a prolapsed
rectum/intestine. You can try treating with 1 tbsp Epsom salt/5gallon. It may
just be a superpoo. Epsom salt wouldn't hurt in either case. You might be
overfeeding your puffer. In that case, the food is only partially digested &
this may be what you are seeing. Here is an excellent Mbu story by a puffer
keeper of close to 50 years:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150
You are welcome to join in at that forum & post about your puffer! ~PP>
Mbu Puffer in Non-Cycled Tank 11/16/06
Hey,
<Hey yourself, it's Pufferpunk here.>
I own a 4 inch (not including tail) MBU Puffer and I've had it for a week so
far. He had been introduced to a tank that had been matured for a month and he
has a very healthy appetite, eating everything from cockles, mussels, shrimp,
bloodworm but the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels in the tank sky rocket so
high that I have to do a 50% water change every 2 days to stop him from dying!
<I'd raise that to 80% daily, until you can get that tank cycled or your puffer
will definitely not make it. They are extremely sensitive to those toxins,
because they are scaleless & have no gill covers. What do you mean by, "matured
for a month"? If you just let the tank run for a month, that's not cycling the
tank. Or were there other fish that would equal the bioload of that puffer in
there for that month & the water parameters were perfect (0 ammonia & nitrItes,
<20 nitrAtes), then removed, when you placed the Mbu in there? How big is the
tank? That puffer will grow VERY quickly, needing at least a 300g tank in 2
years, upgrading even larger after that. If you don't understand the facts of
cycling a tank, you may not be ready to house such an exotic fish like the
Mbu. Please do a search for "fishless cycling". If you insist on keeping this
fish & are prepared to buy it much larger tanks & huge filtration systems
(including veggie refugiums, to keep the nitrates down), in the very near
future, then you can instant cycle the tank with Bio-Spira. Do an 80% water
change, before adding it to your filter.>
I have a fully functioning filter and I regulate the amount of food he eats
(around 2 cockles or 1 mussel a day) but the water gets dirty so quickly that
I'm worried about his health. What can I do to keep the levels stabilized so I
don't have to change the water so often and why is this happening? I use Amquel
to reduce the levels when I don't have time for a water change.
<You're going to have to MAKE time for this! Eventually, plan on a 1,000 gallon
tank for this beautiful, 30" tank-buster. Forget about Amquel, it is just
inhibiting the cycle. Bio-Spira is the only way you're going to save this
fish. You may have to search around for it but more shops seem to be carrying
it. To dechlorinate, use Prime.
Please read this Mbu story, written by a puffer keeper of over 50 years:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=150
I know it sounds like I'm being really hard on you but personally, I think these
fish only belong in public aquariums or in the wild, where they have room to
grow & swim. ~PP>
Thanks, M
Puffer fish ... ID, disease/env./sys. 11/16/06
Hi
<<Hello>>
I just bought 2 spotted puffers a couple days ago.
Did they look like this?:
http://www.pufferresources.net/puffer_profiles/viewtopic.php?t=19>>
They were completely normal until yesterday when I noticed that one looked like
he had ick. First of all what can I do about the ick. I am putting some
medication in the water.
<<Please don’t before you know what kind of puffer you have, what ails it, and
have them in a cycled, aquarium. If these are indeed GSP’s, (Tetraodon
nigroviridis) then they need 30 gallons of water each minimum, and require full
marine conditions as adults.>>
Second, the same puffer sits in this one corner all the time while the other
puffer is swimming around the tank. Is this normal?
<<No. Please get back to me, and visit www.pufferresources.net.>>
Thanks
<<Glad to help. Lisa.>>
Nile/Fahaka Puffer, Tetraodon lineatus 11/14/06
<Hi Jo, Pufferpunk here. I have corrected all your improperly capitalized
words, so we can present this email to our FAQs. Next time it will be sent back
for you to correct!>
I bought a Nile puffer 3 days ago and was really badly informed by the shop. I
wish I had looked on the internet first!
<Did they tell you it will grow as large as 18" & require a minimum of a 120g
tank within 2 years? They grow fast!>
They told me it would be fine to fill up the new tank with water from my other
tank with various tropical fish and put the puffer in the tank the same evening.
I now know the filter wouldn't have matured and now my puffer has a cloudy
looking eye and isn't moving much. I've tested the water and the NO3 is on 0 and
the NO2 the others seem fine too. I'm not too great on the technical side so if
you could explain in a way I would understand I would be very grateful.
<For cloudy eye (due to poor water quality--fish don't get sick in healthy
water), add Melafix. The bacteria you need to cycle a tank does not live in the
water. It lives on the surfaces of the tank. Mostly in the filter material
but also on gravel, glass, decor, etc. You can squeeze the "dirt" from your
older filters into your new filter to help the cycle along. You should be doing
50-80% daily water changes, until your tank is cycled. After the tank is
cycled, do 50% weekly water changes. My best suggestion would be to add
BIO-SPIRA to your filter, to "instant cycle" your tank. I highly recommend
this. It really is not a good idea to cycle a tank with a puffer at all! They
have no protective scales or gill covers. Very sensitive to
ammonia/nitrites. How large is the puffer & what size tank is it in?
For more info on your fish, go to: www.thepufferforum.com ~PP>
Thank you, Jo
Lumpy Mbu Puffer 9/11/06
Hi,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a MBU puffer fish called ASBO. He is not very old and has
formed a lump on the right side of his mouth. I have looked all over
the internet to see what it could be. The only thing I can come up
with is a cyst or tumour. He seems to be eating fine and his mood is
fine also. Do you know what it could be and is there anything you
can suggest? I have tried putting Melafix in his tank. I did a seven
day treatment then done a 25% water change. The
lump got bigger but now is staying the same size. I love my puffer
fish and don't want him to die, please help. What can I do?
<I have seen most lumps like these are just cysts that get absorbed
back into the fish. In some cases, it has been caused by a shell
fragment stuck in their mouth. Have you been feeding him
snails? Keep his water pristine--be sure you have extra-heavy
filtration, large water changes are in order for these fish (50%
weekly) & extra large tanks, eventually close to 1,000 gallons for
these monsters! See www.thepufferforum.com for more info. ~PP>
Auriglobus modestus 8/31/06
Hi there,
<Hi Leanne, Pufferpunk here>
I recently purchased 2 Auriglobus modestus (aka. golden or bronze puffer) from
my LFS, one is 2.5" and the other is 3". They seemed very active in the store
and ate with vigour. The second day home they seemed to lose interest in
food. I have tried frozen brine shrimp, freeze dried krill, live rams horn
snails and (because this is what the LFS was feeding) live feeder fish.
<Get those diseased feeder fish out of your tank! Your puffers are mostly
crustacean eaters. On food for puffers:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/puffer/food.html >
They showed a bit of interest in the krill this morning (day 4) and the feeder
fish has a little of his tail nibbled on, the only other tank mate (besides the
feeder fish) is a tiger barb who has resided in that tank for over a year.
<As soon as your puffers get comfortable in there, the barb will be toast.>
They are in a 10 US gal tank, temp 73F, water parameters are:
nitrate 30ppm, nitrite 0ppm, hardness 120ppm, alkalinity 180ppm, and pH approx
7.2.
<I'd get those nitrates <20 with some water changes. Temp should be
78-82F. They really need 20g each. I kept one quite happily with a large royal
pleco, in a 50g tank. Be sure the tank is heavily decorated with lots of broken
lines of sight, to prevent intraspecific aggression.>
LFS said to add 1/2c. aquarium salt to lower the hardness but it was my
understanding that these are full freshwater puffers and the directions on the
box said 1 tbsp/5 gal so a 1/2c. Seems a lot.
<That makes absolutely no sense at all. Adding salt will make your water
harder. They need no salt.>
I have been doing daily water changes of 1/3 to 1/2 in attempt to lower the
nitrates but they haven't moved, LFS said the
levels are high because of all the rain we have been having. Could
the nitrates be the reason they are not interested in feeding? If so how can I
lower the levels, would bottled distilled water work?
<Your nitrates are high but really aren't at toxic levels yet. Are you
cleaning the gravel & filter media? The puffers are in a tank that is too small
for them & may just be sulking (puffers do that a lot). It takes a few days for
puffers to adjust to a new environment.>
The substrate is small gravel (the kind you can buy anywhere in any color) and
I just added a sword plant yesterday. They seemed alot happier with the plant
in there, they circle around it or rest in the leaves. Any suggestions you have
that will make my puffers happier would be greatly appreciated.
<Here is a profile on your puffer:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php?g2_itemId=48 Check out that
puffer forum too. ~PP>
Leanne
Deceased Dwarf Puffer-Hoping You Can Help Me Understand 8/24/06
Dear Crew,
<Hi Shellie, Pufferpunk here>
I was hoping I would never have to write you one of these letters but the time
has come. I purchased two dwarf puffers for my son's 10-gallon tank. Since the
goldfish were in it, I have kept it cycled in order to avoid a wait time for new
inhabitants. One puffer seemed full grown while the other is rather tiny. My
water numbers were all within the correct ranges (sorry I cannot be more
specific for you)
<Always helpful to post exact numbers in a letter like this.>
and there are tons of plants for them to hide among, preventing
aggressions. They were bought three days ago and the bigger one crossed to the
rainbow fish tank after less than two days.
<Sorry to hear that! :o{ >
I have looked all over the web for what might have ailed it and cannot seem to
find what might have happened. It will not bring my poor baby back but it might
help me understand. I have had a lot o reassurance that he or she was sick when
I got them for the fish to have died that quickly but I will always wonder if
there was something I did wrong. The larger Puffer, DJ, seemed to have two
seizures early Monday afternoon. Since there are so many plants I assumed he was
having trouble getting out of the spot he was in. Until later that day there
were no other signs of the problems to come. That evening I noticed that his
body was very stiff when he swam and his tail stayed curled. For a while he
could stay afloat regardless and I still had hope. I lost the hope about the
time he would head for the surface with his curled tail and then fall back down
in a swirling motion due to the curl. I watched, horrified, as the poor thing
laid there in the sand breathing but unable to go anywhere. Every time he tried,
the same thing happened. I prayed to whatever fish God there is and was up
until two A.M. reading your site and the Dwarf Puffer forum to no avail. In the
morning he was gone. Despite that being yesterday and only having him for two
days, I am still very upset. As you know from my care of the goldfish and their
tank, I am extremely conscientious with my tank cleaning. The little one
continues to thrive but I am anxious every morning and constantly scan the tank
for the tiny fish.
