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Constipated Puffer (1/21/04) Hi, <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> I was hoping you can help me solve a problem that I don't know how to solve. I have a saltwater puffer fish that has a bulge in his side. He appears to be constipated can you recommend any methods or foods, medications I can try to relieve him of his pressure? <I would suggest getting him into a quarantine tank, which can be dosed with Epsom salts (from the drugstore) at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of tank volume. You might also try feeding him something with more bulk than his usual diet. Things to try include frozen/thawed peas and other greens. You can try soaking them in clam juice to make them smell/taste more appetizing to him.> He still has an appetite even though I have not fed him in two days. <Some bulk might help him pass the blockage. Do check out the WWM site, searching for "constipation" and other forms of the word, for more info.> Thank you in advance, Melissa <You're welcome. --Ananda> Double Trouble With A Puffer? Hello, thanks for all the help
you've given me in the past, you've always been very
knowledgeable and extremely polite to even newbies like myself.
<Hey- EVERYONE deserves respect and consideration...And we
are ALL still learning here! Scott F. with you today!> My
porcupine arrived at the LFS and I simply couldn't stand to see him
in such terrible conditions, so I bought him, perhaps this was dumb,
but I knew I could take better care of him than they could, my 12 year
old son probably could honestly. So I bring him home and put
him in the QT. <Great move! Newbie or not- that's the way to do
it!> The Puffer: Porcupine (Diodon holocanthus) 2.5
inches total length, arrived at LFS on the day I purchased
him. Normal skin tones, eyes alert and
responsive. Exhibited normal pacing behavior when first
introduced, then settled down. Acclimation was done in a
refugium with a ball valve to release and introduce tank water,
refugium was 12 gallons, total process time was just over two hours
with 15 min water induction/release. <Well done-but do make sure
that you don't acclimate in the 'fuge in the future...You could
be releasing pathogens into your system via the store water...Better to
do the whole process in the QT... > The Tank: 29 gallon
quarantine tank, 40 lbs live sand (I know, I know), magnum 350 with
ceramic media, carbon and floss, flow reduced, Berlin skimmer, 200 watt
heater, 45 lbs of bolo rock. Lighting is marine glow
actinic. Density is 1.020, temp 80 F, pH 8.2,
NH3 is around
.25 ppm 8.8% toxic equally roughly 4.4 ppm. No nitrite, No
nitrate. <Uh- Oh! That ammonia level is a huge problem! DO take
steps to correct immediately. Be sure that ammonia is undetectable in
the future when considering the introduction of new fishes!> I
noticed that he had a small white spot on pectoral fin, several smaller
on caudal fin, perhaps 4 or five total. I attribute this to
the stress of being transported and perhaps mishandled over the last
few days. <Quite possible> Eating Normally, bloodworms and
snails- I would imagine he's hasn't eaten since being captured.
<A good assumption- and a good sign...A fish that eats is a fish
that lives!> I've been doing daily 50% water changes- actually 5
gallons at a time over a period of several hours with premixed, heated
sea water. Should I increase this? I've also
employed a diatom filter to try to capture any free-floating
tomites. As of today I slowly started to lower the density
and raise the temperature. 1 degree F every 8
hours. Lowering salinity by .001 at the same
rate? Can I decrease the density faster than this? <All
good thoughts...If you are trying to use water changes to fight a
possible Cryptocaryon episode, the concept is to use 100% water changes
daily in a vessel without substrate...That's how you can be assured
of having the best chance of eliminating all phases of the causative
parasite. In most cases, a substrate is not a good idea in a quarantine
tank, IMO. And- quarantine tanks really don't need to be a
permanent feature...Keep a sponge filter in your display tank's
sump to "colonize" beneficial bacteria, fill the QT with
water from the display, pop in the sponge filter and heater, a few PVC
sections- BAM! You're good to go...And you just break it down and
sterilize when done...> Aside from being a bit reclusive, which I
think is normal, he seems fine other than my apparent paranoia that I
am doing something terribly wrong. I've cured Ich in
freshwater and brackish water fishes, but never had to deal with it in
marine fishes. I think given the level of stress this little
guy has endured that he's a pretty tough little puff, but should I
risk the added stress of a freshwater dip? Increase water
changes to reduce the level of toxic ammonia? Lower density
quicker? Chill out and drink a beer?
