FAQs about True Puffer Disease 3
FAQs on:
Tetraodont Disease 1,
True Puffer Disease 2, True Puffer Health 3, Puffer Health 4, Puffer Health 5, Puffer Health
FAQs on Marine Puffer Disease by Category:
Diagnosis,
Environment,
Nutrition,
Social,
Trauma,
Pathogenic,
Treatments
Related Articles: Puffers in General, Puffer Care and Information, A Saltwater Puffer Primer:
Big Pufferfish! by Mike Maddox, True Puffers,
Freshwater
Puffers, Burrfishes/Porcupinefishes, Tobies/Sharpnose Puffers, Boxfishes, Puffer
Care and Information by John (Magnus) Champlin, Things That My Puffers
Have Told Me by
Justin Petrey,
Related FAQs: True Puffers 1, True Puffers 2, True Puffers 3, Tetraodont Identification, Tetraodont Behavior, Tetraodont Compatibility, Tetraodont Selection, Tetraodont Systems, Tetraodont Feeding, Tetraodont Reproduction, Puffers in General, Puffer
Selection, Puffer Behavior,
Puffer
Systems, Puffer
Feeding, Puffer
Disease, Puffer
Dentistry, Puffer
Reproduction, Freshwater Puffers,
Burrfishes/Porcupinefishes,
Tobies/Sharpnose Puffers,
Boxfishes
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Sick Puffer, injured....
2/3/09 WWM Crew, <Chad> I have been a long time
reader of your site and I just wanted to thank you in advance for
all of the excellent information and assistance you have
provided! <Welcome> Background on Tank I have a 220 gallon
tank with a tesselata eel (30 in), Yellow Tang, Lionfish, and a
Dogface puffer. The tank is a FOWLR tank with protein skimmer,
canister filter, and a sand substrate, and about 150 pounds of
LR. I do water changes every week of 50-100 gallons, <Wow!>
and supplement with reef mud, Kent Marine Tech CB. The water
parameters are: 30 ppt salinity, 5-10 ppm nitrates,
<Surprisingly low> 0 ppm nitrites, 0 ppm ammonia, and pH is
8.3. The tank is about 10 months old. I plan on getting a larger
tank at the end of the year to accommodate the still growing eel,
as well as the lionfish and puffer, which both have not reached
their full size (I believe). <You are correct... the Eel can
grow about three times present length... ten times plus in
mass> The eel is fed 1-2 a week, and the tang daily. The
puffer and lionfish are fed every other day (a mix of krill,
silversides, cut up squid, etc. <Good> I supplement their
feedings once a week with vitamins, and a drop or two of garlic,
when I remember. The tank-mates are not aggressive towards each
other, though the eel may chase off the others when she is
hungry, and the others are crowding her out in a attempt to get
fed. Usually, though, I do not see other signs of aggression.
From what I have researched, aggression is usually an issue with
the tesselata, but so far she has been wonderful. <So far, so
good> The problem The puffer is the most recent addition to
the tank at around 5 months ago. Yesterday I noticed that he had
6 spots running along the top of his body. Freaking out, I first
thought it was an Ick infestation, but after doing research and
consulting with a LFS, it doesn't seem like Ick. The spots
are much larger than a granule or three of salt. They look like
boils (see attached pics). <I see them/these> I looked at
the other fish closely, and they do not appear to have any of
these white spots. The eel was a little hard to give a full body
examination! Anyways, I rushed out, and got a quarantine tank,
and had him set up in it within a few hours. I know I should have
had one on standby, but I hadn't planned on adding any new
fish, and hadn't really planned for this eventuality (though
I should have!). The puffer usually splashes and wags his tail
enthusiastically, begging for food every time he sees me. The
last two days he has been resting at the bottom of the tank a
lot, and swimming around listlessly when on the move, more often
than not. He did eat heartily last night, as did the other fish.