<A couple things come to mind. The 1st being, if you didn't completely clean
out your tank after raising GF in it, there could have been some pathogens that
the GF might have been carrying. GF are very dirty fish & can carry a lot of
diseases that tropical fish can't handle. My other thought is that your puffer
could have had internal parasites & come to you sick.>
On another note, I have managed to get a Puffer to eat something besides live or
frozen and maybe this tip will help others. He has Omega One pellets (protein),
freeze-dried brine shrimp and freeze-dried bloodworms. I put a little of each in
a baggie and smash it to nearly powder with a meat tenderizer. Amazingly he does
eat this since it is so tiny the current swirls it like live food. I do intend
to get him snails and some black worms but I wanted to let people know it is
possible to get them to eat other things.
<Yes, in rare cases puffers will even eat flakes! Some of mine ate algae wafers
too. A varied diet is best for them.>
I apologize that I cannot seem to send you a short post. Hopefully this is not
too long and the point was not lost in the length. I hope you can help me and
DJ, although he is beyond help.
<No problem, I'm glad to hear your whole story & I hope you have more luck with
your lil puffer (& your new one). Check out www.thepufferforum.com, for more
puffer info. ~PP>
Thank you again, Shellie
Re: Grieving the Loss of a Puffer... 8/27/06
Dear Pufferpunk,
Thank you so much for your reply. I was very careful about cleaning the tank
since it was for goldfish and actually had to go through quite a process to get
it ready for the Puffers. I know actual numbers are best on test kits but I
still have those darn strips until the first of the month. I apologize for that.
I am still sad about the lost Puffer but Lightning is helping. He is definitely
a delight and always curious to see what we are up to. It's hard to find him in
a 10-gallon tank yet often he finds me before I find
him. For now he's a lone Puff and he seems happy that way. I did purchase his
black worms and frozen bloodworms yesterday with the result being a tiny pot
belly. I will quit worrying about what I did wrong in the case of the bigger one
and simply enjoy the little squirt. I am finally content I did everything I
could and just had the bad luck to purchase a sick fish.
<I'm sure you did your best. You still have room for 2 more... Just try to be
sure you keep the 1m-2f ratio. ~PP>
Thank you, Shellie
Losing Battle with Dwarf Puffers 7/27/06
Crew,
<Hi Roy, Pufferpunk here>
I need some help! Although I have been in the hobby since Axelrod was Innes and
have kept all manner of both fresh and marine tanks (I currently have 2 thriving
Nano-reefs), I am at a loss as to what is killing my Dwarf Puffers.
The tank is a 20 long, lots of silk plants and caves and hideaways.
Cycled with the addition of Bio-Spira and with the occasional thawed mysis
shrimp for about 25 days. The tank parameters after cycling are:
pH is 7.2
Temp 80
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
They were the same this morning:
pH is 7.2
Temp 80
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
I measured after another DP turned up dead!
About one month ago I placed 5 Dwarf Puffers (and a Dwarf Albino Cory) in the
completely cycled tank. I did not quarantine because the tank was new and all
occupants were together in the LFS. I have been feeding them a combination of
live enriched brine shrimp,
live black worms and freeze dried bloodworms once a day. I have been loosing
one a week; only one remains. The Cory seems fine! The only thing I can think
of (short of them being ill when purchased) is that I overfed them.
<Hmmm... tough one! I would think if you were overfeeding, there would be much
higher nitrates. Either your tests are off (try testing again at your LFS),
your puffers were from sickly stock, they had internal parasites or you had all
males. Check: www.dwarfpuffers.com & www.thepufferforum.com, for more info.>
Any insight would be appreciated.
<Sure sounds as if you're doing all the right things with your puffers. Sorry
for your loss! ~PP>
Roy
"Pea" Puffer ... health, sys. - 06/30/06
Dear XXXX,
<It's Pufferpunk here.>
About a month ago I bought 2 pea puffers and they have been doing pretty good.
But it seems like there starting to lose some of the color on there spots any
tips.
<what size tank are they in? How well is it decorated? What are you feeding
them? Water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH)? Without really
knowing what's going on in your tank, it's hard to tell. See
www.thepuffeforum.com & www.dwarfpuffers.com ~PP>
Thanks, Austin
Lackluster Dwarf Puffer 5/20/06
So, I have a question.
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Just recently we set up a tank with three pygmy (dwarf) puffer fish.
<How recently? Did you cycle the tank 1st?>
For a while the newest fish (Seiko) and the oldest fish (Yasu), hung out
together and played while the other one (Kichi) hung out by itself. However, a
few days ago Seiko got sucked into the filter and died unfortunately.
<Sorry to hear that. Is there a strainer cover on your intake tube?>
So, we brought home yet another one (Aku). Now, Aku and Kichi hang out together
all the time and Yasu has been acting strangely. Yasu hangs out on the bottom of
the tank and just lies around. Yasu lacks the energy he had and doesn't really
play the way he used to. Do you have any idea what would change the fish's mood
or if he is sick.
<Info on water parameters would help. Ammonia, nitrites & nitrates. If those
are good (ammonia, nitrites 0, nitrates <20), then maybe the 2 that are getting
along, have paired off & left out the 3rd. Be sure your tank is large enough
(at least 10g for 3) & there is plenty of decor. I suggest visiting
www.dwarfpuffers.com & www.thepufferforum.com for more info. ~PP>
Thanks, Samantha
-MBU in trouble- - 04/10/2006
Hi Bob,
<Justin with you today.>
fortunately we've found your resource on the web (hard to find more detailed
info about the MBU anywhere else here in Germany).
<Well we will do what we can.>
We're the owner of a small MBU (10 - 15 cm) since end of last year.
We have serious problems with him for the last 10 days:
- He is not eating anymore (we've offered him mussels, prawns etc.)
- He often turns upside down and remains there for minutes (sometimes hours),
but recovers and returns to normal position afterwards
- Sometimes his belly blows up near the tail fin
- His anus stays open sometime and it looks like (at least something similar to)
a worm is visible
- Small white dots are visible on his fins and the body
<Well to cover your list so far, He has trapped air in his body. most likely
at this point it is in his intestines, you can try to help him by burping him
(read here : http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/puffer/airpuff.html). He
has ich which needs to be treated with Saltwater dips or with anti ich
medication like formalin in his own quarantine tank. He may not survive if the
air has entered his bowels as that is what it sounds like has happened. but
there is not much at that point you can do short of taking him to a veterinarian
who specializes in fish.>
Some additional info:
- He is living in a 450 ltr. tank together with other fish
- We medicate him with antibiotics (separate tank, 15 minutes per day,
Nifurpirinol)
- We medicate all fishes with drops against the dots (although no other fishes
seems to show up with dots at this moment)
<This is acceptable for now, however if this puffer survives this it will grow
to somewhere north of 3 feet long or close to 1 meter. it will need a 1000
gallon tank and serious filtration. The is not a puffer for the general
public. you might look into a fahaka or another smaller freshwater puffer.>
Attached please find two small pics of our MBU: <<Rats... file not moved/saved,
seen by me for this. RMF>>
- They have been shot yesterday and today
- One shows up with the white dots
- One shows up with upside down position and blown up belly.
It would be great, if you would be able to share some ideas.
It's hard to see his torture, we�ll see him better again ...
If you provide me with a phone number in the US, I would love being able to give
you a call. We're lost with ideas how to help this poor guy ...
<Just follow the article and keep offering food. That is unfortunately all you
can do at this point. Keep the water pristine and keep other fish from bullying
it. www.thepufferforum.com has quite a bit on this puffer as does
www.fishbase.org . I recommend you read up on here and at both those places.>
<Justin (Jager)>
Thanks
Lars
Re: Big problems with our Tetraodon MBU -Mbu in trouble 2- -
04/11/2006
Hi Justin,
<Lars>
thank you very much for your speedy reply.
<Sorry that it was too little too late.>
Unfortunately our MBU died two days ago (hopefully it was better for him to
stop his torture).
Since he has been the dearest fish of our son, no ... not true ... the
dearest fish for all of us (gentle, relaxed, friendly ...), it would be
great to know about other puffers that could make sense for a 450 gallon
tank.
<In your previous email you said the tank was in liters. which is 120
gallons, however, regardless a Fahaka would love it. try www.pufferlist.com
for a very complete list of the common to the trade puffers in freshwater.>
You've mentioned to think of an Fahaka, what other puffers would make sense
to think of?
Nevertheless it would be important for us to know, why our MBU went
seriously ill, since we did not experience something similar with all our
other fishes.
<I believe that based on your photos he swallowed air, and was unable to
clear it. that blocked its bowels and it died. Not a good way to
go. Puffers don't do well in air and should always be moved in water or
bagged in the water.>
Thanks for your help.
Best,
Lars
<I'm sorry you lost the fella. If you want another puffer try the
pufferlist above and www.thepufferforum.com both of which have a vast
knowledge base on the friendly little/big guys. >
Ich--Out of Control! 3/19/06
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I am in tears right now over my fish.
I recently set up a brackish tank because I fell in love with the
puffer fish. One of the first fish that I added into my BW tank was two
zebra puffers.
<Colomesus asellus? See:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/puffer/sapuffer.html >
I had some scats in the tank to cycle the water and everything was fine
until I got a couple GS puffers and 3 F8s from another pet store.
<A lot of bioload to add all at once. Scats grow as large as dinner plates
& require 50g each (adult size). Green spotted puffers grow to 6", require
marine conditions as adults & 30-40g each. F8s like low-end BW (1.005),
need 15g for one & 10 more for each extra puffer.>
I was then informed that the Zebra puffers were not BW fish.
<Correct.>
So now I had two fish that had no place to go. I do have a FW tank, but it
is pretty full and I thought that I saw some ick on the Z puffers, so I did
not want to spread into my other tank.
I decided to remove the Z puffers. Yes, they had ick...
