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Puffer question 12/18/18
Puffer Disaster 10/8/10 Porcupine Puffer with breathing problems... Poor env.,
nutr... reading 5/23/10 Puffer stopped eating, env., nutr.
1/23/10 Pufferfish with chlorine poisoning 2/3/09 Hi,
thanks for having this service. I have found many answers here. I have
a 125gal saltwater tank occupied by a 4" porcupine puffer, 7"
Volitans lionfish, Foxface Rabbitfish, 3' zebra eel and 2 small
damsels that survived the initial start-up a year ago. While on
vacation we had a friend come by to feed the fish. Thinking he was
helping, he removed a few of the skeleton corals and cleaned them in
bleach. He did soak them in a freshwater dip with prime before he
placed them in the tank. However, the next morning our Russell lionfish
was dead and the puffer is sitting on the bottom, having breathing
problems. <Yikes....> He also has a thick white substance coming
from his pores, mouth, gills and eyes. <Body mucus...> Obviously,
he is experiencing chlorine poisoning. Within 12 hours of the
poisoning, I changed 40 gals, added extra prime to the tank, placed the
airstone next to the powerhead to create a higher oxygen content in the
water and added StressCoat to the water. He did begin swimming around
periodically, but most of the time he is resting on the bottom. Is
there anything else I can do to help him survive? <Yes, place a good
deal (a couple of "units") of activated carbon... like
Boyd's Chemipure or such in the water flow path, and possibly
PolyFilter if you can get it pronto> I am also worried that even if
he is recovering, he will not eat, as most fish won't when they are
ill. <Not to worry... These puffers can go w/o feeding (if in good
health initially) for weeks> I don't want him to starve to death
before he has a chance to recover. How long can he survive without
eating? I tried soaking his food in garlic extreme, that did not work.
Do you have any suggestions to get him to eat? <Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FishInd3.htm toward the bottom of the page... re
var. puffer groups Feeding> Sorry for going on so long, I just
really want to help him. Thanks George <Patience here. Bob
Fenner> Blind porcupine puffer... env., nutr.? 03/19/2008 Tank history and test results..... My tank is 120 or 125 gallons still trying to figure it out. Here are my test results: amm. 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10 (colors so close I can't tell the difference) PH 8.4, Temp 79-80 KH 200-400ppm, phosphates 1, <High> salinity 1.021. <Mmm, I'd raise this> The tank is an upgrade has been running for about 4 months. All decor and filters were transferred to the tank with the upgrade. Before the upgrade the tank was running for 3 months. It went from freshwater and was slowly raised to saltwater. I took my time in raising the salinity over a period of 4 months. I started with 2-GSP's, after raising the tank to saltwater I added a Porcupine Puffer, another 2 weeks went by and I added a stars & stripes puffer. I don't have any corals in the tank, just live rock. The GSP's are both about 3.5", the Porcupine Puffer is about 3-4" and the Stars & Stripes is about 5-6". Currently on the tank I have 2 powerheads, 1 HOB filter, a heater, a protein skimmer, new wet/dry. On Sunday I switched two canister filters out for the wet/dry. I had 2 HOB filters on the tank but moved one to a qt this morning for my porcupine puffer. The Story: On Friday March 14th, I fed my puffers they all ate well, very well. My porcupine (the one in question) did what she normally does and went to her spot and took a nap. March 15th- My porcupine puffer was still in the same spot that morning which did not worry me yet. That afternoon when I got home she still had not moved. Now getting a little worried. March 16th-Porcupine puffer still in the same spot, only moving her fins and laying on the sandbed. I noticed that her eyes were not as glossy as they should be. Starting to get more worried at this point. Had planned to remove the two canister filters that were on the tank and replace it with the wet/dry. Did a 25% water change and switched the two canisters for the wet/dry. The initial blast from the wet/dry caused about a million bubbles to go into the tank but after about 30 seconds the bubbles were gone. The water was clear again. The porcupine never moved from her spot the whole time. I did not transfer media from the canisters to the wet/dry because I had the two established