<Possibly all of the above- although not necessarily in that
order...Drink the beer first! Seriously, I'd worry a bit more about
the ammonia situation at this point. Solve the ammonia problem first,
which is simply a deadly compound- then deal with the possible Ich
problem. I'd hold of on FW dips just yet...Tackle the ammonia issue
first!> Thanks for all your help and anything that you think might
help I'd be most grateful to hear. Thank You, Aaron <You are on
the right track, Aaron. Your skills and intuition that were gained
during your brackish and FW experience will serve you well here. Just
solve on problem at a time, observe carefully, and take actions as
needed...Let us know if we can be of further assistance. Regards, Scott
F> Dogface Puffer with white spot on the edge of his eye (1/17/04) <Hi! Ananda here today....> Hello, I have a 65 gallon tank that has been up for about 3 months. About 3 weeks ago I added a dogface puffer to the tank. Everything with him has been fine and he seems to have adjusted well but the question I have is as follows. The day I brought him home I didn't see the spot but I saw it that night on his eye. It looks like a small white grain of sand but a little larger. Pimple size if you will. It doesn't move or change in size and it doesn't seem to be bothering him. I have tried (as recommended by my LFS) FW dip alone and with Formalin at 5 minutes per dip. <If you think it's Ich, 5 minutes is probably not long enough for a dip.> I even tried trying to rub it off gently with my finger tip but he keeps closing his eye and I can't get to it. <I'd advise against trying to touch it.> Another LFS told me not to worry about it it's nothing to stress over so now I am looking for a third opinion. If it is something that doesn't seem to bother him but still won't go away, do I continue to try and get rid of it or leave it alone? Thanks in advance for your help. <If it has not changed in any way in three weeks, and it does not seem to be bothering the fish, I'd not mess with it. I'd suggest you keep your water quality pristine -- zero ammonia, zero nitrites, nitrates less than 20 -- and use a good vitamin supplement on his food. That may help the puffer's system correct the problem.> PS, I am new to all this and think your site is great but forgive me in advance if I didn't provide all the info you need to answer the question. I look forward to hearing back from you shortly so I can find out how I need to proceed. <Try to improve the water quality in the tank and see what happens. --Ananda> Strange Behavior in Dog Face Puffer (1/7/04) Hello, <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> First off, PH:8.2, Nitrite:0, Ammonia:0, Nitrate:10 ppm, SG: 1.021. <Yay! Water quality: check. Sounds good. Thanks for including this info.> I have had my puffer since the end of October. He has been pretty healthy with a great appetite. About a month ago I thought he might be coming down with Ich, he had developed some white spots on his fins but I wasn't sure if it was sand or air bubbles. I decided to wait and see what developed. Well since then, nothing has changed...the spots are still on his fins (I don't really know if they are the same spots and I don't see any on his body) and he seems fine. <Only on his fins? They *could* be Ich...hard to know without more info regarding size, texture, etc. or a photo.> He eats well and always swims to the front of the tank when he sees me. <That's a good sign.> In the past couple days I see him doing something really strange. I have an integrated tank, where all the filters are on the back of the tank. <Understood> He'll swim right to where the water flows to the back part of the tank, which is separated by 7 to 8 slots. He'll just stay there motionless, except for his eyes. And then when I come around...he'll break himself away from the slots and then he'll have marks where the slots were. After a couple of min.s, his body will return to normal shape. <Two ideas come to mind. One, this could be his solution to "scratching" the Ich. Two, your puffer might just like the "massage" from the water flow. A recent email mentioned a puffer that liked to hang out by the powerhead for the massage from the powerheads outflow. You might try putting a powerhead in a puffer-accessible place and see how he reacts to it.> He still has a hearty appetite and appears to be healthy (swims at the front of the tank like he wants to bite his reflection). <If he's "cruising the glass", it's likely that he's somewhat bored.> He shares the tank with a zebra eel. Any insight to what could be wrong if anything. <Thinking about this more, I can think of four separate occasions where I've seen evidence of puffers playing in areas of high water flow. Try a powerhead. On the other hand, if you still see the spots and determine that it's Ich, then he needs to go into a quarantine tank and go through a hyposalinity treatment. (There is a *lot* of info on Ich on the WWM site.)> He does like to lodge himself in between the live rock or the eel PVC pipe when sleeping. He also lodges himself in the live rock after he eats. <That sounds like "Be Safe From Predators" behavior -- very typical.> Clueless <Hope this helps! --Ananda> Puffer didn't unpuff (1/4/04) Hello--I got up this
morning to find my beautiful Golden Tonga Puffer floating on his
side. It appears one of his compartments didn't downsize
when he shape shifted this morning during his morning
elimination---since then he's puffed and only made the problem
worse. He can't really swim as the section keeps him from being
able to locomote right. Is there anything I can do to help
him? <If he has not yet un-puffed, do consider helping him with
that: hold him underwater with his nose up and "burp" him by
stroking upwards on his belly. If it's the intestinal gas that
seems a problem, do consider feeding him something with a good amount
of bulk to work the problem out.> His breathing is
already labored. He eats crab, shrimp and lobster and
copious quantities of dried seaweed. Any suggestions you
have are much appreciated. Janine <Try to keep other tank
disturbances to a minimum. Hopefully un-puffing will help. If he can
make it through until his next elimination, that may solve the problem.