<This species in particular, is very sensitive to ich. Must be quarantined
& treated right after purchasing.>
So I am thinking that maybe they were stressed from the BW conditions and I
moved them into a small, already cycled 16 gallon tank. I treated the ick
in the 16 gallon with JUNGLE Ick clear, along with my BW tank. I saw a few
spots on the scats and a couple F8s by this time. Well, I treated both
tanks for 3 days and the ick cleared up in both tanks.
<Just long enough for them to become immune to the treatment. It's like not
using antibiotics for the full recommended period.>
About 6 days later I noticed that the Z puffers in the 16 gallon FW had
signs of ick again, so I immediately used JUNGLE ick and I had gotten 2
glass fish for the BW tank and I swear, by the time I got them home and
dumped them in the tank - not more than 1 hour passed and the glass fish had
ick spots, so I also treated that 40 gallon BW tank with JUNGLE Ick again
also. Well, after 3 days of treatment, my Z puffers had not responded
to the treatment and have gotten steadily worse. My BW tank has held its
own but still no signs of improvement. I then put the carbon back in the 40
gallon BW tank (Fluval) and the 16 gal tank, waited 12 hours, did a 25%
water change and switched medicine to Kordon Prevent Ick. I used that for 2
days in both tanks, cutting the medicine down a little bit because of the
puffers being sensitive and all of my fish seemed to have gotten worse. So,
I then changed medicine AGAIN with Kordon Rid-Ick. Now, after 3 days all of
my fish that were infected are either the same or worse. The Z puffers look
so bad - one is also starting to get fin rot, that I have thought about
putting them out of their misery, ether by having a friend of
mine freeze them or me flushing them.
<Overdosing with clove oil is best (found in the toothpaste isle of the drug
store).>
My BW tank with the three F8s seems to be getting worse and I just don't
think I can see any more of my fish suffer so. I talked to a friend of mine
at the pet store and he told me that there are all sorts of strains of ick,
and that all medicine might not kill that strain.
<There is FW "ich" (Ichthyophthirius multifilius) & SW "whitespot"
(Cryptocaryon irritans), with similar habits to freshwater ich.>
I do not understand how ick could be living in my BW tank with the
temp being 80, and the hydrometer reading at .006 - .008.
<You could be making the strain resistant to meds, with all the different
meds you are using, for not a long enough time.>
So to sum it up I have a 40 gal tank with 2 scats, 2 knight gobies, 1 GS
puffer, 3 F8s, 2 butterfly gobies, 5 Bumblebee gobies, 2 glass fish and 2
black Mollies.
<Waaaay overstocked! With that kind of overstocking there is always going
to be constant stress & lowered immune systems--no chance of fighting
disease at all in there.>
The 3 F8s are steadily getting worse and I am sure my fish are stressed from
constant 24hr water changes along with new doses of ick medicine.
<Water changes are the very best thing you can be doing right now. Here is
an article on Treating Puffers with Ich:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9 >
My 16 gallon tank has 2 Z puffers and 2 white mollies COVERED with ick. I
do understand that it takes more than 3 days to clear up ick but I have had
ick in the past in another tank.
<The parasite have a greater hold on scaleless fish.>
I have - a FW 40 gal and after 3 days the ick has always maintained the same
appearance or gotten a bit better. So, if you are wondering why I have not
waited before trying a new med is because every day, even with the ick
medicine the puffers have gotten steadily worse. As of now I have put the
carbon back in the tank and am going to try a new medicine called Super Ick
Cure, by Aquarium pharmaceuticals Inc. I am still debating as whether to do
another 20% water change before attempting this. I feel that the more water
I take out and put in, the more stressed the puffers get. My Z puffers are
suffering so, I know that I cannot watch any more of my fish get that bad so
please, if you have any answers on how to get this under control - PLEASE
write back. If I have to watch my F8s suffer like the Z puffers, I don't
think I'll be able deal with having any more fish. :(((((
<I understand your affection for these wonderful fish! I'm afraid your
tanks are in trouble with all the fish you have in there. Please read the
links I have given you. You can also add Melafix to help with the fin
rot--caused by the parasite eating off the fish. Look through the other
articles on the species you have & consider many larger tanks for all your
fish--if they make it. For now, leave the meds alone, heat & water changes,
water changes, water changes. Be sure it is the same temp & use Prime to
dechlor. ~PP>
Kathleen
A Modestus Puffer with Infected Tail 3/4/06
<Hi Jess, Pufferpunk here>
I have a bronze puffer in a 55 gallon tank. When I first got him I noticed a
small pink spot on the tail. I asked the guy at the pet store what it was and he
said it was like a scab and it would go away. Well it never went away, it just
spread all over it's tail. It's tail is now really swollen and puffy and kind of
a pink, white color and it looks like its fraying at the ends. It seems to be
spreading up to his body. I'm wondering what medications I should use. He still
swims a lot and eats but his whole tail is just a mess.
<Sounds like some kind of bacterial infection. Did you purchase the fish this
way? I'd add Melafix, Pimafix & a tbsp salt/10g on the 1st day & a tbsp/5g the
send day & keep those doses going. Make sure the water is pristine. Do large
water changes (at least 50%/week). What are the water parameters (ammonia,
nitrIte, nitrAte, pH)? Are there any tank mates?>
Please help. I want to save the little guy.
Thanks, Jess
<If he doesn't seem better in a few days, you will have to quarantine & use a
stronger antibiotic. I hope he pulls through. ~PP>
Dwarf Puffer--Internal Parasites 9/21/05
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
After battling parasites in my main 30 gallon tank for the past 2
months I've finally won. Finally I thought I could begin to restock my tank. I
learned my lesson so I've set up three QTs. I got three dwarf puffers and one
appears to have a parasite. I'm not sure what kind of parasite it is. The
puffer is just under 3/4" He's lethargic looking, extremely skinny, dark
coloring. I noticed one worm hanging out around the anus (I guess that's what
you'd call it). It was no thicker than a thread and is white and just under 1mm
long. I've also noticed long stringy white bumpy feces coming from him. I have
added Jungle's Parasite Clear to the tank.
<Internal parasites really need to be treated from the inside of the fish. I
have had great luck with Discomed, by Aquatronics. Unfortunately, that company
has been out of business for a while now, so you may be hard pressed to find
that med.
See:
http://www.thepufferforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=7>
I was wondering if you would recommend doing a copper dip? I would really
rather do a dip than treat the whole tank for a month. Even if you don't
recommend doing a copper dip for future reference what exactly do put in a
copper dip, the chemicals I mean and the amount of each chemical.
<Puffers are extremely sensitive to meds, ESPECIALLY COPPER! You can add a
garlic remedy to the tank, to help with appetite, as you will need to treat the
puffer's food. I'd go ahead & treat all the puffers, if they came from the same
tank. A good forum for puffers is: www.dwarfpuffers.com Good luck with your
new friends. ~PP>
Thanks in advance,
Logan
Tetraodon schoutedeni
Hello everyone,
<Hi! Ananda here today..>
Firstly, thank you for such a helpful site: I have found it to be invaluable!
<Glad it has helped.>
Now, to my question.
I purchased a T. schoutedeni at my LFS 3 days ago. I placed him in a 55 gal tank
with a 4" Bala shark, 3 tiger barbs, 2 balloon mollies, a silver molly and a 6"
fantail goldfish who is a real b**ch. This tank has been in operation for over
a year and I've had it's occupants for no less than 10 months. The temp is a
constant 78, ammonia 0, pH 7.6 - 7.8 and I maintain a tablespoon of salt per 10
gallons for health purposes. 1/4 water changes are done weekly.
<Okay>
My 2" puffer ate voraciously the first 2 days, (I fed him dried Tubifex worms
and raw shrimp cut into small pieces) but today he only mouthed some food, spit
it out and swam away.
<Hmmm. What did he refuse? The shrimp? Dried Tubifex? Puffers are fussy eaters
and prefer -- nay, demand -- a variety of foods in their diet. Do check out the
assorted Puffer Feeding FAQ pages for both marine and freshwater/brackish
puffers.>
Then he began to dive and surface, dive and surface, ad nauseum in the corner of
the tank while facing the glass.
He's behaving the same and it has been several hours.
<He's bored. What kinds of decorations do you have in the tank? I like to create
a veritable jungle gym for my puffs... you want lots of stuff to break up sight
lines in the tank so the puff can play hide'n'seek with the other fish -- well,
even if the puffer is the only one who knows what the game is. And rearrange
stuff a bit with each water change.>
I have read that a puffer's belly color is a good indicator of mood/health, and
when I first arrived home his tummy was rather ashy/gray. It whitened up for a
short period, but has since gone back to gray.
<Hmmm. He's stressed for some reason. What are your water parameters? Ammonia &
nitrites should be zero, nitrates preferably less than 10...>
I know this is all rather vague, but any ideas or suggestions you might have
would be wonderful.
<Get yourself over to the WetWeb chat forums at
http://wetwebfotos.com/talk
-- many people in the brackish forum have puffers and would be happy to chat
about them.
Thank you, Michelle
<You're welcome. --Ananda>
Injured T suvattii 1/11/04
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:03:38 EST
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a Tet. suvatti, pignose/arrowhead/Mekong puffer.
<I also have one.>
Currently about 4" in body. Haven't had him long, few weeks. ph 7.0, pure
freshwater, temp 80, all water tests clean, 36gal tank. Working on training him
to non live food, a slow and frustrating process to say the least!
<How are you doing this? I just thread a needle & poke it through a shell-on
shrimp (the friction holds it on) No knot, I'm not going fishing! I hang it
over the tank into the outtake flow of the filter to get it moving. My suvattii
now eats from my hand.>
Well after a week of turning down food I finally gave him lives I bred and fed
well. Sometime yesterday he must have been going after one and run into a rock.
His lower lip area has a white
bone like object projecting out about 1/8". It does appear slightly bloody
around it. Now I have not pulled him and examined the "bone" closely as I don't
want to stress him. However from close examination through glass I can discern
it's not a fungus puff or other such thing. I cannot find much in the way of
information on what is safe to treat this puffer with. So far I am just keeping
the tank clean. <good> Is there anything safe to add to the water to promote
healing and stave off infection? Thank you ever so much for your help.
<Mine got his lip pinched by a crab. It turned red & swollen. I added Melafix
& salt & he is fine. I just feed him female crabs now.>
Also if you know of any sites/books that cover this species please do let me
know.
<Several folks on this site have suvattis:
http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi
Have a wonderful day!