hob filters with sponges still on the tank. March 17th- Checked my water that morning, no signs of a mini cycle. Porcupine still has not moved. Came home that evening she swam around very little and not very far. Checked my water again that evening still no signs of a mini cycle. March 18th- The porcupine puffer was swimming around this morning, but instead of searching for food, she was bumping into everything, even the other puffers. Her eyes look hazed over more today than the last few days. After moving her into a qt, so that she would not hurt herself, I noticed this lump on her side that I haven't seen before. It's about the size of a peanut and causing her spines to stick up. Just about two weeks ago she had these odd spots on her fin and so did the Stars & Stripes. She has had them before and they seem to just go away without meds. Well again they went away without any meds. I don't know if these two things are related or not but thought I should mention it. <Good to mention> Well that pretty much brings us up to date. Sorry for the book I just wrote but I wanted to give all the details so that maybe, just maybe I can figure out what is wrong with her. Here are a few pictures that I took this morning: Picture of the lump http://s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee127/edmlfc1/?action=view¤t=DSCF1926.jpg Another picture of the lump http://s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee127/edmlfc1/?action=view¤t=DSCF1925.jpg Picture of her hazy eyes http://s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee127/edmlfc1/?action=view¤t=DSCF1907.jpg <Mmm, me neither... from the data presented. Such blindness and lumpiness episodes are too-common amongst spiny puffers though... some environmental and nutritional inputs... Please read here re: http://wetwebmedia.com/burrfishdisfaqs.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Possible HLLE in Pork Puffer, fins also involved 3/18/08 Hello Bob and Crew! <Hello> My VHO lighting crashed about 2 weeks ago. Since then I've been substituting with two smaller strip-lights and 2 lamps. I ordered a new ballast after replacing the bulbs and giving up on tinkering. Anyways, my porcupine puffer has developed what looks like HLLE-The pale forehead, a few pits. He hasn't eaten in 3 days, and he's been swimming away from me and staying towards the bottom, breathing heavily <Not good.> Very unusual for him. Also, He also has some bits on his fins and tail where it's opaque, with a streak of brown. I am setting up a QT tank, but I can't get a picture that's any help. Can this be from the lack of light? Should I treat with an antibiotic? <Not from lack of light directly, but probably due to lower water quality. What are your water parameters? HLLE is usually environmental and dietary in nature. I would not treat with antibiotics unless you diagnose a bacterial infection. See here for more http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hllefaqs.htm > <Chris>
Puffer with lump -- 11/18/2007 Hey guys, <Hi
Jason> I recently purchased a porcupine puffer last week, and have
been getting some great info off of your website. After I acclimated my
little 2" guy into a 55 gallon tank (soon to be a 120g), he seemed
perfectly fine. The second and third day he had lost his appetite and
started breathing fairly heavy. The staff at my local fish store
suggested dropping the salinity, which I did over the next few days
(from 1.025 to 1.012). <No need for hyposalinity here as long as no
clear Whitespot infection occurs. Keep monitoring the water parameters
and assure surface movement and skimming are sufficient to provide
enough oxygen.> The salinity drop didn't help his breathing, but
it did bring back his appetite in full force. <He needs to settle
in. This can take a week.> After I woke up this morning, I noticed
that he had a lump in his tail, just to the right of his back fin
(approximately 1/2" in diameter and a few millimetres tall). It
also appeared that his back fin was immobile, and he was floating
tail-up/face down. <Some gas in his intestines.> I immediately
though that he may have swallowed air during the night, so I attempted
to burp him. After I submerged my hand in the tank, the bump went away,
<'¦this confirms it's a gas bubble and no bacterial
lump or tumor.> and he started swimming normally. After I removed my
hand from the tank, the lump came back, and he started swimming tail
up/face down again. Is he a little trickster or is that common?