<Good sign> I have begun treating him with Melafix, <I
would not do this> on the assumption that the issue is
bacterial, and not parasitic, <Am almost certain
"it" is neither... Is simply mechanical... a physical
injury> on the recommendation from the LFS, but before I went
too far down this path, I wanted to check with you as any
diagnosis and recommendations you may have. This morning, there
do not appear to be any further new spots, and his gills, and
eyes are clear. There is one spot on his mouth, but I cannot be
certain if that is part of his coloration or not (as you can see
from the pics, he has white spots around his mouth). I don't
think these are bite marks, as the puffer is too big for the eel,
and the marks are spaced to far apart for her teeth (but I did
consider it). I am uncertain whether this is bacterial or
parasitic (his spots don't look like any of the Cryptocaryon
/ Brooklynella / Amyloodinium pictures I have seen, there have
been no new tank additions, and none of the other fish are
exhibiting symptoms), so I am uncertain how best to help the lil
fella... It doesn't look like velvet either, or other fungal
infestations that I have seen on the web, as the spots are
pronounced, and not patchy in nature, but again, I can't be
sure what the exact problem is, and I'm no expert :-) I have
read as much as I can on WWM but I haven't found anything
that matches quite the symptoms I am seeing.... I apologize for
the picture quality... it was the best I could do! Thank you so
much for any assistance / advice you can give! Regards, Chad
<I would return this Puffer to the main display and not treat
it with a tea leaf extract or anything else... These marks are
indicative of a trauma... perhaps a run in with the lion, or some
bites from the eel... or just a bump in the night with the
rock... Will heal of their own accord with time (weeks to a month
or so). Bob Fenner>
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Re: Sick Puffer 2/3/09 Bob,
<Chad> Thank you so much!!! For the prompt reply, and the
great advice! I can't tell you how much heartache and anxiety
you've just eased! I will return the puffer to the main tank
and monitor the situation closely! <Ah, good> Again, thank
you for your invaluable assistance and the wonderful service you
and the rest of the WWM crew provide!!! Yours truly, Chad
<Excelsior! Cheers, BobF>
Re: puffer injury-- 2/4/09 Puffer is in
freezer right now Is there any value to you to examine it?
<Mmm, not a good idea to freeze specimens for necropsy... If
it's not solid, move it to the refrigerator instead... And
yes to such investigation... Useful for discerning root causes,
self-education/discovery. BobF>
Re: puffer injury-- 2/4/09 Sorry, frozen
solid. Wasn't thinking necropsy. Thanks for your help.
<Ahh! Welcome. BobF>
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Dog Face Puffer questions, me too
1/30/09 Hi We have a 150 gallon tank with a stars and
stripes puffer (6"), an undulated trigger (3"), a niger
trigger (5"), a yellow tang (4") and a dog face puffer
(4"). <Mmm... I'd be keeping a close watch twixt the
puffers and these triggers... not compatible> Just checked
nitrite, at 0. The dog face is laying on the bottom, mouth open
and breathing heavy. He has a discoloration starting at his
abdomen going to his tail. It almost looks like gangrene? <I
see this... and the unusually larger body expanse toward the
distal area of this fish...> Any idea what it is and what to
do? I don't want to see him suffer. <Mmm, looks like
either some sort of gut blockage or lumenal parasite
possibility... How long have you had this fish? What do you feed
it? Some sedentary behavior is common intermittently with
Tetraodonts... You should read on WWM re the family, disease, the
use of Anthelminthics, and possibly Metronidazole-laced foods if
this fish is feeding. Bob Fenner>
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puffer injury haiku attempt
1/29/09 5yo puffer approx 12in length scratched piece of
coral last week scratch turned in to this photo any suggestions
regarding treatment <Just good care, environment, feeding...
