Hey everyone, one of my dwarf puffers hasn't been himself these past two days. He has been hanging out in the back of the tank behind some decor, and very, very slowly swimming around. He is still interested in watching me and the tankmates, but no longer follows us around the tank. I tried feeding last night and again this afternoon and he has not been interested in the food. Last night I noticed a small, white bump just behind and to the right of his anal fin. Additionally, some of his posterior spots appear lighter.
Answers to the above questions:
1. Ammonia= 0, nitrites= 0, nitrates= 5, pH= 7.6
2. Tank size 20 gallons, containing 2 dwarf puffers and 3 zebra danios
3. Feeding frozen bloodworms every other day. Water changes 20% twice a week, tap water is slightly basic (typically around pH 8.6), so API Proper pH 7.0 added to lower pH
4. No changes in the last week or so
5. Tank has been set up for 8 months, cycled with zebra danios. DPs introduced 6 months ago
Sorry these pictures aren't the best (he's a little camera shy!), but you can see the size and location of the bump. Any guesses as to what it is/what I can do for the little guy?
White bump on DP, won't eat
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
White bump on DP, won't eat
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Pufferpunk
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Re: White bump on DP, won't eat
Is something sticking out of his anus?
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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Welch4
- Fahaka Puffer
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Re: White bump on DP, won't eat
+1 is the anus clear? The bump itself looks to be a mm behind the anus. Are there any other bumps? Not sure why it originated but the placement would make the fish feel awkward moving is caudul fin probably why its acting off. It appears to be healthy otherwise, not emaciated in the least. I would monitor and verify the bumps do not spread either on itself or to other tank mates. If its possible move it to a quarantine tank for observation.
Forget other advice about puffers you don't hear here - Pufferpunk
Re: White bump on DP, won't eat
The anus appears to be clear, this bump is too far to the right of the midline to have originated there. I will continue observing him and his tankmates