--Ananda> Spinning puffer? Hi, <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> For about a week my porcupine puffer is acting very weird. I transferred him to a separate tank. He sits on the bottom 90% of the time 30% of thus time spinning around like its drunk. not eating much water test all within limits. <Hopefully that means zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and nitrates less than 40... This sounds like a possible buoyancy problem. Try to get the puff to eat something with a fair bit of roughage in it. Soaking the food in clam juice may help entice him to eat it (you can get clam juice at the grocery store; look for the drink mixers section). Also check his fins; if he's got a fin that is suffering from fin rot, it may be unbalancing him when he tries to swim.> Thank you, James Curtis <You're welcome. --Ananda> Depressed Puffer? 12/27/03 <Hi Shawn, Pufferpunk here> I was wondering if my puffer fish is depressed or sick he just stays in a corner of my tank and he will not eat now what do think is wrong with him. The nitrate, and the PH, Ammonia, is fine. <Please answer a few questions for me--What kind of puffer? How long has the tank been set up? What kind of foods are you offering it? Any decorations? Any tankmates? Any salt? What exactly are the ammonia & nitrite levels? Answer these & I'll try to help--Pufferpunk> Dosing Iodine 12/26/03 Hi again, hope all your holidays were well. <Pufferpunk again--same to you!> Just got back from the LFS, and picked up some Kent Zoe Marine (Ananda suggested lack of vitamin B) and a bottle of Kent Iodine (Pufferpunk recommended Iodine). I dosed the tank with both of these per the instructions. Should I follow up and dose them both weekly? <I soak my foods at every feeding in vitamins. I believe you need to dose the iodine daily, for 2-4 weeks.> Anything else you can think of that may help his situation? No one I talk to has ever heard of a fish not being able to open its mouth. <I have actually heard of this in puffers several times now.> Thanks, Mark <You're welcome--Pufferpunk> Puffer with...pimples? (12/18/03) Hi Crew, <Hi! Ananda here today...> First off, I love your site. It's a wonderful source of information. <Thanks for the kind words.> I've asked Santa for your Reef Invertebrates book for Christmas. I haven't been a good girl so who knows if I'll get it :). <Heh. Maybe the guy in the red suit will see this and it will show up...we can but hope. ;) > Here's my dilemma. I have a small dog faced puffer that developed Ich but now has Ich, cloudy fins and small bumps on his body like black head pimples. <Do look up "black spot" on the WWM site and see if that might be it.> I don't know if this is just Ich or Ich and something else. The tank is a fish only 26 gal with a Fluval 204. I have 1 dog faced puffer, 1 clown, 1 blue green Chromis, 1 red fire fish and 1 Hawaiian algae blenny. <You should add a new fish tank to that list for Santa... a 26 gallon tank is far too small for your current batch of fish. I would suggest at least a 75 gallon, though bigger is better.> A 5% water change is done weekly and new charcoal every 40 days. <Charcoal is exhausted fairly quickly -- within days, not weeks. By the time you're changing it, it's developed a good quantity of nitrifying bacteria.> Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, pH 8.2 - 8.4, nitrate 80, temp 78. The nitrates have gone up in the past few weeks from 40 to 80. I'm trying to bring the nitrates down. <Got a skimmer? Refugium? Deep sand bed? All will help -- and removing the charcoal more frequently might, too. But the thing that would help most is a bigger tank; the high nitrates are a sure sign you're overstocked. Do increase the amount and frequency of your water changes until you get these guys into a bigger tank.> The fish are fed every other day. <I'd suggest daily feedings, and more frequent water changes.> This problem started on the second day after introducing a new Hawaiian algae blenny to the tank. <Ack! No quarantine?> The only fish that had Ich was P-Fishy (puffer). I immediately did a 20% water change, turned off the lights as instructed by my LFS, removed the charcoal and treated with Quinsulfex. The next day the Ich was gone. <Well, it *appeared* to be gone...but was hiding in the tank. There is no such thing as a one-shot-and-it's-gone cure for marine Ich.> I waited 5 days then did a 10% water change and added new charcoal back in. Boom, the Ich was back on P-Fishy the next day. <Yup. I'm not surprised. Ich does that.> I did a 5% water change, removed the charcoal, and treated with Quinsulfex. Again, the next day the Ich was gone. <Or so it appeared.> As the medication instructions noted, this time, I treated the tank for a second time with Quinsulfex. With no Ich detected after 14 days, I did a 5% water change and added another new charcoal. Bada-Bomb-Bada-Bing the Ich came back. <Yep. Marine Ich has a one-month life cycle.> This time there was the addition of white clouds on the fins and small spots on his body. <Likely stress from the on-again/off-again treatment is a contributor...as is the poor water quality.> Every time I think it's gone and add charcoal, the problem resurfaces. I guess that's why they call it ICH. I've read the plethora of information on your site about Ich. I don't understand why it's only attacking P-Fishy and not the other fish (not that I want it to). <Because puffers are "Ich magnets" and will show signs of infestation before the other fish in your tank....> Am I dealing with something other than Ich? <Quite possibly.> Any help would be greatly appreciated. <Your first order of business is to get a hospital tank set up for these guys. (That may coincide with getting a bigger tank for -- even a 55 gallon tank would do "for now", if you can get a bigger one later, and then you could use the 55 for a sump/refugium. You could use the new/larger tank as your hospital tank while the current tank goes fallow for a month or so. Then play musical tanks/fish, with the fish and sand, rock, etc. currently in your 26 ending up in the new tank. Then you can use the 26 as a quarantine/hospital tank.) The puffer needs to be in a hospital tank, where you can treat him for Ich with hyposalinity and daily water changes. If the other spots are "black spot", you need to treat that, too, and that's best done in a hospital tank. I would definitely recommend that you let the main tank go fallow, which means that ideally, you should have one hospital tank for the puffer and a different quarantine tank for the other fish. But as that main tank is just too small...I'll ask Santa if he can get you a new tank as an early Christmas present, but if you can do that, maybe he can get you some of the other stuff on your list.> Thanks, Felicia <You're welcome. --Ananda> Sick porcupine puffer He is only 3 days at home. Water parameters are all perfect. I also took a sample in to my LFS to have it checked, also perfect. They said it was probably a bacterial infection and sold me medication Rally by Ruby Reef. Could this be caused by stress? <Likely stress is a component... very hard on these fish being collected, held, shipped, handled...