time going by. Bob Fenner>
Re: puffer injury
1/30/09 lesion growing larger, approx 2-3cm
diameter, white color, no erythema, additional loss of
pigment to lesion today puffer wont eat today, sits in
bottom corner of tank covered with <1mm white spots over
body and eyes, breathing not labored <Bad news> have
not had problem with tank for 4 years new fish ( bird
wrasse )was introduced into tank after fresh water dip and
4 wk quarantine, caused some upset to tank causing puffer
scratch <Mmmm> No other fish affected. <Not
yet> Tank parameters: 180 gal FOWLR w/ some polyps 0
ammonia, nitrite <10 nitrate hardness 10 calcium 400
phosphate approx 0.1 pH 8.2 10% water changes weekly
?quarantine ? fresh water dip ? antibiotics <Not
antibiotics> I understand patience in most circumstances
and good water quality is key, however this is a radical
change in past two days Thank you for your help. Russ
Mongiovi <Do you have another place to put this puffer?
I would move it... keep observing, reading for now... WWM,
Puffer Disease articles and FAQs files.
BobF> Re: puffer injury - new
photo 1/30/09 did not transmit photo with
reply e mail thank you <Mmm, the size, shape,
"cleanliness" of this injury site... Lead me to
suspect a heater burn, round-mouth fish bite (like a
trigger), or....? B>
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Re: Dog Face Puffer questions,
injury -- 02/01/09 Thank you for replying
with useful information. I've been researching everything
you've suggested. Unfortunately it's too late, but
I'd like to keep myself informed so I can act quickly if
something like this happens again. This puffer was the first
marine fish we ever purchased. We had him for about 9 months.
Some of the foods we feed all our fish are: Ocean Nutrition
Silversides, San Francisco Bay Brand Emerald Entree, BioPure
Krill, Hikari MegaMarine. All of these are frozen foods. <And
a good mix> So far everyone gets along. Do you think this will
be more of a problem between the triggers and the puffers when
they become more mature? Thank you again!!! <Such troubles
can, unfortunately, "spring" up w/o notice... the
Triggers biting the puffers... There are many cases of species of
both groups of fishes getting along interminably, but too many
instances of dire results to not mention the potential.
BobF>
Re: puffer injury
2/4/09 FYI - the white halo around the wound spread from
tail to gills in about 24 hrs and eventually the fish died. Hope
this helps others <Thank you for this... am wondering what
exactly the "halo" was... some sort of adventitious
microbe (bacterial, possibly mycelious)... Would be interesting
histologically to examine the wound site. BobF>
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Dogface Puffer Health 11/21/08
Hi,
<Hello Renita>
I have had my dogface Puffer for about 3 weeks now, and when I got him,
he was a white and gold color. Since late last night he have started to
turn a gray color. Is he sick? I also noticed that he ate one of my
crabs. Did that make him sick?
<The Dogface Puffer (Arothron nigropunctatus) does exhibit a grayish
coloration, no need to worry here. As far as eating the crab, puffers
will eat almost anything and crabs and shrimp are at the top of the
list. Read here for more info on your puffer.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/puffers.htm>
Thanks,
<You're welcome, James (Salty Dog)>
Renita Myles
Starved dogface puffer; rather Amyloodinium --
09/24/08 We have a dogface puffer named Sammie who up until
recently was perfectly fine. <How long do you have him? Tank size?
Water parameters? Any changes within the last weeks? Need more
information to help you.> We went out of town for 3 days. When we
got back (yesterday) the person who was supposed to have fed our puffer
forgot to do so. <No problem for an Arothron. They can go without
food for weeks.> Ever since then he has gone down hill. <Any new
fish within the last 4 weeks?> He ate the first day we got back.