<Thanks & same to you!--Pufferpunk>
Puffer injury (1/8/04)
<Hi! Ananda here this afternoon...>
I have a Tetraodon suvatti, pignose/arrowhead/Mekong puffer. Currently about 4"
in body. Haven't had him long, few weeks. ph 7.0, pure freshwater, temp 80, all
water tests clean, 36gal tank.
<Hopefully this is the only fish in the tank...>
Working on training him to non live food, a slow and frustrating process to say
the least!
<Worth it, though, in the long run. Have you tried "sewing" a raw shrimp onto a
thread and bouncing it around a bit? Or even just putting it in the filter
outflow so it moves around.... Do check out the WWM site, reading up on how to
wean lionfish from live food for more ideas. The procedures should be similar.>
Well after a week of turning down food I finally gave him lives I bred and fed
well.
<Kudos for using food you raised and is disease-free, but I think I'd've tried
going a couple more days.>
Sometime yesterday he must have been going after one and run into a rock. His
lower lip area has a white bone like object projecting out about 1/8". It does
appear slightly bloody around it. Now I have not pulled him and examined the
"bone" closely as I don't want to stress him. However from close examination
through glass I can distend its not a fungus puff or other such thing.
<Good -- just let it be. I'm checking with Pufferpunk on this, as I know she's
got one of these fish (normally, I'd let her answer this, but she's having
computer difficulties). She says these fish have soft cartilage for a mouth, so
what you're seeing is a bit of that cartilage.>
I cannot find much in the way of information on what is safe to treat this
puffer with. So far I am just keeping the tank clean. Is there anything safe to
add to the water to promote
healing and stave off infection?
<Pufferpunk's T. suvatti got nipped in the mouth by a crab. She added Melafix to
her tank to prevent the injury from getting infected, and added a cup of salt to
the 15 gallon tank the fish is in. If the area starts to turn "furry", then
other medication will need to be used to deal with it.>
Thank you ever so much for your help. Also if you know of any sites/books that
cover this species please do let me know. Have a wonderful day!
<Have you tried using Google and Dogpile to search on all the names this fish
has? You might also check out Pufferpunk's forum:
http://puffer.proboards2.com
or the discussion boards at
http://wetwebfotos.com/talk --Ananda>
Lymphocystis on Fahaka Puffer 10/24/04
Hello,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I have a 5" Fahaka puffer with what I think is called "lymphotosis"?. It looks
like Ich but will not go away with any treatment. I was told that it is a
specific virus that will not spread to other fish. He also has a small
Styrofoam looking yellowish ball on his anal fin. like one of those bean bag
beads). It won't come off! Is he doomed to this or should I let him back into
his 120. Right now he's in a 10g hospital tank.
<I know you posted this question at The Puffer Forum. I also answer most of the
FW puffer questions here (sharing them with Linearchaos). The best I can do
would be to have you search some of these disease sites:
http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/clinicalsigns.htm &
http://www.fishdisease.net/
Since the virus isn't contagious, I highly suggest putting the fish into a
larger tank. I'm afraid a Fahaka that size in a 10g tank, will definitely do
more harm to your fish, than good. It will cause stress to the fish, lowering
it's immune system, making it even sicker.>
Thanks, Mike
<I hope you find the answers you are looking for. ~PP>
More Pignose Puffer (T suvattii) Problems
Hello,
<Hi, it's Pufferpunk again)
Thanks for your reply last week. I have the pignose puffer with the white spots
on him. I figured out that it is fungus by looking at pictures of fungus online
and comparing. So I bought MarOxy by Mardel and used the recommended dosage
yesterday and again this morning. Now, though, the fungus is worse and it is
growing off of him about a half-inch long. Otherwise, his behavior is normal.
Should I continue with the medication? Should I change the water and change
medications? I'm getting very worried. Thanks, your help is appreciated.
<Do you ever see him hanging out by the heater? This may have caused the
initial problem. You might want to get a cover for it. See:
http://www.aqua-addiction.com/forums/index.php?s=083f74272c7f36849e32b197851f9ff1&showtopic=6879 As
far as getting rid of the fungus, I would continue with the Maroxy, but also add
Melafix & Pimafix. If that doesn't work, use something stronger (sorry, I don't
know a whole lot about meds). Make sure you keep the water pristine & do
bi-weekly water changes, so as not to stress the puffer w/any waste build-up. I
hope your puffer feels better soon. ~PP>
-Eric
Ick on Brazilian Puffer and Hatchet Fish
Hey guys
<Hey yourself, it's Pufferpunk here>
I have a 29 gal freshwater tank with a power filter that has all three
filtration methods, heater set at 78 degrees. In the tank reside 1 1.5"
Brazilian puffer, 6 serpae tetras, 5 hatchet fish, 1 blue crawfish, 1 weather
loach, 2 Glo-fish, 2 butterfly loaches, 1 pleco and some ghost shrimp for the
puffer. I did a 25% water change and promptly got the ick REAL bad on the puffer
and somewhat on the hatchets. I have been treating with 1/2 dosage of "Quick
cure" (for the tetras sake) for 3 days and the ick seems to be getting worse.
What are your recommendations?
<I generally don't like to use meds for curing ich, especially on scaleless fish
like puffers. The water change wouldn't have caused the ich, unless the siphon
was used in a diseased tank. Generally it comes form a new addition to the
tank. The puffer will be the most susceptible to this parasite, since it is a
scaleless fish. See:
http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=hospital&action=display&num=1086103674
In short, large water changes while vacuuming gravel to remove free-swimming
parasite, high temps (86 degrees) & 1 tbsp salt/5gal.>
Thanks a bunch Dave
<I hope your fish will be feeling better soon. ~PP> Parasites??? Please
help my dwarf puffers! 1/26/04
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I think two of my four new DPs have parasites, although they don't quite
match the descriptions I have read. The first one I noticed yesterday.
It seems to have a large (almost 1mm in diameter and 1 mm in length
cylindrical white lump (poo?)) which comes and goes from behind its anal
fin. Since this puffer is still a juvenile, whatever is coming out is
larger than it's regular poo (definitely not stringy). The other one I
just noticed had a bit of white stringy poo coming out, but as they
haven't been fed in almost 24 hours, perhaps this is normal? Both of
these puffers seem fat and healthy and they stay fat for 24 hours after
feedings.
<Your pufferpoo sounds fairly normal. If your puffers are not thin, I
don't think you should worry.>
I have had these DPs (purchased from Petsmart) in a 10g planted tank
with some otos and Amano shrimp for about 2 weeks now. The tank was new,
but I cycled it with an entire package of Bio-Spira and all parameters
seem normal.
<Sure sounds like you're doing everything right!>
I recently began feeding them live blackworms because one (the second
puffer mentioned above) wouldn't take frozen bloodworms or Mysis shrimp,
and the baby pond snails I am breeding haven't quite finished maturing.
Is purchasing live blackworms a bad idea because they can contain
parasites or is it more likely that parasites would have come with the
fish from Petsmart? I know PetSmart breeds DPs, so they are not
wild-caught.
<Another reason not to worry about internal parasites in those puffers.
I have been feeding live blackworms to my fish for over 25 years. As
long as the worms look healthy & are rinsed well, before every feeding,
they should be great food for your fish.>
I have been looking for Discomed in case it becomes necessary, but with
no luck. I can't even find it through Google. Are there other acceptable
alternatives (Hex-Out or Hex-a-Fix) or do you know where to find
Discomed?
<I have never had problems finding Discomed online. Just a quick search
led me here:
http://www.123fish.net/gc/getDetail.php?ItemNo=AQ1000 There
were many more. Here is a discussion on the alternatives:
http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=hospital&action=display&num=1093270673
>
On an unrelated note, I have read that a pH of 7.0 is ideal for a DP
tank, but my tap (which I mix with RO) seems buffered to 8.0, which is
where my tank remains. Is 8.0 an acceptable pH for DPs? Should I be
using something like RO Right so that I can use exclusively RO water?
<I would not bother with RO water for a FW puffer tank. Most fish can
adjust to most any pH, as long as it isn't fluctuating much. Here's a
link to "pH mythology":
http://puffer.proboards2.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&num=1105913797
>
Quick help on any of these topics would be greatly appreciated... I
don't want to lose my puffers!
Thanks, Jeremy
<I think your puffers are in very capable hands! Here's another link for
you:
www.dwarfpuffers.com ~PP>
Did Puffy Huff or Puff? Works on/w freshwater and brackish water puffers
as well...
<Anthony Calfo in your service while Bob travels>
We have a spiny box puffer fish. He is pretty small still and we had him about a
month. He has been fine and eating fine but we have noticed that he is swimming
weird lately. He seems to struggle to swim and swims at an angle with his tail
fins upward. He can dive to the bottom of the tank but it looks like he is
struggling. Does this mean that he has swallowed air?
<possible but uncommon once established... usually occurs after netting out of
water when sold/moved>
Since this swimming problem has started he does not seem to eat anymore either.
We also have some larger fish that are bothering him. The fish who are the
villains are a Sailfin tang, blue tang and a Heniochus. What can we do to help
puffy?
<needs quarantine immediately. Ultimately may never work with current tank
mates, but suffer and die if forced to do so>
If it is air, how exactly do we help him release it without getting bit or
hurting him?
<gently net underwater with a soft nylon cloth net (not coarse green fabric).
Securely grab the fish through the net and orient the fish tail-down/ mouth-
upward. The struggle to get free will often massage a burp of air out if it
exists. You should only need 5-10 seconds to complete if it will work at all.
Quite frankly, it may not be air at all and the symptoms are general. Stressed
by harassment from other fish, it could have a pathogenic infection... that is
why quarantine for isolation, treatment and observation is critical to save its
life>
Thanks for any help with our little guy.
<please write back with a success story! Anthony>
What is the title of your book? (and puffer lymph)
It looks to me like you have written a book on marine aquariums (from
some of the emails)
<Likely you're referring to "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". Sold by fish
shops, Amazon et al. on-line booksellers, many etailers:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marlinks.htm>
What's its title and where can I get it? I think I have two puffers
with lymphocystis,
<Very/too common>
but my fish have clear blisters on their fins, which
is a little different from the descriptions I have read of lymph. Is there
anything else this could be?