<This bubble is not common, but porcupine puffers with problems
while settling in are more than common.> What else can I try to
regulate his breathing? <Salinity should be 1.025 again. Provide
enough oxygen by surface movement and skimming. Monitor pH, nitrites,
ammonia, nitrates and act accordingly if endangering changes occur. If
still necessary try to massage the gas bubble out of his rear end. Look
for tiny white spots (marine velvet), salt like spots (marine white
spot), cloudy eyes (secondary bacterial infection) and see WWM re.>
(Here is my tank info: 55 Gallons, pH 8.2, Water Temp 78-80 degrees,
Salinity 1.015, Ammonia/Nitrates/Nitrites 0, Diet: krill, brine shrimp,
snails, <Should also add mussel flesh, clams and avoid to feed too
much krill and brine shrimp. Add vitamins from time to time.>
Tankmates: 1 striped damsel, 1 small red crab (both are really good
about hiding from the puffer when he looks hungry!). Any suggestions?
<See above and if you have not it read yet:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/diodontpuffers.htm and the linked files
above.> Jason Sick puffer, Burrfish env. 11/6/07 Hello people, <Jesse> I am hoping that you can help me with my Porcupine Puffer. I have had him for about 6 months and he has been doing great. He is in a 250g tank and the parameters are Ammonia: 0, Nitrate: 0, Nitrite: 30 (this has become a common reading since he was first introduced to the tank. <I would be reading, making plans on how to lower this...> Temp: 76-79, PH: 8.4, Gravity 1.020 (I was advised to lower it from 1.025 by my LFS). <Mmm, I would not do this... for the reasons stated on WWM...> About 3 weeks ago, his skin became blotchy and he developed dry spots across his back. The LFS said it looked like a fungal infection, <... no> but did not offer a remedy other than serious antibiotics. <... a very poor idea> I decided to raise the temperature to 81 degrees, and perform fresh water dips with Methylene (sp?) blue for 15 min.s. <... ditto> I also turned off the lights for most of the day. The puffer ate regularly, but often hid under rocks or rested in between rock formations for the majority of the day. I would also find that he would occasionally puff up after I had turned out the lights. After a week of treatment, he seemed ok. The infection <Not an infection> was no longer visible and he was back to his normal self. Last Monday he suddenly stopped eating. He has not eaten in over a week and swims away as though he is afraid of the hand that usually feeds him. He usually eats squid, prawns and octopus supplemented with Vita-Chem. <Good> I also occasionally feed him snails and crayfish to wear down his teeth. I have no idea what to do with him. My only other thought was that another fish was picking on him. I had added an Emperor Angel to my tank about 2 months ago, but I have never witnessed any aggression between him or the other fish. I hope that this was enough information; I would be terribly embarrassed if this was the funkiest question of the day. Thanks, Jesse <Heeeee! No worries. I would improve the environment... slowly raise the spg to seawater concentration (like a thousandth per day) and seek out the means of reducing and keeping the NO3 below 20 ppm... See WWM re... and this fish will return to good health. Bob Fenner> White worm parasites. Porcupine Puffer dis... mostly 8/3/06 Dear Bob, <Robert> First of all, I wanted to thank you for your time in answering this and so many other questions and for having such a fine resource online for helping out aquarists (especially new ones, such as myself). It seems that anytime I search the net for info on taking care of my puffers, I get this site - and usually all of the answers I need. <Ah, thank you for your kind words. Much appreciated> I decided I needed to write in for this one, however, as I didn't find exactly what I was looking for in the previously answered emails. <Okay> My wife and I recently started a 55 gallon marine tank and have two Mollies (suggested by the pet shop for starting the cycle) and two Porcupine Puffers... <! Will be way too much here... even for initially "loading" this system/volume... and these species are by and large non- to anti-social with their own kind> One because my wife had fallen instantly in love with it (the particular fish, not just puffers in general) and the other because she was afraid it would be lonely by itself. <Not so. Please relate this to her. Not found in the wild in close association, "pairs" except during spawning...> This turned out to be not such a good idea, as the two puffers decided that the tank wasn't big enough for the both of them. <Oh, yes> The smaller (and cuter) Puffer (named "Fluff") is less territorial and less aggressive and seems more interested with swimming the length of the tank. The larger Puffer (named "Nutter") isn't as active and seems to get aggressive when Fluff intrudes upon his area. <...