> The other fish (yellow tang and domino damsel seem to really be picking on him. Any suggestions ? <I would separate these fishes. The harassment will not likely "just stop"> Should i leave the lights off? Set up a hospital tank ? He ate a little bit yesterday I haven't tried yet today . Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Mike <I would cease the "medication" listed, move the animal to the hospital tank and leave it there till the discoloration on its dorsal surface disappears, it's feeding regularly... and then possibly try either moving it back to the main tank with a divider between it and the tang and damsel OR moving these two into the quarantine/hospital tank for a few days, allowing the puffer to become familiar with the main tank... While the puffer is being isolated, do monitor ammonia, keep new water on hand for changes. Bob Fenner> Puffer with a spot Hi! <Hi! Ananda here today...just saw this message.> My puffer (Diodon holocanthus) has been OK (acting normally, eating well...) up until three days ago, when she stopped eating and started swimming slowly or even resting on the bottom (surprisingly, she goes to the bottom when the lights are on). <How long have you had the puffer? These fish are normally nocturnal, but do adapt to diurnal conditions in captivity.> She swims in small circles near the bottom in one corner with her tail curved and her anal fin clamped. She looks OK, except for her tail fin, which is not so much yellow, but a bit brown and has a white mark on it (shaped almost like a triangle, about 4 mm large). <Is this mark raised at all? Smooth? Fuzzy?> For two days she has not eaten anything, today she ate a small piece of squid which she first spat out a couple of times, but that was all. The water is fine and the other fish - a flagfin angel - is also OK. <Could you send some more specific info about your water quality? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temperature, pH, and specific gravity readings would be useful.> Is it possible that she cannot eat (constipation, problem with teeth? - although they look fine) or does this have something to do with her tail? <It could be a stress reaction. Aside from the patch on the tail, how does she look physically? Any changes from usual?> What should I do? <Continue to offer her favorite foods, ready a water change and a quarantine tank, and send more details about your tank conditions...hopefully we can rule out a few more things.> Thanks in advance. PS. I once had problems with small white spots and I thought it was Ich (but the fish was eating then). I treated the fish, but nothing helped. I gave up. About a month ago I bought a cleaner fish. Over the night the puffer "lost" its white little spots. Katja <Interesting...I am curious what you tried treating with. Please let me know how things are progressing. --Ananda> Puffer In Peril? I have a porcupine puffer fish who has been in our 55 gallon salt water tank for about 2 weeks. 2 Days ago, I noticed that one is it's eye has a cloudy cover over it. At first he stayed on the bottom of the tank and only came to the top to eat. Now it seems that he is all over the tank, swimming around randomly. Running into things and not eating. <Not a good sign...> At this moment he is puffed up at the bottom of the tank and seems not to be able to move at all. The temperature of the tank is 80 degrees, and the salt is right on. What can I do to help him? To me, he seems to be in need of help. There is only the cloudy spot on his one eye, and nothing on his body. He did eat 3-4 guppies the first couple of days and we change out to dried mini shrimp or frozen food. <I'd stick with foods of "marine" origin" here, such as krill, Mysis, etc. A much better bet nutritionally, for the fish> What are we doing wrong, I would like help him to survive. Please advise me. Thank you, Mary Martinez <Well, Mary- it's hard to say what you're dealing with here. I think that you need to monitor more parameters, such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Inflation in these fishes is usually a reaction to stress of some sort, possibly caused by measurable quantities of these compounds. The symptoms that you are describing could be caused by environmental lapses...Often, these types of maladies can be mitigated by improving and maintaining excellent water conditions. Utilize very aggressive protein skimming, chemical filtration media (activated carbon/Poly Filter, etc.), coupled with an enhanced water change schedule (like 5% of tank volume twice weekly), and scrupulous attention to feeding habits can make a difference. If you are looking at a possible parasitic disease, it may be necessary to treat the fish in a separate tank with acceptable medications (avoid copper with these guys) or other methodologies, such as freshwater dips, etc. I'd attack the water quality issue first, then see if there is still a possibility of parasitic problems. Observe carefully, and go from there. Good luck! Regards, Scott F.> Puffers and copper Hello, enjoy you website! Reading the article: /The Conscientious Marine Aquarist All My Puffers, Tobies, Box, Porcupine, Cowfishes It states that puffers respond well to copper, yet in the forums it is repeatedly mentioned to NEVER treat a puffer with copper. Which is accurate? Thx, Patty <Mmm, a bit tricky here... IMO/E Tetradontiforms, including puffers do "respond well to copper"... but a necessary cautionary note here. In general, copper compounds have a narrow range of efficacy. That is, there is not much "room" between effective dosage/treatment and overdosing catastrophe... this range is even smaller/shorter with them as a group... Requiring treatment in substrate-less settings, with "new" seawater, vigilance in testing for and re-applying therapeutic copper (chelated is better here)... and a close eye on accumulating metabolites (e.g. ammonia) and ready change water to dilute same. Other WWM Crew (Ananda, likely Jeni/Pufferpunk) are against the use of copper with these fishes, preferring other chemical use... Ideally, prevention, careful dipping/bath and quarantine procedures prevail in warding off infestations... Bob Fenner> Sick porcupine puffer (11/22/03) <Hi! Ananda here tonight> My fish Hope, having a few months ago survived a serious Ich break resulting in the death of all other fish (I finally gave in to trying copper after all else failed) now looks sick again...but in a different way. He is breathing hard, has lost much of his color...And almost looks as if he was pricked by pins in certain areas. Some of his fins are torn...Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! <Could you let me know what your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are? And also the tank pH and temperature? That will help rule some things out. I'm also wondering how much water circulation you have. And if you could get a photo, that would help, too. I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say he looks like he was pin-pricked -- small holes in the outermost layer of the skin, or small spots of blood on the skin, or...? Get some water ready for a water change and email me back with some test results, ok?> Happy Thanksgiving ! Bonnie <Thanks -- Ananda>
