my puffer fish is sick

[chaz35068]

i need help i have been on this site several times and have had lots of help by reading other peoples problems, i just made this profile becaue now i havemy own questions, you guys are great, anyways my porkupine puffer is sick he is breathing hard, sitson a rock at the bottom of the tank, and pays no attention to food, ive read other forums but still haveno answer, he does not have any slime, no spots either, and he does swim when i put my hand down, has never had ich but im questioning about the internal parisites, what do i do?

[rayme07]

Hi Chaz Welcome to TR.


I'm sorry to hear about your puffer. I would say to move him to your QT and start hypo salinity because he may not show ich on the outside but he may have it on his gills and the lower salinity should kill off the parasite.

[chaz35068]

Hi Chaz Welcome to TR.


I'm sorry to hear about your puffer. I would say to move him to your QT and start hypo salinity because he may not show ich on the outside but he may have it on his gills and the lower salinity should kill off the parasite.

i will give that a shot, thanks, is there anything special that i may need to give him? and how long shouldi leave him in there a couple of weeks??

[saltaddict]

Welcome to TR!

A few questions:

What are your water parameters?
How long have you had the puffer?
Is there anything that you did just such as a water change before you noticed him acting different?
What are you feeding and are you soaking in vitamins prior to feeding?
Any other fish in the tank that could be bothering it?

[CarmieJo]

to TR Chaz!

In addition to what she said ^^ are you soaking his food in garlic? And what does his poop look like?

[chaz35068]

Welcome to TR!

A few questions:

What are your water parameters?
How long have you had the puffer?
Is there anything that you did just such as a water change before you noticed him acting different?
What are you feeding and are you soaking in vitamins prior to feeding?
Any other fish in the tank that could be bothering it?

the water is fine and idk what parameters are so if u could let me know id greatly apreciate it and i have had him for about 3 weeks andno i havnt changed anything in the water im kinda new to tanks, but im feeding him krill and frozen shrimp and no i havnt soaked it in anything im not sure what to soak his food in, should i be feeding him clams? we have had the tank for about 10 years i have just started taing responsibility for the tank lately so im still new but he ate fine and no other fish is bothering him hes just acting bad and ive never seen him poop either.

[CarmieJo]

It would be good if you could tell us what the SpG, nitrate, pH and ammonia levels are. I would be soaking his food in vitamins and garlic. Vitamins are good for general conditioning and garlic is known as an appetite stimulant and may function as a de-wormer. How often are you doing water changes in the tank?

[chaz35068]

It would be good if you could tell us what the SpG, nitrate, pH and ammonia levels are. I would be soaking his food in vitamins and garlic. Vitamins are good for general conditioning and garlic is known as an appetite stimulant and may function as a de-wormer. How often are you doing water changes in the tank?

well i changed the water about a month ago and the ammonia is a little bad i have to get something to lower it, but everything else is right on, and when you say garlic what do u mean by soaking it in garlic, and what do i needto buy to soak food in? like i said im still new to al this

[CarmieJo]

If the ammonia is > 0 you need to do a 10 - 20% water change immediately! Match all the other parameters like temp, SpG, pH as closely as possible. Ammonia is toxic and is likely poisoning your puffer!

I do a 10% water change every week in my 54 and 2 x 5% changes in my nano. Other people use a different water change schedule but routine water changes are necessary for the health of your critters. What size tank do you have?

You can buy garlic at the LFS. I have used both Kent and SeaChem brand and think they are both fine. For vitamins I rotate between Kent MarineZoe and SeaChem Vitality and ReefPlus. I thaw and rinse frozen food 1st then put it and the dry food in a cup, pour a tiny dab of vitamins and garlic on it and let it soak for 10-15 minutes and then feed. I turn off my return when feeding and only feed what the fish will eat in a couple minutes.

