|
Home | Marine Aquariums |
Freshwater Aquariums |
Planted Aquariums |
Brackish Systems |
Ponds,
lakes & fountains |
Turtles & Amphibians |
Aquatic Business |
Aquatic Science |
Ask the WWM Crew a Question |
Please visit our Sponsors | ||||
Porcupine Puffer suddenly has injured eye - attacked by Annularis
Angelfish 3/16/16
Porcupine puffer is ...poisoned? Another Siganid incident,
incomp. 3/16/14 Porcupine Puffer 1/12/13
Burrfish, bitten? 5/31/11 Hey guys! First time asking a question about the millionth time on your site! I have a emergency... Well I think.. First tank details 125 gallon fish only tank 175 P live rock, HOB CPR refugium, AquaC remora protein skimmer, Aquatic life 4 lamp T5s. Livestock 6 inch Porcupine Puffer I have had for about a year, 2 foot gold spot moray eel in take 3 years, and 2 small damsels in tank 3 years. parameters all normal. tank has been going for about 4 years. I noticed today my puffer was resting in middle of day very unusual. I went to take closer inspection I noticed what looked like to be tears in his skin behind his left fin. 3 or 4 small maybe half inch or smaller tears. Also there seams to be around 10 of his spines that have protruded threw skin. This morning when I awoke I looked for puffer but I could not see him. I looked in rock work, he had gotten deep inside small crevice in rocks. I have never seen him down in the rock work like this. I am thinking he may have torn skin while in rock work? Any help would be greatly appreciated I really love this little guy and don't want anything to happen to him. I can send pictures if needed. Thanks! Joey <Do please send along the pix... I suspect the Moray... Bob Fenner>
Porc Puffer ? Hlth., reading 05/27/09 Porcupine Pufferfish dis-emboweled 3-5-09 Help!
<I'll do my best! Mike here tonight> I have a 220-gallon
saltwater aquarium. All of the fish have been doing great for a long
time. <Yay, a big tank!> "Porky", my large Porcupine
Puffer, has an injury caused by another fish last night. I looked into
the tank and saw my large Lunar Wrasse pulling and tugging on pink
"guts" or something that he was pulling out of Porky's
anal opening. He had about 3" of it pulled out and was tugging and
trying to rip at it and eat it. I now have Porky in a hospital tank
with Maracyn to try and prevent infection. <Good. You may want to
very broad spectrum here, with Maracyn 1&2, and maybe Methylene
blue...it won't hurt> The guts (intestines or whatever it is) is
still hanging out of him in a large pink ball. <Possibly prolapsed
colon/intestines...is there a hole torn through the abdominal wall, or
it is hanging out of the rectum?> It also has some white stringy
parts kind of hanging off of it, and some areas are more pink or red,
and looks like it hurts. <Likely damaged tissue and blood
vessels> Porky is still eating like his normal ravaged self, but
I'm not sure if he'll be able to poop. <I would stop feeding
for the time being> And I can't put him back in the big tank,
because ALL of the fish started to nip at it before I got him out of
there. I tried to push the guts back in, but I was afraid of making it
worse so I stopped after it didn't go in easily. What should I do?
<I haven't had any experience with this before, so I'm
Cc'ing Bob, who will hopefully CC Kathy, the only person I know of
whom has some 'surgical' experience with fish. However, keep
porky in the QT tank, treat with prophylactic antibiotics, cease
feeding, and wait> <<I would not operate on this fish... but
wait, be patient. Such prolapses are not uncommon... Use the WWM search
tool and look up this term with the word puffer... and read the cached
views... RMF>> Thanks, Jenny <Good luck! M. Maddox>
Porcupine Puffer Skin Problems 12/3/08
Good evening, <Morrow for me here, now. Good day to
you in any case/time frame> I have used your site numerous times to
troubleshoot many different fish/aquarium topics, but I cannot find the
answer to my most recent question and find it worthy of a post.
<Good> My Porcupine Puffer that I have had in a 100 gallon live
rock aquarium for 6 months has started to show signs of skin problems
and I can't find the issue posted or even mentioned on any forum.