Blue Spotted Puffer - Eye Issues I have had this blue spotted puffer in my tank for about 3 to 4 weeks now. About 4 days ago, before I left, she seemed to be hanging around the bottom of the tank, not so active. The day before she was fine, so I thought maybe just a today thing. I came back, after being gone for four days (my brother fed them while I was gone just like usual), and now she is just sitting on the bottom and appears to be breathing hard. But the issue is with her eyes. They look like they have these white puss tubes sticking out of them. I can see the eye behind them, but it looks like you can pinch these things off. What is this and how do I fix it? Thanks in advance. <Are there other fishes in this system? Are they acting "funny"? I would immediately check your water chemistry and even if this "checks out" execute a good 25% water change... add aeration if you can, activated carbon in your filter flow path. Very likely what you describe is resultant from an environmental cause or causes. Best not to "treat" the symptoms you mention with "medicines", but instead improve water quality, nutrition, and wait. Please do keep us informed of your fish's status. Bob Fenner> Puffer w/ Ich (11/01/03) <Answering quick to avert a potential problem...> Ananda, I did feed my rock beauty angel formula 1 sponge food once every week as directed by the LFS, <They graze constantly in the wild.> But I have just found out my puffer has ick and I am treating him for that, I bought some Saltwater CopperSafe, <Get that stuff out of the water right now. Water changes and carbon, pronto. Unless you are really careful about dosage -- multiple tests per day, etc. -- copper can be very dangerous to puffers.> it says for infections of: ICK, Velvet and other saltwater external parasites, treats 100 gallons for over 1 month, <I really dislike the idea of using copper on a more-or-less permanent basis.> Do you know off hand if this stuff really works as it was the only thing the LFS had.? <Did you tell your LFS that you had a puffer? If so, and they sold you this stuff anyway, find a new LFS!> Thanks <First things first. If the puff is in the copper, get the puff out of the copper. Next, I presume you have a quarantine tank? You're going to need to do the whole fallow-the-tank-for-a-month while keeping the fish in a hyposalinity environment... do check out the assorted marine Ich FAQs on the WetWebMedia site, *after* you get the puff out of the copper. Then come back with questions and I can give you more specifics. --Ananda> Puffer problems (11/01/03) Puffer punk, <Ananda here today, combining several emails...> --<#1>-- I have done a partial water change since it died, nothing major though and I don't know why the fish died, I think it might of been white velvet as he did has tiny white spots on him? <Could be velvet, or Ich.... > --<#2>-- Is my stars and stripes puffer considered a dogface? <Nope, it's a different species. The stars & stripes puffer is Arothron hispidus, while the dogface puffer is Arothron nigropunctatus.> --<#3>-- I think my stars and stripes puffer has ICH, he has white spots about the size of salt over his eyes and fins, <Sounds ichy...> his eyes look cloudy, they have been this way for a week now, <That's usually a symptom of poor water quality.> until now I find out what Ich is, how do I treat it and I'm not 100% sure he has ICH but if he doesn't then can it hurt him by treating him for Ich, better to be safe then sorry, right? <If you treat him with a freshwater dip, hyposalinity, and water changes in a hospital tank, done correctly, it will take care of the Ich.> I need a quarantine tank right? <Yes. I would use at least a 20 gallon tank. It's a very common size, so it's relatively inexpensive.> And can you please walk me through the process on how to treat it, <More here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm and http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichart2mar.htm ...and a couple of articles here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.htm and http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-10/sp/feature/index.htm ...> oh ya about how long will the puffer die if untreated for ICH? <You mean how long does a puffer have to live if it has Ich and is not treated? That depends on the initial health of the puffer, how severe the Ich infestation gets, and a host of other things. Best to catch and treat the problem early.> Sorry to ask so many questions as I'm a nervous wreck now, <I understand!> any help you could offer would be great, Thanks <Hang in there, read up, and take care of your fish. --Ananda> Bubbles on Puffer's Belly 10/30/03 <Hi, Pufferpunk here> Hi, I have a stars and stripes puffer and yesterday my rock beauty angel fish died and I noticed he has little tiny water bubbles on his stomach, should I be worried and what is this? <You may be observing the small spines of your puffer. If it is indeed bubbles, it's probably from an airstone, or another source of bubbles. Not to worry, it shouldn't cause any problem. Have you done a water change since your other fish died? Do you know why it died?> <Pufferpunk> Puffer problem update (11/06/03) Hi Ananda, <Hi! Thanks for the update!> have the update on the Puffer Problem with ICH and all, I noticed some of the other fish had these signs of ICH just like the puffer, and instead of moving them all into a small quarantine tank, I decided just to treat them in the tank they were in and do lots of water changes and carbon. <What did you treat them with? Usually, using carbon removes anything you add to the tank to treat the fish.> Since the I had originally treated with copper, I had to act fast to try and do as much water changes as I could to get the copper out, <Yup...it's dangerous to use copper with puffers. I found out recently that not all copper tests work with all the types of copper additives; you have to match the test to the type of copper you're using. Otherwise, the results from your test kit may be incorrect!> Now Hooty and the other fish are doing GREAT and have made A LOT of progress, I'm still doing frequent water changes in smaller amounts to ensure the problem is gone, I just wanted to thank you for all your help and my fish thank you too. Thanks <You're quite welcome -- it's always good to hear that something worked.> Oh and I know your a puffer freak (or at least I think) <You think right!> here is a site I found, I thought you would like it, its a live camera on a webpage of all the persons puffers in his tank. www.puffercam.com <The camera seems to be down at the moment, but I looked at the gallery. Picture #9 is a decent shot of a puffer with *very* overgrown teeth. Notice how he can't even close his mouth completely! This is a good illustration of what can happen if your puffers don't get enough hard-shelled foods...this puffer could definitely use a trip to the dentist for a tooth trim. Thanks for the link. --Ananda> More questions about Chompers the dog-faced puffer....