<Chemical, physical "burns", secondary bacterial (though often labeled as
fungal) infection...>
They look like clusters of bubbles in
their fins.
<Oh, this IS likely lymphocystis. Look at pix here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/viraldislymph.htm>
Thanks,
Brenda
<Be chatting, Bob Fenner>
Puffer Question
I have two Spotted Congo Puffers. Or at least I'm fairly certain that is
what they are from the description on your site. My tank is in good condition,
all fish seem healthy and all readings are normal. The only problem is that last
Monday I noticed one of my fish (not puffer) had ich. Which means all my fish
have ich.
<Not necessarily... but your system does...>
So I bought Rid-Ich and used it as directed for a week. This seemed to get rid
of the ich. But now I see that my two puffers are staying at the bottom of the
tank, not eating as much, and are still rubbing up against rocks. They are not
darting around however. My question is, does ich cause loss of appetite and non
movement?<It can, but definitely the medication does.>
They used to be very active but now seem to stay in the same place. I don't see
signs of parasites on them and their color is still bright, most of the time.
Do you think they have ich and I should continue to treat with Rid-Ich? Or any
other suggestions.
<I would not continue the treatment at this point, but wait a good week or two,
see if other (spotty) symptoms recur... then go the "elevated temperature and
some salt" treatment route for two weeks, if so. Your livestock is better not
chemically treated for now. Bob Fenner>
Thank you for any help,
Isaac Vollaire
ps. Sorry if I didn't give enough info or if anything is confusing.
Gray sores on my poor puffer
hello bob,
thanks for taking the time to read my question. I recently bought a young
leopard puffer AKA green spotted puffer. and have been doing my research on
how best to care for him. He lives in a 10 gallon with a few ghost shrimp
(which were intended for him to snack on), a juvenile Pakistani loach, a
Plecostomus (sp?) and female beta. He is rather shy and scared of the beta.
(I will be moving her soon) I have been gradually increasing the salt
content over the last three weeks. it is now up to 1.004. He eats frozen
blood worms and brine shrimp. I even set up a smaller tank so that I could
bread snails for him to eat. He acts healthy, has good coloration and eats
like a pig. The problem he has developed two dark grey-ish spots around the
bottom corners of his mouth. I have notices them for about four days now.
They are circular and the center of them appears as shallow open sores. they
are lighter in the center and darkish grey on the outside. do you know what
this could possibly be and how I might treat it?
<Are the colored spots sort of symmetrical... about equal on both sides? This
may be "nothing">
I love this little guy. out
of all my fish in four different aquariums he is my favorite. please help.
thank you.
-David
<If it were mine I'd keep on the path you're on and not worry. What you have
related that you've done thus far (other than the difficulties of this being a
small system) looks fine. Bob Fenner>
CO2
I moved my figure-8 puffer into the new 45 gallon tank a couple of days
ago. His color is quite pale and he is ventilating heavily. Is this just from
the stress of moving or is it possible that the DIY yeast Co2 generator has
saturated the water with too much Co2; especially given that I only have a few
plants and very little lighting, just one bulb (N.B. my tank has 10 ghost shrimp
and a bumblebee goby; the bumblebee goby made the move at the same time as the
puffer and appears to be doing quite well). I think I will add an airstone
right away to inject more air, is this a good idea? Also, should I disconnect
this Co2 generator? A speedy reply would be appreciated. Paul
<Hi Paul, I highly doubt the DIY yeast Co2 could diffuse enough Co2 into a 45gal
to harm the fish. This is most likely stress from the move. Check the rest of
your water parameters to make sure they are all within range. An airstone could
not hurt at this point. Eventually if/when you really get into the plants and
the Co2, the surface agitation from the additional aeration might pose a
problem, but right now the fish are your main concern, so I would go for it.
Best of luck, Gage>
Possible Co2 poisoning in figure-8 puffer?
I put in an airstone and some duckweed and Poof seems to be doing much
better, although he really isn't showing much interest in the ghost shrimp. Oh
well, I guess they can just be tank cleaners then... Thanks very much for you
help Gage! Paul
<Good to hear, I'm sure his appetite will return shortly.>
Figure Eights with Ich
Okay Okay...so here's the deal:
I'm a college student with a ten gallon tank FILLED with puffers, mean, I just
love the goofy bastards. Okay, so, I had to go home for Thanksgiving break and I
didn't know WHAT to do with the guys. I mean...I had to bring them home cause
they needed to be fed...I mean what else was I going to do right. So perhaps
this wasn't the best idea, but to get the home I drained the tank half way and
sat with them in the back seat the entire car ride. So we were in the car for
four hours, those poor guys splashing around and with no circulation like there
was no tomorrow. So, I get the home, and I was in such a hurry to fix up their
little home that I forgot to put anti stress coat in about half the water I put
in. NEXT THING I KNOW...two of my little Figure Eights (the ones I know as
Millhouse and Itchy) have these white spots on their back. Big old white spots.
I don't know what's going on there, but it's really upsetting to me...a father
of 6 puffers. They don't look like they're going away and I just don't know.
There are 4 other puffers in the tank and they seem fine. JUST HELP ME! HELP THE
PUFFERS. WHAT DO I DO...for the LOVE OF GOD WHAT DO I DO?
Some people say it's ich...how do I take care of that? Thanks for your help.
<Dude Bro, I hate to ask you to study while you are on vacation, but... I've got
some reading for you to do. If it is ich you will want to begin treatment with
a formalin based medication. Before you make the trip home make friends with
someone at your local fish store, and ask them to pack them for the move
home. These fellas will be needing a larger home as well, they are little fish
with big attitudes.
disease -
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
moving aquariums -
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/movingaq.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/fwbracpuffaqs.htm
-Gage
- Freshwater Puffer Woes -
Hi Bob,
<Actually, JasonC today...>
I was wondering if you could answer a few of my questions and concerns that I
have regarding my green puffer. <I can certainly try.> I have had this fish for
a little over a year and it shares a 20 gal tank with a Labidochromis, a blue
cobalt, a bumble bee and a pleco. The puffer has given me few reasons to be
concerned about it, but recently it has been acting different than it has in the
past. For one thing, the fish does not swim around as much as it used to. Now
the fish either sits at the bottom of the tank without moving or sits on the
various rocks that are set up throughout the tank and hardly moves. In addition,
the puffer has started to close his eyes, almost like he is blinking. I don't
know what this is but I have never seen the fish do this before. I don't know if
the fish is sick or maybe just stressed from a recent water change. <Or both...
these fish are sensitive to water conditions and I'm sure over the last year all
the fish in this tank have grown, which would alter your bioload, and also your
water quality if you're not on it 100%.> Any advise, help or some solution that
may help would be greatly appreciated. <I would keep an eye on it, perhaps
isolate it in a separate system if things don't improve. You should also read
through the multiple pages of FAQ's on these puffers. This is a good place to
start:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/fwbracpuffaqs.htm
>
Thank you,
Chris
<Cheers, J -- >
- Freshwater Puffer Treatment -
<Greetings, JasonC here...>
I have two green spotted freshwater puffers. One has been in the 40 gal tank
about a month now and seems to be having difficulty with his eye. He had ick
(some on the eye as well) and was treated with Maracide for 5 days. It didn't
work so I gave it a day and treated it with quick cure this seemed to get rid of
the ick however while it was being treated for ick I noticed what seemed to be
pop eye and so after quick cure I started the tank on Maracyn. Now after five
days of treatment it still has a cloud in the one eye that had had ick on it.
Any advice where to go from here? <Yeah... provided the parasitic problems are
dealt with, I'd stop treating the tank. Give the eye time to heal on its own.
Pop-eye is usually the result of injury/trauma to the eye itself so that
treatments like Maracyn and the like will do little to nothing to solve the
problem. I've also heard of using small amounts of Epsom salts to help the fish
regulate its fluids, but I'd wait for a little while [a week or so] before
giving this a shot. Cheers, J -- >
Puff Daddy!
Hi there, Thanks tons for the advice on the puffer, I'm afraid it was too late
though.
<Sorry to hear that. Sometimes, animals don't make it despite our best
intentions, I guess>
I'm starting again, but I would like to know if I could put 2 green spotted
puffers in a 55 litre tank with a bumble bee goby?
<I think that they would be okay for a while, but they may require larger
quarters at some point. You'd want to keep an eye on the goby to make sure that
the puffers are not harassing the goby excessively>
Would it be the same salinity and temp as was for figure of 8 puffers?
<That would be fine, IMO><<Low amounts of salts for Figure Eights, please. RMF>>
Cheers, Tom Hird
<Good luck with your new fishes, Tom! regards, Scott F>
Puffer Twitch
<Ananda here answering the puffer questions...>
I have a green spotted puffer which I just acquired today, my question is
concerning the new one although, I must first tell you what happened with my
former puffer. I had purchased one in early December and had him for 2 weeks
till he died.
<Sorry to hear that.>
After a week of having Cazmo he developed this twitch like seizure like action.
Soon after he started to be very disoriented and running into the gravel. Looked
like a plane that was out of control.
<Can be a sign of something toxic in the tank... Are you using a water
conditioner that treats both chlorine and chloramine?>
He had salt in the water for him, and he ate just fine before this got bad. So I
looked at some web sites and came to the conclusion that he had some sort of
internal bacteria of some sort. I read that Maracyn II (cant remember if that is
correct)
<Probably Maracyn II>
would fix it. So i went to the fish store and they gave me a more generic
version called tetra-cycline.
<Tetracycline is a completely different drug, but is also used for bacterial
infections.>
I administered the drugs to the tank and at the last day of treatment he
died. So I waited till after Christmas to try again with a new one. Today I
put him in his new home, and he started to do the twitch.
<Did he start to twitch immediately when you put him in the tank? If so, it
sounds like it is definitely something in the tank and/or filter. I would remove
the fish from your tank to a quarantine tank -- or any other clean container he
will fit in, if you do not yet have a quarantine tank. Then clean and sterilize
the tank, filter, gravel, and all decorations. Read here for more details:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/disnfecgerfaqs.htm>
I can not figure out what is going on in my tank that is causing this problem.
<Whatever it is, it has stayed in the tank since your first puffer, thus the
necessity of sterilization to get rid of as much of the cause of the problem as
possible.>
The tank is fairly new, but it has been running for about a month and 2
weeks. He has no tank mates right now. And I had my water tested and it showed
up ok. What is causing this? I do not want to lose this one too!