It appears that the fish is molting/shedding from between the eyes to
the dorsal fin. <Mmm, Diodontids (and Tetraodontids...) do
"shed" their skin quite a bit...> The typical olive/brown
coloring has given way to what appears to be a new, whiter layer of
skin/scale still exhibiting the camouflage characteristics, just in a
lighter shade. Now I've searched and know that puffers do not have
scales and from what I can tell therefore do not shed/molt.
<Actually...> I'm wondering if this is a treatable disease or
in general any advice you can provide for this situation. Tank specs:
100 gallon overflow with a 25 gallon sump, Red Sea protein skimmer and
carbon filtration. Tank Mates: Yellow Tang Maroon Gold Stripe Clown
Candy Hogfish Picasso Trigger 75 lbs live rock Thank you for your
assistance <Mmm... well, this condition can be due to, here's
that word again, just "stress"... it may be the Trigger,
Clown and even the Tang are working this fish woe... The second, and
possibly larger co-factor with these puffers is nutritional. Very often
they are lost to avitaminoses... and hence, the call to supplement
their foods, provide a myriad diet to hopefully avoid such dietary
lacks. IF you have other quarters to situate this specimen in, I would
move it... to counter/check the possibility of harassment... And I
would definitely mix the diet up here, try soaking all foods in a HUFA,
vitamin mix... like MicroVit, Selcon... Bob Fenner>
We eat the rude... Mis-stocked Burrfish, poor English, no searching ahead of writing.... Grrrr 12/07/2007 hi, I am writing because I have a dilemma with my porcupine puffer. it has puffed up for no reason. it has puffed up a few times today. he shares a 100 gallon tank with a tomato clown, tang, dogface puffer, coral beauty and a pink tail trigger. right now he is puffed up floating at the top of the tank. how do I deflate him? <... Please, fix your English before writing us... and search what is posted on WWM already, as instructed... You have a situation that has caused, will cause the Diodontid to puff-up... the Trigger... read re the Compatibility... Systems of the fishes you list. BobF> Bloated Puffer 7/5/07 Hi Guys, <Hi Chris,
Pufferpunk here (I'm a gal).> I have been reading WWM for a few
years now and found a ton of advice on this "obsession" of
mine, but have never written, until now. <Aren't we all obsessed
after a few years?> I have a 180 gallon FOWLR that includes a Blue
Face Angel, Emperor Angel, Naso Tang, Hippo Tang, Porcupine Puffer and
a Niger Trigger. All of the fish are at least 5" or bigger (in the
case of the Angels). They have been happy in the tank for over 18
months and have not had any issues other than eat $1500 of my coral
(hence the FOWLR he he). <Too bad...> My fish are literally pigs
and will eat anything you put in the tank with them but the puffer will
only eat frozen krill. <Really bad diet for a puffer. I have seen
way too many incidents of puffers fed a main diet of krill, developing
lockjaw & eventually starving to death. See here for better diet
& methods of getting it to eat other foods:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/category/feeding/ > He
has done this for the 3 years that I have had him and I feed him 1 time
every other day or third day (basically feed him till he can't
eat). <Letting a puffer gorge itself isn't good for him either.
It results in a lot of non-digested food, causing a liver problems
(fatty liver) & a polluted environment. Feed until a slightly
rounded tummy.> He has been very normal till a day or two ago when I
noticed that he was trying to poop and the Hippo tang was trying to eat
the waste before it even came out (since it is pure krill).