(10/20/03) Hello again, <Hi! Ananda back again...> Ananda,
Thank you so much for your quick response. <No problemo...sometimes
I happen to see stuff shortly after it shows up...like now... :) > I
have been watching Chompers very carefully. He is eating fine and seems
quite happy to be in his own tank, he is much more active and more
responsive to me. <Ah, good...> The spots were clearing up and
still are, but I just looked at him again and noticed another set on
him. I still have not treated with any meds and am wondering if Melafix
would be appropriate? <Maybe, but I still want to know what's in
that "Receiver 2" stuff you're using, first.> This set
of spots is very small and quite honestly, I could have missed them
before. Should I wait another day or so and just see how things
progress? <Sounds like a good idea. I think it's definitely
possible that this is another set that's healing.> As for the
Queen Angel, she is indeed in full adult colors. She is quite the
mean....one. ;) <LOL> I will be putting Chompers into a different
tank once he is healthy. Even if the Queen is not the culprit in his
wounds, I am not going to take the chance. <I am relieved. Chompers
will be, too, I am sure.> Chompers is a very mild mannered fish.
<I believe these are the gentlest of the commonly-available
saltwater puffers. And goodness knows, far more gentle than the
brackish puffers, or the almost-universally-mean freshwater
puffers!> He is showing so much personality now being out of her
way. <Great to hear. He is definitely on the mend, then,
and appreciating being out from under the Queen's
"thumb".> I will get the manufacturer of Receiver 2 from
my LFS guy. I use it when ever I add fish to the tank or when Q/T. It
turns the water a greenish color otherwise I could send a pic along to
show you his spots, but have not been able to get a good enough shot of
him. I will keep you posted on him if that is ok? <More than okay. I
was wondering how Chompers was doing. :) > Thanks again for your
wonderful site and your insight. :) Lindie Montgomery <You're
welcome -- truly, the insight is due in large part to people like you
who write and tell us what has worked! Thanks, and say hi to Chompers
for me! --Ananda>
Swollen spines?? (10/12/03) I trust you guys and live by your advice, I hope you can help me! <Ananda here tonight, hoping I can help, too!> I have a spiny box puffer and three of his spines are swollen and white, I had a niger trigger with him and thought it was biting him, so I took the trigger out and was wondering if it was bites or a puffer disease. <Hmmm. Never heard of anything quite like that being a disease... the trigger, on the other hand, definitely has the teeth to cause damage...and even though the niger is one of the mildest of the triggers, triggers can be a real mean bunch. Do keep the two separate for at least a while so the box puffer's spines can heal. To encourage healing, keep the water quality pristine, and feed the fish a good-quality food, preferably something you can add a vitamin preparation to.> I am hoping to hear from you soon!!! Thanks <You're welcome! --Ananda> Puffer problems? <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> Just want to say thank you in advance for any help that you can provide. We have a 90 gallon tank with 6 damsels and one starfish. I tried adding a cowfish to the community. He seemed liked he was doing very well for a couple of days. Eating and not showing any signs of stress. Upon awakening on the third day, there he was on the bottom of the tank dead. Really could see no signs of any major problems. <Eek. Possibly a water quality issue, or that your tank parameters were substantially different from the tank at the fish store.> I left the tank alone for two months and the rest of the fish were fine. So I decided to try again. Only this time with a dogface puffer. <Your tank is on the small side for this guy...> Brought him home on Saturday, was doing great on Sunday, woke up Monday and there he was on the bottom of the tank. Again no outward signs of any problems. Water quality checks out good for all the common concerns. <Hmmm. If by that you mean your pH is around 8.2, your ammonia and nitrites are zero, nitrates are twenty or less, and your tank temp is in the upper 70s, then it might be one of the less common concerns.... Have you ever used copper in the tank? Do you have a copper test kit? Do test both your tank water and your source water for copper. Both puffers and cowfish are *very* susceptible to high concentrations of copper.> Never saw any of the other fish picking on them, nor did they show signs of being bullied. I do weekly water changes of 5%, except when the cowfish died, then I did a 10%. <I would increase the rate of water change for several weeks, perhaps 10% per week or 5% twice a week.> I just wanted to know if there is something that I'm overlooking or need to know about this type of fish. I would really like to have a dogface puffer in the tank, but alive and well. Thanks again <If it isn't copper, it may be some sort of environmental pollutant has entered your tank. Does anyone in the house smoke? Have hairsprays, perfumes, pesticides, cleaning materials been used near the tank? What else is in the tank? All of those might be affecting the scaleless fish without your knowing it. --Ananda> Follow-up: sick puffer (10/11/03) <Ananda here tonight with the follow-up to the follow-up...> Well I hate to say it but my puffer died and my Koran mad my clown and my flame angel, they all died all but me damsels. <I was afraid of that...sorry to hear of your losses.> I'm not sure why. <I suspect that, by the time you emailed and posted about the puffer, it had reached the terminal stage.> I got some meds for the Ich and some stress stuff and it all went down hill now I don't know if I should start over with all new water or what maybe take everything out and start over? <Without knowing which meds you used, it's difficult to make specific suggestions. Hopefully you did not use a copper-based medication, especially if you had live rock.... In any event, I would take any survivors and keep them in a quarantine tank for five to six weeks. You will need to do frequent water changes to keep the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates down. Meanwhile, leave the main tank running, doing water changes as usual. You need to let the tank go fallow -- that is, no fish -- for at least a month so that the Ich remaining in the system will die off. Do check out the assorted articles on treating and recovering from marine Ich on the WetWebMedia site, starting here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ichartmar.htm > Just not my thing (fish). <Please, do not let this misfortune turn you away from the hobby...you are not the first to go through something like this. There's a "horror stories" thread on the WetWeb chat forums (in the "bar and grill") with stories similar to, and worse than, this one -- and those people have learned, bounced back, and are successfully keeping saltwater tanks. Take this time to read, learn, research, ask questions -- many people on the forums would love to help -- and learn more. When the tank is ready (as I said, in several weeks), return the surviving fish to the tank. Then go slowly....> Thank you for trying to help me. <You're quite welcome. Hang in there, and best wishes for you and your tank. --Ananda> Sick porcupine puffer Hello. <Hi! Ananda here today...>
I am new at saltwater tanks. Just got a pufferfish 6 days
ago. He was fine, eating healthy (brine shrimp, and flakes).