<It is difficult to say with certainty exactly what is causing this. If the
puffer's twitchiness continues after he is in a cleaned/sterilized system,
please let us know. --Ananda>
Puffer Twitch
I have a green spotted puffer which I just acquired today, my question is
concerning the new one although, I must first tell you what happened with my
former puffer.
<You should have researched enough to know that puffers, in general, are really
not very hardy...particularly the green puffer You setting yourself up for
failure>
I had purchased one in early December and had him for 2 weeks till he
died. After a week of having Cazmo he developed this twitch like seizure like
action. Soon after he started to be very disoriented and running into the
gravel. Looked like a
plane that was out of control. He had salt in the water for him, and he ate
just fine before this got bad.
<Just the pains of dying!>
So I looked at some web sites and came to the conclusion that he had some sort
of internal bacteria of some sort.
<Who knows?>
I read that Maracyn II (cant remember if that is correct)
would fix it. So i went to the fish store and they gave me a more
generic version called tetra-cycline. I administered the drugs to the tank and
at the last day of treatment he died. So I waited till after Christmas to try
again with a new one.
<I suggest trying a new species of fish>
Today I put him in his new home, and he started to do the twitch. I can not
figure out what is going on in my tank that is causing this problem.
<Maybe not the tank...The fish is suffering from a terminal case of fragility>
The tank is fairly new, but it has been running for about a month and 2 weeks.
<It probably needs to be set up longer to stabilize. I assume that you have
tested all of your water parameters and everything is as it should be?>
He has no tank mates right now. And I had my water tested and it showed up
ok. What is causing this? I do not want to lose this one too!
<Good luck! These fish just aren't very hardy for anyone. Beautiful? Yes.
Delicate and fragile? Yes. Die easily? Yes. David Dowless>
Figure 8 puffers (02/20/03)
I have two in a 10 gal tank. They were doing fine until we added two Monos
and a Bala shark(?).
<Hmm. A Bala shark is a freshwater fish; if you're talking about a brackish
fish, perhaps you have the "silver shark catfish"?>
Soon after adding the new fish, one of the puffers stopped eating. This has
been going on for about 2 weeks, or we just don't see it eat. Then it started
getting grey and black markings on its white underside. Now the other has grey
on its underside, but not as much. This second one has also kept on with a
healthy appetite.
<Do try to entice the fist puffer to eat, with snails, shrimp, bloodworms, other
puffer treats...the grey is the calling card for puffer stress. The black
markings are more worrisome. Do check all your water parameters and do a water
change if you see any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.>
We set up a 40 gal brackish and transferred the Monos and shark to it, thinking
the puffers would do better, but it did not seem to make a difference. I have
absolutely no idea what I should be treating them for.
<Possibly something the monos and shark brought in... I would go back to the
fish store and check their remaining stock to see if they are healthy. The
presence of the other fish in their tank may have been the initial stressor --
do the puffers have hiding spaces in their tank?>
We did move the puffers into the 40 gal tank with the others thinking more room
might help.
<It might, or not. If they do not improve, consider moving them back to their
more familiar quarters.>
Your help is appreciated!
<You're welcome. --Ananda><<... this tank is too small, psychologically and
physiologically... for this livestock. RMF>>
Re: puffer with
black spots
hi.. your site has been very helpful. i have a green spotted puffer
that looks like it got the ich....doesn't seem as energetic and also noticed
where his white belly starts...black specs???? he's in a freshwater tank ph like
7.2 7.6... should i do a saltwater dip on this fish??? how would i do this..
<Hello, It is hard to say without a picture. If the spots are raised then it
may be the Turbellid parasitic at work (Black spot). Possibly treat with
formalin, but I would make a positive ID before any treatment. Check out the
link below. Best Regards, Gage
http://wetwebmedia.com/parasiti.htm
>
Puffer Color Change
Hello,
I enjoy the WWM site a lot...lots of good content.
<excellent>
I have a question...I have a green spotted puffer (Pepito). About a couple of
months ago, he started turning kind of blackish/greyish colored. What might it
be?
<Have you tested your water quality lately? Are you adding salt? What is the
spg? These puffers are ok in fresh water while young, but as they grow older
they should really be kept in brackish water. It could also be related to mood,
diet, or just a normal color change with age. Check out the link below and
related FAQs for more information. Best Regards, Gage
http://wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/fwbracpuffers.htm
>
Thank you,
Kristine
New Mbu Review (03/21/03)
Hi,
<Hi. Ananda here today.>
We are the proud parents of a beautiful Mbu Puffer.
<And here we missed the baby shower.>
We briefly have put him in a 37 tall (he is 7 inches) we are having a 135
delivered and set up with an established filter system tomorrow.
<The 135 is a good starter tank for a fish this size... you are making plans for
that 300+ gallon tank you're going to need when it gets to its full-grown length
of 26 inches, right?>
My question is last night my husband was on the other side of the mirrored side
of the tank. He adjusted the heater and this scared the Mbu, "Simon". Simon
moved so fast across the tank I could not believe it.
<Despite the fact that they swim like tugboats most of the time, puffers can
move amazingly fast when they need to.>
He bumped into the other side of the tank. He hit so hard. He then sat on the
bottom of the
tank and I noticed blood coming from his left gill every so often. After about 1
minute this stopped.
<Ouch! Sounds like the fishy equivalent of a bloody nose.>
This morning and afternoon he is swimming and is colored up beautiful. Do you
think this hurt him? This was really scary.
<For him, especially!>
Please let me know what you think?
<Keep an eye on him. If there will be movement near his tank when the people
come to set up the 135, cover his tank with a blanket so he won't get startled.>
Also we have fed him mystery snails and shrimp..
<You don't have to use mystery snails; ordinary pond snails will work fine, too.
You might want to set up a snail farm tank. Check out the article here:
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/snailsforpuffers.shtml>
My husband says its ok to take the shrimp out of the freezer and leave in the
refrigerator for a few days and feed it to him.
<Sort of like leaving bread out on a plate for a few days before you eat it....>
I say no, its not safe. Better to take the shrimp out the night before and feed
the next day..
<I just take the shrimp out of the freezer and drop them into the tank. (Though
I have to chop them up a bit, first; my puffers are little guys.) Hard and
crunchy foods mean more wear on his ever-growing teeth. Do vary his diet a bit
more; check out the puffer feeding FAQs here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pufferfdgfaqs.htm
...Also check the various puffer FAQs, including the marine ones -- your puffer
is closer in size to marine puffers than to the more common fresh/brackish
puffers.>
Help...
Vivian Rahman
<Have fun with your new family member. --Ananda>
Aquarium service woes... (03/24/03)
Ananda,
I write you with a heavy heart.. On Thursday the Aquarium Service came and were
supposed to replace the heater and the eclipse filter on the Mbu Puffer's tank.
The young man took it upon himself to put salt in the tank thinking he was salt
or brackish. Mbu "Simon" was dead in 2 1/2 hours.. We came in at 6:pm and he was
on the bottom his gills barely moving and covered
with white looking powder. We did a 3/4 water change he was dead before we got
through. He has been so happy and colorful all day. I wish I had stayed home to
make sure all had gone well.. He was 7 inches long..
The owner of the company will be compensating us. His employee argued with me on
the telephone the next morning and told me that we did not know what we were
doing, that all puffers required salt and the puffer died because we had him in
fresh water. He did this in front of his co-workers, who were mortified. The
owner called my husband and they both cried on the telephone. It was a very
painful death for Simon and I will never forget what happened.
We are getting another Mbu Puffer this weekend. He is smaller 4 inches. He has a
cute personality and he will be in our family for a very long time.
From now on when the Aquarium people come I will be home and will monitor what
they are doing..
I will never forget Simon. The technician was fired from the company..
Thank You,
Vivian
<I am so sad to hear about this. I will post it in hopes that another such
tragedy might be prevented. Thank you for writing. --Ananda>
Help!! South American Puffer Illness
(and sometimes the forums are faster than the emails...) (03/13/03)
Hi there,
HELP!!!
<Ananda here tonight, as the puffer patrol heads south...>
I was checking out the site (excellent) and hoped you could help me.
<I recently got done reading the forums... where I posted an answer to this very
same question. Here's the link:
http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=8101 :-) >
I have a 1 ½ inch South American Puffer that I purchased in November. It has
generally been very active and healthy. My setup is a ten gallon tank and the
only tankmate is a chocolate albino pleco which is about 2 1/2 inches long. My
tank conditions are generally about 76 degrees Fahrenheit, around 1.002
salinity, PH of about 7.4, and based on tests conducted by my pet store my
ammonia and nitrate levels are "normal" (I don't know the specific values but
could find out). I have bio-wheel filter and little rocks as opposed to
gravel. I usually do a water change, about 40%, every few weeks and the last
one was maybe 6 days ago. I usually feed my puffer freeze dried krill. He
generally refuses dried blood worms (though he used to love them?), dried brine
shrimp, or even frozen food (haven't tried live food).
<Snails. Puffs go *nuts* over snails....>
This morning I looked in the tank and noticed that the puffer is very
lethargic. He seems disoriented and he shows no expression. He has some stool
hanging out from his behind and his body seems slightly thinner and gaunt. He
has little in terms of other physical signs except for maybe dull coloration and
maybe slightly cloudy eyes. This evening I tried feeding him
krill and he made a pathetic attempt at going for a piece but couldn't get up
the energy to get any of it.
<Not good... more ideas in the response I posted.>
This morning, I frantically ran to the store and picked up some medicine. I
administered Maracyn, Two-two, and Melafix (tea tree oil) to the tank. I also
raised the temperature of the water a few degrees and added some more salt to
the water. I haven't yet noticed any improvement. I also took the pleco out of
the tank in case he tries to bully the puffer.
<Good idea.>
I'm trying to figure out if this is a water quality issue or a disease. Are the
rocks maybe trapping some nitrates or ammonia, causing the levels not to be
recognized by the tests? Have I changed too much of the water? Too
little? Have I kept too little salt in the water? Is this an infection or
maybe a parasite? Is the stool thing an indication, I haven't noticed it
before? I'm racking my brain for answers??!!