<Exactly> But at the same time, it wasn't allowing Puff to
get out all his excess. He was picking so bad that when Puff tried to
squeeze some out...the tang was attacking his "hole" and
really aggravating the fish. <Poor puffer!> So I have been
watching him and his belly is getting larger and hasn't eaten in 2
days. I am afraid that he is scared to poop now and will hold in the
waste till it literally kills him. <It is possible but also it may
just be constipated.> Have you seen or heard this before? Is there
anything that I can do to help? <You could try to feed it vegetable
matter, like peas or algae wafers (puffers usually won't eat these
but some have). Otherwise, add Epsom salt, 1tbsp/5g. It would be best
to quarantine the fish. This is one of the many reasons, it is
suggested to keep a puffer in a tank by itself or with less aggressive
tankmates it can't catch. ~PP> Sincerely, Chris Porcupine Puffer stung by lionfish! 6/28/07 Hey there, <Hi Jeff, MacL here with you tonight.> I have been using your website to research and learn for many years now and it appears I can't find any information on my current problem. I have a porcupine puffer who would be about 5 inches, and he shares the tank with a 6 inch Picasso trigger and a 5 inch Volitans lionfish and a yellow head moray eel.. All tankmates seem to get a long most of the time with the odd argument between the puffer and the trigger, (he has never puffed up though as a result)<You know I have had my puffer for five years and haven't seen him puff up once.> however about a week ago during feeding time (which is awe inspiring to watch them all eat) <Lord I bet, I can just imagine> the lionfish had not yet engulfed his whole fish when the porcupine puffer decided it was time to get some of that fish from his mouth. Now as he swam toward the lion the puffer ever so lightly swam down onto the dorsal spines of the lion and quickly dashed in the other direction. After about half an hour the puffer had a small ring of blood in his left eye and it eventually went away and now that one eye is cloudy. <Definitely sounds like they had a close encounter. I've seen animals recover from being stung but having personally been stung it hurts like you wouldn't believe.> He seems still relatively happy and he still has a fine appetite however he has become far more docile than he used to be. Of course he comes out a little more at night but he used to follow us around the room and now doesn't come out as often. <I'm sure he's both wary of the lionfish and wary of his tankmates since he does have an injury and possibly cannot see as well as normal. While I do not advocate medicating unless its necessary I would definitely keep an eye on his eye to make sure its clearing up on its own quickly. I personally recommend adding something like Selcon with vitamin C to assist in the cure but if the eye doesn't appear to be healing on its own you might need to consider adding an antibiotic. I wouldn't add it unless he appears to be having problems healing because it does mess with the tanks bacteria on occasion as well. > I guess that it is cloudy eye due to the stress of being stung by the lion but just wanted to double check there is nothing I should do, as we would be devastated to lose our cute little ET impersonator!!! <To me its sounds more like he was stung in his eye because you saw the ring of blood in his eye. Usually there is a mark where they get stung. Keeping your tank healthy is the best thing you can do for your fish as you very well know. If he doesn't show signs of improvement in two or three days I would look into antibiotics for assistance. Your tank sounds lovely and amusing. Good luck, MacL> Any advice would be appreciated.. Regards Jeff
New member to the aquarium. Porc. puffer - 08/26/06 Hey
crew, Well my dad and brother came home with a porcupine
puffer Wednesday. I notice a small thing under his belly. I don't
have a picture so I'm going to have to describe it as best as I
can. The little bump thing on the puffer is pretty small but small
enough to take off with a tweezers if it is a parasite. The color is
pink and it's like a oval shape. The thing looks like a booger
(from your nose...), remember I'm doing my best to describe it lol.
It looks like it is attached to one of the quills on the puffer. Does
this information I have given you work for you? <Yes... But no
useful data re water quality, the make-up of this system, other
tankmates... This spot is likely an "owee"... not parasitic,
not "treatable" per se> I have look everywhere on your
site and other places but can't get an answer. Could this be a
parasite? Maybe a bruised quill? Also there are some white spots, like
sugar sized, on his tail but only a couple. Looks like Ich but he had
it since Wednesday and there isn't anymore white spots on him.