<He'll need more than that to thrive...do check out our assorted
articles by typing "Puffer Feeding FAQ" into the Google
search box at the bottom of the Daily FAQ page and following the
links.> The past two days, he seems to be laying on the bottom of
the tank and is having trouble breathing. His tail is curved into his
body as well. His eyes look droopy and tired. He
hasn't been eating. When I touch him, he will swim
around for a bit, then rest at the bottom again. I
tested the water and everything seems to check out o.k., with exception
of the nitrites. <Puffers are extremely sensitive to nitrites --
this is most likely the cause of your puffer's ill health. A fairly
large water change is in order, pronto. As in this evening. Do aerate
the mixed water for a few hours, but get those nitrites outta
there!> The color doesn't quite match up to anything on the
strip.. it is more of a beige color. <Unfortunately, this
doesn't help, as I've no idea which test kit you're
using.> My other fish are doing wonderfully though. <They will
probably start showing symptoms soon.> What can I do to
save him? <Water changes. Several of them, if necessary.
If you can put the puffer into 100% nitrite-free water that is a bit
aged (12+ hours), I would do so. From the sounds of it, you did not
quarantine the puffer...??> I am devastated. <I think he can
still be saved, especially if you can act quickly.> THANKS!
<You're welcome -- keep me posted. I'd also be interested in
hearing more about your system -- tank size, filtration, skimmer, etc
-- as those are playing a role in why your system has nitrites in the
first place. --Ananda> Sick spiny box puffer...follow-up to forum discussion <Hi! Ananda here tonight... this is another case of "I answered it in the forum and then found the email in my inbox". The original email:> Hi my name is Sabrina And I have a spiny box puffer who is very sick. this is how it happened. I went to my normal fish store and got a Koran and the day I put him in my show tank the Koran would not leave my puffer alone at all,, so for sure my puffer got Ich! So I raised the temp. and do a 10% water change. And watched him for days get worst and worst so I did a another water change and then a another. at this time the Koran was not bothering my puffer but my flame angel was nipping at him and biting him as even taking off the skin on his spikes. so now I have moved him to a new 55 gallon All alone so no one will bother him, he is now changing color his stripes are kinda fading? But the fins that were bit off have grown back but his skin is getting worst what can I do to save him. Please help him <And a link to the forum thread: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=13062 ... Sabrina, I just wanted to follow up and find out how the fish is doing... could you post or email with an update? --Ananda> Puffer with eye weirdness: Neosporin? <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> Thank you for your prompt reply to my inquiry <I happened to be answering other emails when yours came in, I think... :-) > I'll try your suggestion and let you know how it turns out. (I have read that one might try using Neosporin with a q-tip once a day. Have you heard anything about this?) <Gah...I very, very vaguely remember hearing something like that once... then again, I may be remembering something that is done for wounds on the body, which is more likely.> Again Thank You R.Doughten <You're welcome! Keep me posted on his progress. --Ananda> Cowfish with something odd in its eye <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> I could not find a answer in your q/a section. <Well, that happens. That's why we're here...> My cowfish had a attack of ick which I treated in a 25 gal sterile tank. <Okay> It cleared up but a short time later it developed a secondary infection of the eye. The eye became distended, cloudy with what seemed like a thick cream colored glob along the bottom of eye. I have treated it with copper an it soon cleared up except for the glob. I do not wish to continue this treatment if I don't have to, it has been 14 days It may have a adverse effect on the fish although it seems to be doing fine. <Copper is *not* something I would use with a cowfish! Do put a power filter on the tank with some good carbon and consider using a different treatment regimen. Check out the assorted articles and FAQs on marine Ich (note that's Ich with an H, not ick with a K) for more info about treating Ich in a way that will be much less stressful to your cowfish. Also check out the Yahoo group "Cowfish, Puffers, and More" at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CowfishPuffers_andMore/ ...> Do you know what this is and how I may treat it? ( I have Maracyn 2 but do not know if it is wise to mix with the copper treatment) <It may be "eye fungus", or a bacterial or parasite infestation of the eye. Whichever one it might be, try "Eye Fungex" by Aquatronics. Also keep a close watch on the water quality in the hospital tank. I am not sure the Maracyn 2 would help.> Thank You R.Doughten <You're welcome. I would be interested to hear how the treatment works out. --Ananda> Cause of death of wild puffers? I came across you site while searching for an answer about pufferfish. <Cool!> I live on Oahu and today while at the beach we notice about a dozen dead white-spotted pufferfish on the beach. < :-( Bummer. > I asked the lifeguard if he knew what had killed them and he said he did, but that every once in awhile the just show up dead on the beach. Do you happen to know what causes this? <Could be any one of a number of fish diseases, or parasites, or maybe they got caught in some nasty effluent. Without a necroscopy, there's no real way to tell.