<My ideas are posted, and others will chime in with their ideas...>
Any help you could provide would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thanks and great job
on this site!!
Frank
<You're welcome, and thanks! --Ananda>
Puffer looks blind (04/14/03)
Hi Bob,
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
I need HELP, or rather, my little puffer does! he hasn't been eating well
lately, and he looks like he is just picking at his food, but i had a closer
look, and it looks like he has cataracts or something, as one of his eyes looks
slightly cloudy. Water conditions are stable, and i know he is hungry, as he
gets excited when he smells the food in the water. just that he doesn't seem to
be able to see it and find it.
<Cloudy eyes are most commonly attributable to poor water quality. You say your
water conditions are stable, but what are they? What are your water parameters?
(ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, specific gravity, etc.) Come to think of it, what
kind of puffer is this?>
he has lost weight, and spends the night lying down on the substrate, and it
appears he is ventilating quite heavily. how can i care for him?
<First off, do a water change. Diluting any ammonia/nitrites/nitrates in the
water can only help. Aside from that, I need to know what type of puffer this is
before making any specific suggestions... this might have been caused by a
bacterial infection.>
I've recently put live Tubifex in a feeder cup for easier access, but he doesn't
seem interested.. should i try bloodworms? he just swims around and sometimes
bumps into things. I'm at a loss. any suggestions would be most appreciated!
<Have you "trained" the puffer to take food from a worm cone? If not, you might
try using shrimp or perhaps freeze-dried or frozen/thawed krill. He should be
able to smell it. Hold the piece steady so the puffer can munch on it moving it
every time he touches it. --Ananda>
cheers
Marcus Tan
Re: My puffer looks like he is BLIND (04/15/03)
Hi Ananda,
<Hi again!>
Sorry I wasn't more specific, but I was really at a loss.. it is a Palembang
puffer (according to the LFS i bought it from)
<Commonly called a figure-8 puffer here in the States.>
and when I wrote to you, I had just moved it to my hospital tank.
<Oh, good.>
I changed the water in the original tank only a day before, so the tests I did
when I noticed the problem were not conclusive of anything, but I suspect my
undergravel filter was to
blame, as I had that running for about 6 months, and in that time, I'd not been
able to do anything more than regular water changes (20% every 3 days) the tank
is pretty small, about 6-7 litres, but well aerated, and planted, and the water
changed regularly.
<Too small a tank for this puffer... even with fairly large and quite frequent
water changes.>
I think my mistake was in not cleaning the substrate regularly, as after I moved
Fugu out, i cleaned it with a siphon, and it was full of muck. more than I could
imagine would be there.
<Yup. Puffers are messy fish, thus the need for a bigger tank and more
filtration than you might need for other similarly-sized fish.>
but all the while, the water was clear...
<Unfortunately, clear water does not necessarily mean good, healthy water.>
So anyway, since moving Fugu, he has picked up a bit, and seems a little more
energetic, but is still having trouble finding the food. I'm trying to hand feed
him, and he manages about 1-2 freeze dried bloodworms a day, which hope is
enough.
<Depends on how big he is, but I doubt it, unless you have bigger bloodworms
than I've seen around here...do try to feed him something larger, or feed him
more frequently. Also, feed him from the exact same place in the tank, every
time. You might also consider using something to hold food there.>
Any idea if his sight will ever return?
<Time and pristine water quality may help... will pass this along to others for
their opinions. --Ananda>
marc
Figure eight puffers: weird thing in mouth? (06/19/03)
Hello,
<Hello! Ananda here today, having solved the browser problem....>
I have a question regarding figure eight puffer fish. I have a small aquarium
which I keep on my desk at work. I have had 6 puffer fish (only 2 at a time) in
the past five months, all but one have died. I keep the temperature appropriate
and I feed them blood worms.
<First, I'm betting your tank is too small for your puffers. Second, they need
far more than blood worms to survive! They need a variety of foods, including
hard-shelled foods to wear down their teeth. Puffer teeth never quit growing, so
they need to munch on snails, shrimp shells, and the like to keep their teeth
worn down. Do check out the assorted Puffer Feeding FAQs on the WetWebMedia site
(both the freshwater/brackish and saltwater FAQs will have useful information).>
What I have noticed in the five that have died, and am currently experiencing in
the last remaining puffer, is when I first got them, their mouths opened and
closed repeatedly as they swam, very aggressive at feeding time and reactive to
outside movement. I understand that these are normal characteristics of this
fish. As time went on, it appeared as though their
mouths closed up, no longer moving. It looks as though there is something
jutting down from the top of their mouth causing the opening to be very small.
<That would be their overgrown tooth! At that point, you may need to very
carefully do some puffer dentistry to save the fish. Using a high-quality
cuticle scissors, snip off the point of the tooth while the puff is completely
underwater. You will need to hold the puff, who will probably puff up. Do a
search in the brackish forum of the WetWebMedia chat forums at
http://wetwebfotos.com/talk
for more details about how one forum member did puffer dentistry on her little
guys.>
When this first starts to occur, they try to eat but the food can't pass through
the small opening. Eventually, they don't try anymore until they die 1-2 weeks
later.
Have you seen or heard of this before? Please let me know.
Thank you,
Kathy
<You need to immediately start feeding these guys some hard-shelled foods. If
your current puff's teeth are too long, they may need dentistry before they can
eat the hard shells. But get some pond snails -- the tiny ones that show up with
the plants at most fish stores, not the huge ones or the cone-shaped ones. And
shrimp tails work well. Puffers are cute, but really need the right foods!
--Ananda>
Puffer ich
Hello,
<Hi! Ananda here tonight...>
I have a green spotted puffer in a 25g tank, brackish water.
<Sounds like a good start.>
One of his eyes has gone all cloudy, his back tail is breaking apart and has
lots of white would looking spots all over the body, he is eating fine any
ideas, I just did a 25%water change today after noticing the Nitrite Levels were
at 8.0
<Ouch! I would do additional water changes to get the nitrites down to *zero*.
How long have you had this tank?>
I also have a baby moray eel in the tank and a red eye puffer, both of which
seem fine, the eel looks like he has white spots on him too but its hard to
tell.
<Red eye puffers are notoriously bad tankmates. It will need its own tank.>
No other fish just the three in the tank.
<Okay. Depending on what your specific gravity is at, you should consider
raising it a few points. That should take care of the ich.>
Please help!! Novice Puffer keeper!
<Do check out the brackish forum on the WetWebMedia forums:
http://wetwebfotos.com/talk
...Ananda>
Sick puffer maybe
I have 2 figure 8 puffers and 2 spotted puffers in a 5 gallon freshwater tank.
One of the spotted puffers just recently started sitting on the bottom or close
to it in the corner. It looks like it has a discoloration line between the white
part of the belly and the spots. It is kind of a dark area, all the way around.
If you know what this could be please write me back.
Annie
<Sounds like what folks term a "stress syndrome" of these fishes (the first
species freshwater, the second brackish to marine)... with nervous involvement,
parts of the body do discolor... I would read and heed the materials stored on
our site re these tetraodonts: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffers.htm
You need to add some non-iodized salt to the system, maybe some live rock (yes,
as if this were a marine system) to speed (re)cycling in the different ionic
environment...
Bob Fenner
Re: sick puffer.........
I am sorry to bother you again but today when I woke up my puffer whom I
wrote to you about yesterday had puffy cotton like stuff on his body around
his fin. Could this be something different? The per store says that its
ick and I got him some "Furacyn" medicine but he looks worse today. :(
Also, do I need to add salt to my tank? I mean, I have neons, swordtails,
shrimp, and baby swords. It is just a 10 gallon tank. Will the salt hurt
them at all? Sorry to bother! Thanks a bunch! >>
<Not ich... did they ask if the appearance was white, discrete spots? Likely a
secondary infection of some sort of fungus... and once again, nutrition and
environmentally related.
If you can understand the following, do add the salt and amend the foods as
previously recommended. No amount of medicine otherwise will stop this
problem... No to adding much salt with the Neon Tetras... Please either trade
the puffer in (it will eventually eat the Neons) or the Neons... otherwise, the
Swords will be fine with the salt...
The Puffer is a brackish to marine species and quite nippy/aggressive...
with easygoing freshwater species... I would have encouraged you to leave such a
fish out of your system.
Bob Fenner
Hurt puffer.........
Hello! I have a spotted green puffer. He is in a freshwater tank with
female swordtails and guppies. I feed the other fish tetra color and I feed
him brine shrimp pellets. His tail is curled up and his left fin is
starting to rot it looks like. Not like Ich but just deteriorating. I have
only had this tank set up for a week and the day after I got the tank set up
I had baby swordtails. My fish went through a lot of stress separating the
babies from the tank so that is probably the cause of this. What could be
wrong with him? Ich? Fin rot? Maybe just a fight with another fish? :(
I love my fish so much and I don't want to loose any! :) PLEASE help
me?!?! Thanks so much! >>
<Likely the tail curling is nothing (this is what these puffers do) but pectoral
fin is trouble... and likely due to being in a strictly freshwater environment
(this species is actually more marine) and a too-limited diet... I would add
"some" salt (a teaspoon per gallon ultimately... a teaspoon per day until you
reach this amount... if you have no plants... or other livestock... the swords
are fine... that are salt intolerant. And do look into other frozen,
freeze-dried foods like Tubifex, mysids, krill, bloodworms... for your puffer.
These two changes will reverse the current trend.
Bob Fenner>
Ceylon FW Puffers
Hello,
I have two Ceylon puffers in my 55gal FW tank. We call them Jeckel and Hyde.
One minute they are swimming around, or shall I say up and down, and eating like
pigs, in full color. Their little bellies are white and the spots are bright.
The next minute, they are laying on the bottom, all black in color and barely
breathing. Once they start swimming again, their bright and healthy looking. We
just don't get it. The smaller of the two is getting worse, with more down time,
I think he might die soon if I don't do something. We feed the frozen brine
shrimp and occasional blood worms. What could it be?
Michelle
<Hmm, couldn't find this common name anywhere in my feeble memory, on ICLARM's
FishBase, in TFH reference works... but do know this is actually a marine to
brackish water species... and that likely what is happening has to do with a
lack of salt in your Puffers water. Can your other livestock tolerate much salt?