> We've remedied this for the time being by placing a divider in the tank. (I can almost hear your comment here about how they need more room - <Heeeee! Am I really becoming that/this predictable? Good> I agree) At least they have more room than they did in the pet store, if that's any consolation. <Mmm, not much. Do understand that pet stores are an aberration... that they only intend to stock life short term... that of a necessity they can't afford to not temporarily overcrowd their for sale charges> Our plans are to buy a second tank (probably another 55 gallon - at least for now) and put a Puffer in each. <Do see WWM, fishbase.org... elsewhere re the size of this species... Need much larger quarters, volume... not "when" larger, but now> We hope to do a much larger tank that's architecturally integrated into the wall, but we are still reeling from the money we've spent so far. <Planning... based on investigation, facts my friend...> The reason for this letter, however, is what I am assuming is a parasitic infestation. <"It?"> The appearance is of small worms that are exactly the same size as their spines, but instead of laying back against their bodies, they are sort of limp and upon closer inspection, appear to be attached to the puffers skin. It's hard to say exactly how long ago this began, as Fluff had what we thought was a 'dead' spine. We had thought that this was a result of Nutter attacking Fluff, but now that Fluff has healed up from the attack and they are separated, we've noticed several of these worms on both Fluff and Nutter. I was considering either a Freshwater dip or Formalin, but the idea of Formaldehyde worries me. <It should... toxic... to the fish and you> I was wondering if I could solve this problem and prevent against Marine Ich by simply reducing the salinity of the tank. <Mmm, not likely> If so, what range is good for killing off parasites and not too low for puffers? (I'm not worried about the mollies, as they're freshwater fish.) Would it be better (less shock to the puffers) to reduce the salinity to kill the worms rather than do the Fresh Water bath? <You can read re the use, efficacy of so-called Hyposalinity Treatments here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/martrthyposalfaqs.htm and the linked files above. I am decidedly not a fan of this technique... Not often useful, conclusive... too much stress on the hosts...> Thanks in advance for your rapid reply and as always for your helpful info. Robert Perkins <Let's see... the "worms" may well be a fluke (Flatworm) of some sort... and could well be a type of crustacean (likely a parasitic copepod of some sort)... These possibilities could be treated with a biocidal dip of formalin/formaldehyde (detailed on WWM), but require the animals to NOT be placed back in the infested system/s (obviously eh?). Instead, I'd try administering (either together or serially) a vermifuge like Praziquantel or economic poison/DTHP (in various generic nominations... see WWM re), or a combo. of both as in a product like "Fluke Tabs"... Much to relate re this... and I do wish we were near by where I could take a scraping, look under my cheapie microscopes, show you which is which here... But do read on re the above... and write back for clarification, more if all does not become clear in your searching. Bob Fenner> Eye Ulcer/Cloudy - Porc Puffer - 06/07/06 I have a small Porc puffer which I purchased about 2 weeks ago. She is in a QT tank.....and I have been treating her for her eye with lowering the salinity and making sure the water quality is tops. The eye seems to be even more cloudy and even looks somewhat like an ulcer. I don't know if the eye is getting better as in the issue is shrinking or worse! I have also used Epsom salts as well. <Good> But if I am taking water out for changes, how often do I need to replenish the Epsom salts. <Each time> She is eating well ... mind you today was a bit picky. When I got home from work she was on the bottom in a rock hole and I thought she'd died! <Mmm, do sit about a good deal of the time... in the wild and in captivity> I picked her out of the store because she was the "underdog" and I seem to always take the fish I feel I could help give a better life to. This includes all my pets... Should I dip her in fresh water. <Maybe enroute to your main tank> I could send a pic if necessary. Please help I really don't want to lose her and I don't want her to suffer. Janet <I would likely foreshorten the quarantine period here and risk moving this animal into larger quarters... Much more likely that a good deal of the stress/component of this manifestation is due to being kept in small confines than it carrying a pathogen. Bob Fenner> Porcupine Puffer Trouble - 2/20/2006 Greetings. <<Hi
Dan.>> I have a 6-year-old porcupine puffer who is about 10
inches head-to-tail and lives in a 55 gallon tank. <<That's
too bad. At 6-years-old your puffer should be 18', and
in a 125 gallon tank.>> As of the last few months, his desire and
ability to eat has diminished greatly. Over the years,
I've fed him a steady diet of frozen krill and frozen silversides,
with an occasional helping of romaine lettuce, which he used to love.