[Skurvey Dog]

Hello Chaz and to TR. I am sorry to hear about your sick puffer. I agree with the others as the amonia/ water perameters need to be taken care of immediately, once that's done, you can re-access the situation and see if the puffer is making improvements. I know it's nerve wracking when one of our pets are ill. Things can spiral out of control quickly if we do not act fast.

[chaz35068]

ok i just tested the water, the ammonia is at 0 but the nitrates are at about 5_10 how do i fix that maybe thats whats wrong with him im looking at him now and he is swimming a little looks to be breathing ok but doesnt show any emotion and nothing to food, what to do?

[rayme07]

I would do a 10 to 20% water change like Carmie said. Do you have a sump if so I would look into getting cheto it also works great at reducing nitrates.

[CarmieJo]

A garlic soak will help entice him to eat.

[saltaddict]

Sorry - just getting back on the computer.

The krill and shrimp are not nutritious enough to sustain him without soaking in vitamins such as zoe and selcon.

I would also do as Carmie advised and soak in garlic then put a pc of krill on skewer or us tongs and hold right in front of him.

If there was ammonia in the tank then that very well could cause the issues you are describing.

I agree you should do a weekly water change and test in between to make sure everything is staying in check.

Clams are good for puffers since they need to keep their teeth filed down but I would try to entice eating with garlic soaked food. My puffer loved frozen peas. I would set a few baby sweet peas out and let them thaw and I started out using the skewer to put it in front of him and once he got a taste for them he would see me at the tank with them and come to the top for them.
I would take the outer shell off and then just drop them in the tank one at a time.

I forgot - is it the only fish in the tank and if not what else is in there?

[saltaddict]

BTW - mine would only poop in private!

[chaz35068]

well im going to go get sme clams and some garlic, but what is zoe, selcon, and what is sump, im not sure what those are, again im still new to this and im still learning, you guys have been great at helping me, the change o water has helped alittle no more breathing hard but still doesnt eat, and i have two clown fish, two anemones, two damsels, and a four eyed angel fish, and a chocolate chip star fish, i feed the starfish krill wo, isthat ok??? or do i need to feed him something else, thanks again you guys

[NanoRyan89]

What size is your tank?
Perhaps it could be overstocked? And is he ever puffed up? Maybe the damsels are harassing him.

[CarmieJo]

A sump is a water container that usually sits below your tank. It gives additional water volume (for increased stability) and is a place to stash equipment like the skimmer. Not all tanks have a sump.

[saltaddict]

The breathing easier is a good sign but he must eat. How long has it been since it ate?

NanoRyan could be right that the damsels might be harassing him. My porc was harassed by a trigger and it died from it.
Porcs are shy and timid especially when small.
Try hand feeding with garlic laced food.

[CarmieJo]

What size of aquarium do you have him in?

[chaz35068]

they are in a 55 gallon tank, and the damsels arent harassing any of the other fish, i pay a lot of attention to the tank, and ivenever seen them pick on him, they all seem to get along just fine, and where can i get clams and all of the other food i need to get for the fish, and the garlic and whats it caled, im still trying to figure out what food to get for my fish and who its made by, and like i asked earlier, im not sureif thekrill is good for the star fish i read that it was good for him but i just want more opinions if thats ok, you guys are helping a lot thanks again everybody, i will let you know more info later, i just need to know where i need to get this food from like the clams and garlic and anything else i need to soak food in and all that good stuff, thanks everyone

[NanoRyan89]

Well, i know for one you can go to a sea food store and buy clams. And if you really wanna feed him more natural foods he would eat in the wild, get him some crab legs.

[saltaddict]

Your local fish store should have a freezer with the frozen items, they sell clams also.

The local fish store has Zoe, Selcon, Garlic additives such as GVH.

Where ever you bought that puffer three weeks ago should carry these items.

Good Luck

[rayme07]

Also if you know of a place around you that sells fishing bait you can get clams from them much cheaper than getting it from a LFS. Just another idea.

[Allowin]

What part of Alabama are you located? If it's the central area, your pretty much SOL on finding a good pet store. There are none here.