When we went to feed him today he is covered completely in a white
film, and he is laying on the bottom of the tank in a corner. He
refuses to eat and every now and then he flinches or jerks around as if
he is uncomfortable. He looks as if his breathing has slowed and
he's very lethargic looking. <White film, lethargy are typical
symptoms of an Amyloodiniumiasis, but intoxication can have similar
results. Let's exclude the latter first. Check your water
parameters (pH, nitrates, ammonia, temperature) to exclude some toxic
environmental conditions. Ensure enough gaseous exchange happens
(skimmer, surface current). If you believe anything toxic (not so
aquarium safe decorations?) could have been introduced to the tank
remove it, do a large water change and filter with fresh carbon. If
toxins can be excluded treat for Amyloodiniumiasis. This disease can
kill fish within 24-48 hours. See
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/amylloodiniumart.htm and the linked FAQs for
diagnosis and treatment.> I believe he released some toxin because
our yellow tang and clown fish have both died on the same day. <He
cannot kill other fish with his toxin as long as they do not eat him,
he's not a boxfish. They most likely were suffering from the same
disease/condition.> We are thinking of a FW dip for about 10 min.s.
<I thought you supposed he was starved? How would a dip help in this
case?> What else can we do. I am frantic with worry. If Sammie dies
it will break my heart! Thank you, Ashley <Good luck. Marco.>
Starry Puffer needs help... Stocking/Iraq type fiasco
6/24/08 I really enjoy your site and am in desperate need of
advice. I have a small Starry Puffer in a 50 gal fish only tank
until he grows. <Arothron stellatus? This fish gets bigger
than your tank, what are you planning on doing with him?> The
water is 24 centigrade with .1ppm ammonia and .1 nitrites.
<This is very toxic.> It is difficult to keep the water any
better as his tankmates are a clown trigger, mappa puffer,
undulated trigger and niger trigger. <This tank is heading for
a disaster in my opinion, this mix of fish in this sized tank is
not sustainable for any length of time.> My problem is my
puffer's rectum appears to be coming out his backside as you
can see in the photo. <<No photo avail. RMF>>
<Prolapsed rectum is my best guess, perhaps results of injury
from either shipping or his tankmates. Not much can be done
besides provide a quality environment for him. I would definitely
remove him to a QT/Hospital tank so that his tankmates to not
decide to remove the tissue for him. Please see here for more
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pufferdisfaq2.htm .> He is a recent
addition and was fed dried krill and fresh clams yesterday. Is
this constipation? <Nope> Any advice that you could provide
would be greatly appreciated. Regards, James Miller Okayama,
Japan <Search WWM for "prolapsed rectum", is
somewhat common in puffers.> <Chris>
Re: Starry Puffer needs help 6/25/08 I thank you for
your reply though I fear the puffer passed 2 days after writing
the email. <Sorry> At present the tankmates are small ( 2
to 3 inches) and I have almost completed cycling a 350 gallon
tank, so hopefully their new home will be roomy enough. <Ah
yes, much better, but still too small for a Arothron
stellatus.> In the meantime I added a refugium with a DSB
which seems to have improved water quality as both ammonia and
nitrite are near zero. Regards, James <Sounds good.>
<Chris>
Re: Starry Puffer needs help 6/25/08 Chris,
<Hello> I guess since the Starry Puffer passed away, my 300
gallon will work then. Again, I thank you for the advice. James
<I would think so, just be aware you have some VERY aggressive
triggers there, and they may cause problems even in a very large
tank.> <Chris>
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Inverted puffer gill -- 04/21/08 Hello,
<Hi.> My dog face puffer is having issues, her gill keeps
getting inverted back into her breathing hole, in front of her
side fins. <You usually cannot see the gills at all, puffers
only have these small slits (gill openings) in front of the
pectoral fins, the gills are inside. I'm suspecting a
physical injury (pump, other fishes) here based on what you
describe, but I fail to visualize it, even with a puffer in front
of me.> Like when a dogs ear flips backwards, it's like
that. <Something wrong with the gill opening (is its skin
being sucked inside?) or something coming out of it? A picture
would help with diagnosis!> When it happens, she can't
breathe that well, as it doesn't open. I keep finding it like
this over and over again. If I show her the can of food she gets
all excited and will snap it back out but next time I look, its
back inverted. This seems to be happening all the time. She has
stopped eating entirely now. She doesn't swim around either.