<<Good as a treat perhaps, but poor nutritionally.>> He no
longer touches frozen krill, and only on "good" days will
swallow a piece frozen silverside. Mostly, he now eats
floating dried krill, but still with difficulty. Part of the problem, I
think, is that he can't close his jaw. It's always open. When
he sucks in a piece, he'll usually spit it back out and try again
until he finally holds it down. Based on what I've read
on your site so far, it sounds like he either has nutritionally induced
lockjaw or overgrown teeth, but I can't really tell. <<Can
you see his teeth/beak all the time? I find your pics hard to make
out. Is he getting food down? You should try
mussels, Clams, cockles, crabs legs. If he is eating at all,
you have a chance to reverse any damage a poor diet may have caused.
Soak the foods in garlic to stimulate his appetite, and a good
supplement like Selcon, Vita-Chem, or both. What's your
water quality like? Number readings would be very helpful here.>>
Any advice you can offer would be greatly appreciated! <<As
above. Most of all your puffer needs a bigger
tank. Please get back to me! Lisa.>> Regards, Dan
Porcupine puffer disease diagnosis... unsuitable water quality,
copper exposure, - 01/12/2006 Hello, Your web site seems
quite helpful in disease diagnosis, so I hope you can
help. I have a 100 gal. saltwater tank that I have had for
about 8 months and have had the porcupine puffer for about 7 or
so. The problem is that he has not eaten anything in the
last 2 weeks, he is still very active and always greets me with
excitement. <... have you read on WWM re feeding puffers,
Diodontids?> The water quality is good salt 1.022 <I would raise
this to near seawater strength... 1.025> ammonia 0, nitrites 0,
nitrates less than forty <Keep under twenty...> as far as can
tell. I do use copper in the recommended dosage <Stop!
This is toxic to your livestock... should not be used on a continuous
basis... some folks think never on puffers... can/will account for the
non-feeding by itself> and have so since I have had the tank.