Maybe scars from Ich? Thanks for your help.,
Ben <Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/burrfishdisfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> Porcupine Puffer fading fast ... killed through mis-over-stocking, trtmt. 8/24/06 I am afraid it may be too late... but I just came across your site and thought I would try once more. <?> I have a porcupine puffer in an 80 gal aquarium along with a powder blue tang, French angelfish, a lionfish and an eel. <... eighty gallons? Way too small...> When I first set up the tank... I noticed he swam constantly near the surface, but wouldn't eat a thing. I had a problem with nitrites for a week or so, but I removed the fish and fixed the problem. I left the puffer out for a bit longer in my local stores tank (they were nice enough to hold him for me)....they said he ate a little when he came in...but then quickly quit again. He mostly lays around on the bottom of the tank and hides... <...> He is now back in my aquarium for the last few weeks, but then I developed an Ich problem (I wouldn't be surprised if he brought it back with him) which I have been treating with Prevent-Ich. The Tang and the Angelfish were the worst affected, but the problem seems to be almost completely under control as the Ich spots have all but disappeared. (Darn Prevent -Ich seems to have stained my coral though)... Anyway...through all this, he still hasn't eaten that I have seen....and now he seems to "puff-up" involuntarily occasionally, which I know is not good for them... HELP! One last odd thing....i had my hand in the tank the other day cleaning something when he swam by me and pretty much swam into my hand.......I just held him lightly...open palm...basically letting him rest in my hand....but he didn't puff and made no effort to move....weird huh? Anyway...thanks for any help you can give! Tod Phoenix, Arizona <You... need... to... move... this livestock into much larger, more stable quarters. 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> Puffer's Nose Has Been 'Bitten' Off 12/13/05 Hey WWM Crew! <Neil> It seems like every couple of months I find a new reason to ask you guys a question. Don't know what I would do without WWM! <Me neither... but I like to consider what I might do with all the extra time...> You might remember my last question. I was the gentleman that had purchased a Humu Humu trigger that, strangely enough, caused my Blue Hippo Tang to start attacking my Porcupine Puffer. <Displaced aggression... happens> Well, I followed your advice and the Blue Tang came out and got her own tank for a couple of months. Problem was that every time I put her back in, she would start up with the tail nipping again. Finally, I decided that the Trigger must go - which, might I add, was no small task. I eventually ended up taking a whole piece of live rock to the LFS and waiting for them to call when he had decided to come out - six hours later! <Persistence pays> Once the Trigger was gone, I rearranged the live rock and put the Blue Tang back in, and all was peaceful. I even discovered a few crabs and snails that had been in hiding! <Neat> Now, here's my latest issue. I feed a mixture (blender and some tank water to mix it) of tilapia filets, jumbo shrimp, cocktail shrimp (left mostly whole), mussels (sp?), real crab meat if I can get it, and Nori. After blended, I put the nasty mix into a large Ziploc storage bad and spread it thin on a cookie sheet, which is then placed in the freezer. <Good technique> My puffer will grab the frozen hunk and, while trying to gulp it down, keep it partially sticking out of his mouth. The other fish, naturally, are not deterred and go right ahead and eat off of the other end of the hunk. <Better to make two or more "sub-hunk" pieces> Some days ago (5?) I noticed that the very tip of Puffy's nose (really the upper lip area that somewhat extends onto his face) had been bitten off. I did not see it happen, so I can only assume that this is what happened. Since then, his nose has progressively disappeared. At this point, the wound area, where his flesh is exposed, is slightly larger than a hole punch. I am curious, have you ever heard of such a thing? <Yes, have seen> Is it likely that the Tang has switched ends - from nipping his fin, to nipping his face? <Maybe> Or, and this is my suspicion, did he likely get a small wound, and the 'begging act' of dragging his face across the acrylic 24 hours a day took its toll on the open wound? <Much more likely, common> Is this something that I should treat, as its quite a good sized wound (he is only about 5 inches total length)? I can see the skin 'flexing' as he pushes it across the acrylic. What, if anything, should I do? <Nothing overt... not likely to help... nor the rubbing to be affected> Oh yeah, I have