<Both no good signs'¦> Any suggestions?
<Amyloodinium and Cryptocaryon parasites on the gills can
result in problems with breathing like breathing with one gill,
do you see a velvet like white layer on the skin or small white
spots? Flukes can result in similar problems
(http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fshwrmdisfaqs.htm and search this
link for gills). If something is coming out of the gill slits or
if the slits themselves are hurt, there is not much you will be
able to do yourself, except for providing a good water quality
and varied diet (I hope it will eat again), and hope for the
best. Maybe a veterinarian could solve the problem by fixing
whatever tissue was hurt or torn apart, depends on the size of
the puffer and skill of the vet. Good luck, I hope your
puffer's conditions improves again. Marco.>
Re: inverted puffer gill -04/22/08 Thanks for
responding, <No problem, Allison.> No injuries at all and
not sick as far as I can tell. She hasn't eaten in a long
time but she can do that once in a while for long periods of
time. She didn't look like she was losing weight yet until
just recently. <Thanks for sending pictures. Very nice
specimen. Still looks very well fed, on picture 2, the right side
is bulging out, is the other side looking the same?> I
didn't think I'd be able to get such a good pic. The
little flap gets stuck shut. but its tucked in, not just shut.
<Now that I see it, I no longer suppose something is
hurt/ripped apart here. Rather gill related problems with
breathing than problems with the gill slits themselves. I'd
check water quality (ammonia=0, nitrates below 25 ppm?) and act
if necessary. Partial water changes will not hurt anyway, but may
improve the situation if it's induced by the environment.
I'd also ensure that the current at the surface of the tank
is sufficient so enough oxygen is in the water. Was this puffer
fed a varied diet (and not only krill or shrimps)? If the water
quality is okay and its breathing condition does become worse,
I'd see a vet or if that's not possible treat for flukes
on suspicion. The problem is that bacteria can also affect the
gills.> Her gills look healthy and nothing else appears to be
wrong. <Gill flukes are not necessarily seen by the naked eye
on a living and moving fish. When the flaps remain inside, the
puffer is only using the other gill. While some fishes do that
from time to time and return to normal breathing mode when
disturbed (by you with the food can), an infection of the gills
cannot be excluded if he is always breathing laboured. If
that's true, its breathing will become worse. In this case
I'd treat as indicated on WWM.> I had this happen once in
a blue moon with another puffer of mine, but this is happening
too often and its definitely making her breathing very labored.
If its stuck shut. I have to go thru this huge ordeal to get it
open again. <I don't think that's necessary. The
puffer can apparently return to normal breathing when confronted
with its food can.> When you say a vet, like a regular vet?
Sorry to sound so ignorant but is there a special aquatic vet or
any vet? <Not every vet can treat fishes, but even one, who
can't him/herself may be able to refer you to a vet, who
can.> Thanks again for any help, Allison <I hope your
puffer gets well again. Marco.>
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Re: Inverted puffer gill -- 04/24/08 Marco, again thank
you so much. <You are welcome.> She is just a porker, lol,
that's what that bulge is. She's very round. She likes to
wedge herself in the rocks to rest, which is creating that bulge
you see. she can wedge herself in very odd shapes like that.
<Ah, okay.> (She is so round, every time my little nieces
come over, they scream to me that she is puffing up, no
that's not her puffing up, that's just her!!!)