> Thanks for your time, Belinda <You're welcome. --Ananda> - Parasite Problems - Hello guys/gals I have a problem with one of my tanks and wanted to see if you guys could help me. I have a 75 gallon tank in the garage with about 80 lbs of live rock with a blue dot puffer, a clown trigger and a Hawkfish that is my holding tank until my 375 gets in. Well everybody was doing fine for the longest time then about a month ago I noticed that my blue dot puffer was getting very skinny but he would still eat a lot therefore I went from feeding every other day like I've always done to feeding every day even though the other 2 guys were very fat. Well even with me feeding every day the puffer kept getting skinnier and skinnier until he died a few days ago and now my Clown Trigger is starting to look skinny. Is there some sort of disease or parasite that could cause this or am I just not feeding them enough. <Yes, I'm afraid so... nematodes and Cestodes are the most common culprit - like tapeworms, they can out-compete for nutrients.> I had the blue dot puffer for over a year and he was a nice size for the longest time. I feed them all sorts of stuff such as Mysis Shrimp, Blood Worms and Squid. Thanks for your help. <Do try to get a hold of some Fenbendazole from your local veterinarian. Your best bet is to put this fish in quarantine for about three weeks and treat the quarantine tank directly with the Fenbendazole for that entire time. The Noga book of Fish Disease recommends 2mg/liter or 7.6mg/gallon of tank water. This should give your fish the upper hand against these parasites. Cheers, J -- > Powerheads Hi, <Hello! Ryan with you today!> I have a 50G marine tank and use 2 opposing power heads to create adequate circulation in addition to my filter and skimmer inflows. I decided to experiment with 2 different brands, an Aquaclear 3000 and Eheim 1000 compact. Over the course of about 6 months since I "plugged" the power heads in I keep getting inverts and fish sucked up through each one. In total I have lost about 5 Turbos, 3 Nassarius Snail and finally my 1 inch Honeycomb Puffer last night. They are all sucked up alive, trapped then die. I have managed to pull a few away that I have noticed but I was really surprised about the puffer. Is this a common occurrence with power heads? do you have any tips to prevent this occurring? <Yes, it is a common occurrence if you don't cover the intake somehow. My favorite method is to use a bio-ball to cover the opening for the intake. Sponge covers are also available. Best of luck! Ryan> Thanks in advance for helping John Growth on lower jaw of puffer <Hi! Ananda here
tonight...> I have been searching your site and have not found what
I am looking for. I have a Valentini Puffer (Canthigaster valentini)
that has shut down eating. <For how long?> His outer skin looks
good (except some stress darkening) and up until yesterday, I had not
been able to see anything too out of the ordinary except behaviorally.
He has been hanging at the back of the tank instead of the front and
has been very shy, very unlike him. He also has some elevated
respirations. <I think a double-check of your water quality is in
order... what are your readings for temp, s.g.,
ammonia/nitrite/nitrate?> Yesterday I noticed that around his lower
tooth/teeth inside his mouth there appears to be some fungal-like
growth. It seems spiky, not soft and it is a gray-black color. <What
else do you have in the tank? Any live rock or fake corals that he
might have munched on? Also, do you have powerheads or other black
plastic in the tank? You might check those, too -- puffers are known to
munch on powerheads and other plastic. That makes me wonder -- what are
you feeding him? Could these be shell fragments that have gotten stuck
in his mouth?> There still doesn't appear to be anything else
anywhere else on his body. Is this something with which you are
familiar? Is it treatable? Much thanks in advance, Patt <Well, we
need to figure out exactly what it is, first... that's at least
half the battle as far as treatment goes. If you can get a better look
at the growths, that would help. If you have the means, you might
anaesthetize him and take a closer look or perhaps take (and send) a
photo. Let us know.... --Ananda> Puffer swallowed air? I need help. <Ananda
here tonight to try to help...> I have a dogface puffer, we did a
tank change today, all levels look good however I think Puffy (my
dogface) sucked in some air causing an air pocket in his
cheek. <Uh-oh.> He swimming in circles at the top of
the tank as if he were trying to release the air pocket but has been
unable to do so. It has been approximately 6 hours now with
no change. His normal behavior is to hang out at the bottom
of the tank, he is very docile. I am sure on top of the air
pocket he is now extremely stressed. Is there anything I can
do to help him, or will he have to release the air pocket
himself. <Get your aquatic gloves on, if you've got
them, and carefully catch your puffer. You may want to use a large
plastic bowl to move him so you can catch him. Hold him underwater,
nose up, and try to stroke the bubble up and out through his mouth.>
Is this fatal? <If your puffer has puffed up with air,
it can be. But if you or the puffer can get the air out, the puffer
should be okay.> I am desperate and extremely attached to my
fish. <Understandable! Puffers are very personable
fish...> Please give me some advice. Thanks.
<For more tales of puffers gulping air, check the WetWebMedia
site... try http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pufferFAQs.htm
and do a page search for "burp". Hope this helps!
--Ananda> |
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