yet to witness the Tang nipping at the Puffer since I put her back in, and previously she did it constantly. <Good> As always your insight is so greatly appreciated that I fail to find the appropriate words. Thank You and Happy Holidays! Neil <And to you and yours as well. Cheers, Bob Fenner> 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> Help, our new Puffer has a problem >Hello, >>Good morning. >I have been looking through your FAQ's on pufferfish and have not found a resolution to our problem. >>Glad to know that you're aware of the FAQ's, we also should have an article or two as well. >We just picked up a porcupine pufferfish about a week ago. He/she is 5' long. Our tank is 46G, and there are also two small clowns, a 1 ½' butterfly, and a blenny. We also purchased a small lionfish at this time, knowing that a good portion of these pets would be moved to our new 72G reef that we are currently cycling. >>Not the puffer, I hope. It won't fare well in a 46 for long, either, and if the lion is a P. volitans neither will it. >Yesterday morning we noticed a white discoloration, about the size of a dime, between his eyes and just touching his nose. It was not fuzzy, or a material on the surface. The skin itself had changed colors. >>Porkies do this. >Earlier today, it looked like it went away. My wife and I went out for a couple of hours, and upon our return, the puffer was laying on the bottom of the tank and the discoloration has now spread over his entire face. The color is no longer white, it is somewhat brown. It is also on his belly as well. I am not sure if it is a fungal or parasitic infection. >>I doubt it, though he does sound stressed. Water quality issues, as you've added two new fish to a very small system at once. This is not advisable practice, nor is it advisable to put fish into an established system without first quarantining for 30 days minimum. >We are considering getting him into a quarantine tank, and then giving him some Maracyn. Is it possible, however, that he may have been stung by the lionfish? What should we do? We love your site and any assistance you could provide would be extremely appreciated. Thanks. >>It is entirely possible he could have been stung, you have put both these fish into a small system. Again, I advise *very* strongly against it. ALL the fish should be being quarantined for 30 days minimum, and mixing a pugnacious fish like a porcupine puffer with a defensive eating machine like a lionfish in tight quarters isn't wise at all. Separate them, get them into their *own* q/t's, and watch. I would wait to use the Maracyn until AFTER you've tested the water the fish is being kept in to be certain the issue isn't water quality. Good luck! Marina Dave Emperor Angel and Porcupine Puffer As always you guys are doing an AWESOME job! (I know it's cliche here, but its true) <awwwhhh, shucks! Thanks kindly <smile>> Anyway, two quick questions: 1. I recently purchased a young Emperor Angel and he was eating as soon as I got him home, aware of his surroundings, etc'¦ BUT he seems to swim slowly on one side or the other. Is this normal behavior for this species, or a sick fish? <hmmm... symptomatically called "listing"...indeed not normal or healthy but not indicative necessarily of a specific condition to treat. Continue to feed well until it improves or betrays an addressable symptom (spots, fin erosion, etc) 2. My Trigger and Puffer had an accident. While feeding they went for the same target, but the trigger missed and caught the puffer between his eyes. The trigger took my puffer (the first time I've seen him puff up) for a spin before realizing what he had done. When he let go the puffer had a mark on the side of his eye where he had been bitten. That mark has turned white like scar tissue over the last two days. Is that white possibly infection, or new skin? <hmmm hard to say, but infections get ugly real fast. My guess is raw skin and healing. Do watch closely though and review disease section here on WWM for injury treatments and medicants if necessary> Will it heal and return normal color? <very likely> Do I need to worry about infection, do anything to help it heal? <be prepared with a good QT tank if necessary for either fish> Thanks a million, Mark <best regards, Anthony> Injured Fish Question I have a 110gal fish only. I purchased a 4-5 inch Spiny Box puffer from the LFS about three weeks ago. About a week ago I noticed he got ruffed up, probably by a 12 inch Banded Moray Eel. Of the three fins near his tail, one is down to flesh, and the other two are 80%gone. He also has a lot of trauma near his tail. He still eats like a pig. I soak his food of choice (raw shrimp) in Vita-Chem every day, and Iodine twice a week. Is this too much iodine? Is he going to be OK? Is there anything else