<Don't overfeed her.> I feed her primarily krill, I
soak it in garlic sometimes and I feed them clams and a little
frozen variety. but her main staple of choice is krill. <Would
change that if possible. Although final proof is not available
yet, there are suspicions by many puffer keepers that krill
(especially dried) is not the best diet and may lead to
deficiency related diseases.> The water is good, and has been
stable for the entire time. Everything is 0. <Very good.> I
did however just eliminate a power head that I was using, which
may be taking away some of the surface oxygen she was used to, so
I will put that back in. <Yes.> I also think I'm going
to treat for flukes. <If the situation does not improve,
especially when adding the power head.> A while back, maybe
two months ago, she had what looked like a tiny white string
coming out of her skin, right behind these fins. I did some fresh
water dips for a week and they went away, but I will start those
again too. Thank you much for your suggestions. I'll keep you
posted how it turns out. <Please do. Good luck and all the
best, Marco.>
Re: Inverted puffer gill -- 04/25/08 Marco, <Hello
Allison!> You solved the mystery and I feel horrible. <We
both solved it, you should feel happy not horrible.> wow. It
was the lack of air, I guess. I put the powerhead back in and
within one day she is lack to her old self. Breathing much
better, moving, swimming everything. <Very good.> I guess
her breathing was so labored it was causing it to malfunction of
a sorts. I had replaced a single 3100 powerhead with a strip of
air instead. I thought the strip of air was creating more surface
movement so I eliminated the powerhead. Apparently she needs to
be MOVED!!! She seems much happier and is actually smiling again.
<I'm very glad to hear that.> I would of never put this
simple solution together. Its always those obvious things that I
miss. Thanks again for your help!! Rudderbug appreciates it too.
<I hope Rudderbug stays healthy. Cheers, Marco.>
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Golden Puffer... Ridiculous errors
in mistreating, no reading About a month ago I realized that my
skimmer was not working properly for about 2 weeks. In that time a
parasite developed on my fish. I have a golden puffer, imperator angel,
two triggers, <Which species?> a clown, and some orange tangs.
<?> I noticed a parasite on the angel and higher nitrites.
<... how high?> I did a water change and treated with copper. <What type, amount? Not in the main tank I hope> after about a
week the parasites seemed gone but my golden puffer stopped eating all
together. <Typical... had you read...> Now it has been a month
and still wont eat. He also seems to be running into rocks alot <No
such word> almost as if he were blind. I have tried putting food
near his mouth and he wont bite. Is it possible he will survive this?
or do could he have gotten a parasite that caused blindness and
complete loss of appetite? is there anything I can do? should I let him
ride it out until he dies? or should I at some point euthanize him?
thank you. Tom McCarthy <Please... follow directions... if you want
our help, search before writing... Your answers are all posted... Start
reading here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm Search on
WWM re the species/family (Tetraodontidae), its Disease/Health, Copper
Use... you've poisoned the fish, the system... Bob
Fenner>
Re: Please help... formalin, puffer... -11/19/07
This the guy your <... you're> not helping. <Good
pix of a nice specimen... Please... read beginning where you were
referred... There is too much to relate to you via email...
RMF>
Re: Please help... formalin, Tetraodont... Using WWM, not
abusing people 11/21/07 I stopped my legal moves
against you and your site today.:-) <"Make friends w/
Kool-Aid..."> When I saw you put the picture of the
Puffer up. That made my day. He is doing better today. I have set
up a QT tank and moving him in it Friday along with gang. I also
am taking down the 120 and ordered a 400 from Doss. <Great>
So next month they will all be moving into there big new tank.
Reading and re-reading your site I want to make sure that I do
the right thing with Big Blue it looks like I should do Formalin
dips on him is that with fresh or salt water? <Either... but
pH-adjusted FW is best> On the dip side you said to put enough
Formalin into make the water blue <... uh, no... formalin is
colorless> and put them in for 5 minutes. How many times
<posted> do I do that? What about the other fish. Huma,
Wrasse, Angel? <I also> have 2 crosshatch triggers but, for
now they are in my 300 fish only in> my office. Pics coming
soon. Glad I could make you laugh yesterday!! <Mmm,
calling/threatening people, impersonations... are not laughable
matters... IF you want our free help, play nice or go elsewhere.
Read here: RMF>
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