<This is a mistake> He shows no external signs of disease, he
acts hungry when I bring his feeding cup around but when i
put the shrimp in he goes for it once or twice then just lets it fall
to the bottom. Before I could barely feed my bottom feeder
because he would eat everything I put it. I know I need to
vary his diet other than shrimp but as of now he does not want to eat,
food suggestions would be helpful. The damsel, sailfin, and
snowflake eel are all happy/healthy fish. I don't know what to do
he does not match any disease charts he just wont
eat. Thanks <... not a disease, unless you consider
iatrogenic/induced, poor supplied circumstances as cause... Read on my
friend. Your answers are on WWM. Bob Fenner> Poor Planning/Husbandry and Puffer Health - 12/13/2005 Hello - <Hi Francesca.> I noticed very recently that my Porcupine Puffer has been gasping/ labored breathing and stays around the top, as if 1) there's too much ammonia or not enough oxygen in tank or 2) some parasitic problem, maybe gill flukes? <This doesn't bode well for your tank. Has your Puffer been puffing at all (or ever). They are usually very good first indicators of poor conditions.> Just for background, I have a 30 gallon tank with a Clown, the Puffer, small Damsel and Yellow Tang. <This demonstrates extremely poor planning or a lack there of. Neither the Puffer nor the Tang are suitable here. They should both be removed to larger systems. This inappropriate stocking is a good part of your problem. Both will have stunted growth and die prematurely if they remain. The choice however is ultimately yours.> The Puffer's about 4 inches. I checked water conditions, Ph, <pH> ammonia of course, etc, and everything's fine. <I can draw no such conclusion here.> I like keeping my salinity level lower (not a reef tank) at 1.020, also hear it's good for preventing Ich supposedly, not sure? <Do read up on hyposalinity on our site for more info.> They seem fine though. <Obviously not.> Just did a water change too. I do these every 2-3 weeks, about 20% or so. <Being this overstocked you should be doing these much more frequently. Skimmer?> Every week I put in calcium supplements to maintain Ph (in particular Kalkwasser mix, and All in One Salifert). <Do you know what your doing with these? How much calcium is lost in your tank weekly? If not testing/regulating accordingly, please stop. Increase water change frequency.> I'm usually <Usually!?> careful pouring the Kalkwasser mixed with freshwater in it (I hear you're supposed to pour in slowly), <Only go on what you know and understand thoroughly. Going on what you've heard can be deadly and doesn't often apply in such cases.> but last week I may have poured it in too fast and 'burned' a bit of the puffer tail fringes. I'm wondering whether I may have slightly affected his gills too, thus the labored breathing. <Do you know the effects of a sudden pH spike? The effect it would have on any measurable amount of ammonia?> But that was last Thursday and it's already Monday. Or is it gill flukes? I hear that's hard to diagnose. <I doubt it's more than inappropriate care.> What should I do? I love this guy - his name's Piggy (aptly named of course). Great personality, good color and weight (not too fat). Even though he's acting like this, he still eats like a pig and is relatively active when I'm ready to feed him. <You'll need to start frequent water changes (at least weekly), study more on additives and their use/need and either buy a larger (100 gal. at least) system for these or adopt them out.> Thanks for your help, sorry email so long! I'm just at a loss what to do. <I know this was not at all what you wanted to hear and understand your attachment to your livestock. You must however consider what is best for them and how to best help them here. Just think how it would feel to constantly try harder (which can also hurt things if misapplied) only to watch them fade and slowly waste away (or become brain damaged, neurotic, Etc.). Besides, a little well intentioned "tough love" is what we all need sometimes.> Francesca <Josh> Porcupine puffer problem... just crowding 7/18/05 Hello, I
have 2 porcupine puffers they are between 5 and 6 inches long in a 50
gallon tank. I have had them since they were 2 inches long and now they
are fighting a few times a week. Is this normal???? <Mmm, yes> Is
it a feeding issue? I feed them frozen krill everyday. can you help?
Thanks, Tony <Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffersysfaqs.htm and on to and
through the linked files at top where you lead yourself. Your animals
need much more space... and to be separated... Bob Fenner> Porcupine puffer Hi there guys! <Hi! Ananda here
today...> I have been researching for days over our Porcupine
Puffer, "Molly" we call her. I find your articles so very
helpful & seems to be the first place I turn to research. <Glad
to be of service.> Anyway, I cannot seem to find info. on our
particular problem.... we have had the puffer about one month & she
is about 2" in size. She is in our 60 gallon tank with a Naso
Tang, a Yellow-Tail Damsel, a tiny Picasso Trigger & a Mantis
Shrimp that lives in our live rock (hitchhiker!), all water tests are
fine as they should be, temp. at 78 & lots of copepods. <Yowza.
Hope you have a much bigger tank planned; both the Naso and the puffer
could use 240 or more gallons as adults.> We recently lost a Clown
Trigger to some disease we didn't catch early enough (a deadly
fungus?). Over the past week or so, the puffer is breathing very
heavily as though she is always gasping for air. She used to be an
active swimmer & is now sleeping 80% of the day. Swims a little
more at night & is still eating well. One of her eyes is a little
cloudy & a few of her fins are frayed. <Water quality
alert. Poor water quality is the biggest single cause of cloudy eyes.