I can do? He's a cool fish and I don't want to lose him. And thanks for the great column! <<Hmm, do you have another tank to move the puffer to? Is anything still chewing on it? I would only add some iodine to the food once a week. If the areas where the fins are growing back (they will if not chewed all the way to their bases) look reddened... do contact me and I'll tell you how to make an antibiotic laced food. Eating heartily is a good sign... and I've seen puffers recover from much worse injuries. Keep your water quality high and stable, and s/he should get better. Bob Fenner>> Puffer Time! Hi Bob, I recently bought a 3-4 in. long-spine porcupine puffer to add to my 55 gal. tank. I have a blue fin damsel, maroon clown, yellow tail damsel, and a lawnmower blenny. when I first introduced him into my tank he was up and swimming around., but the next day he way really shy and stayed in the corner of my tank all day. he had more than enough swimming space, for there is only about 30 lbs. o live rock. he also hasn't been eating anything, I tried feeding it frozen brine shrimp, he didn't eat that, and also tried to feed him beef heart (frozen) he didn't eat that. what is wrong with him? please help! <<Actually probably nothing is wrong with your new Puffer... these intelligent animals just get sort of depressed at times... particularly when being moved about... Do have patience, and I'll bet it will be up and eating like a veritable pig in a week or so. In the meanwhile don't worry about it starving. These fishes often do go on feeding strikes, sometimes for weeks at a time. Try feeding it something like krill or an opened shellfish every few days. Bob Fenner>> Porcupine puffer with a swollen eye I wonder if you can help,
I recently acquired a Porcupine puffer about 3 inches in length. he
currently shares a 180L tank with a small Volitans, a 3 inch Clown
Trigger fish, a 5 inch Pink tail trigger, a Powder Blue Tang, and an
Imperator Angel. All the water parameters are in very good shape, but
about 1 week after being added to my tank, he suddenly developed a
very, very swollen eye. The eye enlarged in the space of an hour just
after feeding. It's now about 3 weeks later and the situation has
worsened, the swelling is massive and looks very uncomfortable, a
significant amount of air is clearly visible behind the eye cover and
in front of the eye itself. The poor creatures buoyancy is clearly
affected yet he feeds enthusiastically. have you ever experienced
anything like this before? <Yes... first hand and otherwise. Popeye,
aka exophthalmia is a condition... that has several
etymologies/causes... If it's one-sided typically this is resultant
from a mechanical injury... a bump in the night or some other organism
bruising the animal... likely one of your triggers or the Angel...>
do you know of any treatments? <For advanced cases like this? Best
to just "wait, hope, see" what happens... Please see the
"Popeye" and related sections on our site:
www.WetWebMedia.com for more here> Thanks in advance for your help,
I've been very impressed with the words of wisdom you have offered
others. Regards, Ian <Thank you for your kind words... don't
know about wisdom, but collective experience, yes. Bob Fenner> Healing puffer I think I had mentioned this fellow to you before, asking questions about resilience, etc. Anyway, he [Holocanthus] had a tank mate at the LFS who chewed his tail fin, pretty much down to the base. He had been separated for a week or so when I bought him and was definitely on the mend from times previous. Anyway, now that he's "under observation" the tail had always a thin filament of [what I assumed to be] bone around which tissue is growing back. Now after a week, that filament, which was at one point bleach white (like the tissue around it) is now red-ish brown... the other tissue looks the same as before, and is still growing. <Okay> My question(s): is the redness blood supply or infection? What can be done to stave off infections? Vitamins? <A good idea... more likely re-growth than infection> Tank finished cycling about two weeks ago and since then have had a small ammonia spike due to chunk of live rock bailing out, but things are now as normal as they can be, but I was concerned that an antibiotic or similar treatment would behave like copper and wipe all cultures without discrimination. <Hmm... depends on antibiotic type... and more> Silly me, don't have a quarantine tank yet [got to your site after the tank was going] but will have one completed by tomorrow evening. <Now you're getting smarter> Could treat in there I suppose, or should I just keep observing. Fish is quite healthy otherwise, and is quite active/animated. <Don't move it> TIA. <You're welcome as quickly. Bob Fenner> J -- |
|
Features: |
|
Featured Sponsors: |