Like a teaspoon per ten gallons or so of uniodized (ice-cream, kosher...) salt?
Or better, the same amount from a synthetic salt mix (like for marine fish
tanks)? This is what they really need. Maybe take a read through the freshwater
puffers section and FAQs on the www.wetwebmedia.com site:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwpuffers.htm
Sort of like you and I trying to "catch up" by drinking seawater...
Bob Fenner>
Re: Ceylon FW Puffers
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the email, I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. The real name
for the Ceylon puffer is Tetraodon, I think.
<Ah, likely T. fluviatilis... common names are actually my bane!>
I don't usually use the scientific
names. They resemble green spotted puffers in body shape and size. Anyway, the
smaller of our two Ceylons passed last night:( for reasons unknown. You do put
the right salt in our tank after every water change, our water is brackish. As
soon as the little one died, the big one started failing too. I don't no what to
do:(
Michelle
<Any idea of how brackish your water actually is? Maybe the conductivity as a
measure? I would/am still inclined to place more salt as I wrote last... Bob
Fenner>
Juvenile Green Puffer
I have two green spotted puffer, and two figure eight puffer's in a 30
gallon brackish aquarium. All have been living peacefully together (more
or less :) for a couple weeks now. My question; one of the green
spotted puffers developed a cloudy "film" over one eye last night while
I slept. Do you have any idea what this could be?
<A "sort of secondary" infection, likely bacterial, stress-related... likely
from the system being so new... crowded puffer-wise... and likely will solve
itself>
None of the other
fish have any evidence of this, and the one fish with the cloudy eye
still seems to be swimming around healthy, and eating. Did he maybe get
in a fight? Or do you think he is sick? Thanks for your AWESOME site,
and priceless advice. Good-day!
<Maybe a fight, and not really so "sick" as in treatable for a condition, agent.
I'd just keep the system on an even keel and wait this out. And you're welcome.
Bob Fenner>
Sick dwarf puffer
Hi, I have had a tank with 6 freshwater dwarf puffers (most about 1/2 inch)
in an eclipse system 6 (6 gallon w/ charcoal/BioWheel) for about half a year
now... everything has been great with no problems until the largest one (almost
1 inch long male) developed a white spot in the middle of his back about a week
ago. Since then, about 8-10 of these spots have slowly developed over his back
and head. These spots look larger than any ich spots that I have seen, these are
about 1mm in diameter and some have turned black. There isn't any noticeable
bump or depression in the skin, however.
<Good descriptions, not likely ich... perhaps not even infectious or parasitic>
He has no other symptoms except that he has recently developed a very small
white spot on his fin and brown dot on his underside, he has also started to act
a bit disoriented and seems to be having a bit of trouble eating, though he
tries. I removed the filter and have tried a 5 day, full strength cycle of Quick
Cure (malachite green) as well as adding a little over a tablespoon of aquarium
salt.
<Good choices in therapy... about what I would have tried... in addition to
vitamin administration to the food, water>
I also raised the temperature from the normal 82 up to 85 and begun daily 20
percent water changes but to no avail. A couple of spots have recently begun
developing on a second puffer in the same progression (from the middle of the
back to the head).
Do you know what this could be and how I could treat it? Also, can I raise the
temperature and salinity any more?
<Could be a microsporidean, sporozoan infestation... Worth taking a look at
scrapings of the area (even histological sections if you can secure help, do
this maybe through a local college...) to determine origins... I would stick to
what you're doing and add a complete aqueous vitamin and iodide mix to these
fish's foods daily and to the tank water weekly. Such preparations are made and
labeled for ornamental aquatics use by retailers, e-tailers. You might even try
(yes, this is a semi-endorsement) a "garlic" prep. in their food. Good luck,
life my friend. Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
Jeremy
Sick puffer
Hi,
I recently purchased a figure 8 puffer that's about an inch and a half long.
He's currently in a 10 gallon freshwater tank with 4 painted tetras and a
ghost shrimp. He occasionally chases the shrimp, but other than that he's
left everyone alone.
<So far... Please read: http://wetwebmedia.com/fwpuffers.htm>
The tank has an Aquaclear 150 filter filled with the sponge and Ammocarb in a
bag. The heater keeps the tank at about 78 - 79 degrees and the pH is about
7.3 . I leave the light on during the day (there's a Brazilian sword plant
in the tank). The tank has cycled and I've added 2 tablespoons of Aquarium
Salt.
<This is one of the freshwater puffers...>
He was eating fine for about a week (fed freeze dried brine shrimp and
live blackworms twice a day) but today he refused all foods at both feedings
(morning and night). He looks thinner and seems weaker (hanging out on the
bottom a lot).
Is he sick? Is there anything I can do? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated.
Thanks for your help,
Eric
<Your Puffer may well be sick... perhaps just not acclimated... I would try
offering it other foods, perhaps a bit of cut shrimp, squid or crab meat. Bob
Fenner>
Re: sick puffer
Thanks for the quick reply ... unfortunately I just flushed the little
fella.
No idea what happened unless he wasn't well cared for at the pet store or
maybe couldn't acclimate to the new tank. Thanks anyway.
Eric
<I am hopeful that your apparently cavalier action and message here are simply
my (mis)interpretation. What did Pliny the elder write, "If a man would be
unkind to his parrot (and you with a psittacine e-nomen), then why not his
country...". Be chatting. Bob Fenner>
Lymph on FW Puffer
Great site. My figure eight puffer has Lymphocystis I believe.
<Very common>
They are
large clear bumps on his underbelly. I've asked several aquatics stores
what to do, but they've offered little advice. Is there something you would
recommend to treat this ailment?
<If large enough, discrete... can be carefully prised off twixt thumb and a
finger nail... Salt of appropriate strength/use helps, as does lacing/soaking
foods with a vitamin preparation. Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lymphfaqs.htm
and the links beyond. Bob Fenner>
Joe
Problems with a Figure-Eight Puffer
<<JasonC here, helping out while Bob is away diving.>>
Bob Fenner Hello I recently sent this message to the folks at PufferNet and they
said to send my message to you. <<really.>> I just copied what I sent them put
it on the bottom of this letter. The only thing new with my puffer is the worm
looking thing in his eye was there one morning and when I got back from my run
it looks like it popped out. <<hmm...>> My puffers eye is almost back to normal
<<glad to hear this.>> but I worry that if it was a parasite he may have eaten
again because I saw it nowhere in the tank. <<may have gone into the
substrate.>> and he is always on lookout for food. <<sounds good.>> He also
still has a bump on his back it doesn't look like it has moved to much. Again
thank you for your time and any suggestions on what to do would be a great help.
thank you
Ed Purdy
<<Ed, it sounds like you should probably take actions with copper or other
similar mechanism that would kill those evil-nasties. I would suggest you read
through the following FAQ on WWM:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwpufferfaqs.htm
- from what I can gather your puffer will respond well to copper and so now
might be the time to use some. Cheers, J -- >>
Re: Figure Eight Puffer Concerns
>Hello I own a figure 8 pufferfish, shortly after I
>brought him home I noticed that he had a bump on his
>back. It has continued to grow and since move. I think
>he has a parasite of some sort growing under his skin
>and don't know what to do? The parasite has since
>split into two or multiplied at times it looks like
>there is a worm in his skin. I never see it move I
>just wake up and it is in a different spot. It is
>currently in his eye and I can see what looks like a
>little worm wrapped up in his eye. Please let me know
>what you think this might be and what to do to help
>the little guy out. Other wise he has a great appetite
>swims fine and acts normal. Thanks for your time.
>Ed Purdy
Re: Figure Eight Puffer Concerns
Jason,
<<Hello,>>
Thanks for the suggestions and I will check out the FAQ's on the puffers. But I
am not familiar with copper. Is that copper like the metal? <<Same element as
the metal, but in liquid form.>> Any way is it something that is normally
carried at the pet store? <<Yes.>>
Again thank you for your time and help. I'm sure my puffer thanks you as well.
Ed
<<Ed, also check out Bob's answers to various FAQs on Copper in Marine systems.
Obviously your puffer isn't a marine fish, but I think some of the information
in these links will be of some use as well:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marparasitcurefaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/copperfa.htm
Hope that's helpful. Cheers, J -- >>
Puffer with problem
Hi,
My figure-8 puffer has a large growth on his tail just before his back fin. It
looks like a blister. There is no discoloration. His appetite is fine.
Antibiotics have been ineffective. What is it? How can I treat it?
<Likely some sort of subcutaneous tumor... best to ignore it... chemicals won't
"treat it", surgery is more dangerous, stressful than it's worth. Good water
quality, feeding... will see this animal to its best health. Bob Fenner>
Thank you,
Paul
Picked a Peck of Pimpled Puffers (marine, but applicable to FW puffers as
well)
Mr. Fenner,
<Geri...Anthony Calfo here answering Bob's mail while he is away studying to
become a Tibetan Sherpa>
I have 3 small green spotted puffers in a 30 gal brackish tank.
<adorable fish... you are keeping them brackish, right? what's your salinity?>
They are all eating well and are very lively. I have had them about two weeks
and two of them have developed small bumps (no discoloration-just raised areas)
under their skin. The bumps were first noticed on their bellies and now one fish
has a couple on his side. I need help in determining what these bumps are and if
I need to treat them. Please reply-Thanks for the advice.
<tough to diagnose from a general description of the symptom, but here goes: if
the bumps/dots are symmetrical and identical in size... and not larger than a
common grain of salt (as opposed to an uncommon 5lb grain...in which case you
can forget the quarantine tank and just find a small deer to lick it off,
hehehe) you may very well be dealing with an external parasite. Not at all
uncommon with this species and not as obvious to you compared to pictures of
large-scaled fishes in books. You must be very careful using medication with
these fish and follow manufacturer's recommendations for scaleless fishes (or
halve the dose for twice the time). Otherwise, large or asymmetrical bumps will
rule out most if not all common parasites and you'll look for other pathogenic
symptoms. I would highly recommend Dieter Untergasser's Handbook of Fish
Diseases. A great and easy to understand book with pictures and fool-proof flow
charts. We need to narrow the puffers condition down before we medicate. In the
meantime... look for medicated fish food at the LFS and maintain consistent
water quality. I'm (educated) guessing that your fish have common white spot and
will need a parasite medication. Keep us posted, Anthony>
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