Get some saltwater ready for a water change and do one tomorrow.> No
visible signs of Ich, etc. but some gray shading around her mouth that
has always been evident. We had treated the tank with Green-Ex
(Malachite Green) & recently found that it is harmful to scaleless
fish. :( <And to live rock, inverts of all sorts... your live
rock is quite likely dead rock now. That would explain the poor water
quality: your biological filtration is shot.> We are stumped as to
what this could be & just want to treat correctly. <I would
start with fresh activated carbon and several largish water changes. If
you've got significantly measurable ammonia, a 40% water change is
not unreasonable.> Also, have read several different articles about
FW dips with Maracyn 2 & Formalin, can you tell which is better to
use, or the diff. between the two? <They are two totally different
medications. I've never heard of doing a freshwater dip with
Maracyn 2. Formalin will probably not help the puffer any... and may
make things worse.> Also, do all Porcupine Puffers have teeth?
<Yup, the better to crush corals and crustaceans with! Hmmm... make
that "crush-staceans", perhaps? ;-) > There is a porcupine
puffer at the LFS with a huge set of teeth (look like dentures! ha!)
and "Mollie's" teeth are almost invisible. <Sounds
like the one at the store is not getting a sufficient quantity of
hard-shelled foods.> Sorry for the LONG e-mail, <Truthfully, I
would have preferred an even longer one: one including all of the water
parameters of the tank.> We are at a loss as to what to do & we
just adore her. Thanks so much again- The Gilmores <Repeat after me:
The solution to pollution is dilution. Now go get that water mixing.
:-) If pristine water quality does not improve the situation
significantly, I would put the puffer in a hospital tank and treat her
with a good, broad-spectrum antibiotic. My preference in this case
would be Kanamycin. --Ananda> Porcupine Puffer Hi there! I have some problems with my new fish and was hoping you could help me on this regard. Currently I have a 55 gallon with 40 pounds Fiji LR and 20 pounds of aragonite and 20 pounds of crushed coral underneath it. My fish include a 3 inch Volitans a 2 inch dwarf lion a 2 inch long horned cowfish and a new 2 inch porcupine fish. <Awfully crowded for a 55, when/if they grow to adult size and live a full life.> The tank parameters are ammonia .25 ppm, <Should always be zero ammonia and nitrite.> nitrate 5 ppm, nitrite 0, pH 8.3. My question is this, I just introduced the porcupine a few days ago and all he does for the last 4-5 days is swim up and down on the back left corner of the tank. Also, he has a big white dot\spot on the top of the right eye. <Please tale a look here for general information on Puffers, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/diodontpuffers.htm and here for disease information, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisease.htm , and continuing on through the other linked files.> Please let me know how to help this new fish of mine. P.S. He eats all the time though. <The best help I can give you is to point you in the right direction to educate yourself as to the proper care/husbandry of your animals. -Steven Pro> Question about puffer fish Hi Bob, I've got a porcupine puffer fish who I have had for almost 2 years now! But I noticed a strange marking on his belly recently. It looks like green algae. Its green and splotchy all over his white belly.. I never noticed it until today.. I'm wondering if it could be algae? <Actually, yes. It could be> Or is it more likely some other kind of disease? In any case is it dangerous? How would you recommend curing it? <Improved water quality, change of foods/feeding, addition of vitamins and iodide to the food, water...> BTW, my tank does have some algae growth but I try to keep it under control so its not THAT bad. Your help is appreciated, thanks! Steve Weatherly <Perhaps related issue (algae in tank, on puffer) in that water quality, conditions dictate both... Do you have live rock? Macro-algae growing in the system or sump? These would help indirectly to vastly improve conditions, health. Bob Fenner> |
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