Hairy Puffer

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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.
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migitymke
Puffer Fry
Posts: 12
Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2016 1:26 pm
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi 2.5"
Location (country): United States

Hairy Puffer

Post by migitymke »

Hi All,

I think I may have introduced Velvet to my hairy puffer about a week ago? I think it is because I inadverdently used the cleaning equipment from an infected tank when doing a water change, on my puffer's tank? Unbelievable (lame) and I've been doing this for a while, so I should know better. I feel horrible now for acting so foolish.

I'd had my little buddy now for about 14 months and at first, he stopped eating and was even more sedentary that he normally is. Then he appeared to have labored breathing and he was changing colors frequently from very light to his normal shade like once every 20 seconds. Not normal. He's not doing that anymore.

How his labored breathing appears to have stopped and he is swimming around some, but he's not eating. I put some food in for him and he appeared to be gagging when he looked at it, like he was hungry but his little beak would not open. I put my finger on the side and talk to him and he did a few laps back and forth past my finger. That's how we communicate. He pretended to bite my finger like he normally does, which is how I play with him and keep him stimulated. I have turned the water up to 81F and he seems to like that.

I am not sure what to treat him, but I have read that Melafix and Pimafix may be effective(I've added small amount which seems to be helping), per my aforementioned stages described thus far in the post. I'm concerned since he does not have gills and is obviously hypersensitive to chemicals.

I am stocked up with meds for another tank where I have another sick fish. Also have Paraguard, Stresscoat and Ick medicine.

I appreciate any feedback or guidance. I think I can save my buddy and will certainly do whatever I can. I have since cleaned all of my equipment and will not be dipping the fill hose into the water in my tanks and just holding the hose above the surface of the tanks as I refill them on water changes. Thus far I've lost two fish (that have gills) both smaller fish that are not as strong in comparison to my puffer and have been at war with now with what appears to be this fungus, (I think it's velvit?)) clear to white mucous that builds up on the surface of my fish and sometimes hangs off, I don't see any ich spots but then there's this labored breathing and that seems to have improved.

Thanks all and sorry for the long post.

M
Migitymke
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Iliveinazoo
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 826
Joined: Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:09 am
Gender: Male
My Puffers: 1xFigure 8
Location (country): UK
Location: Southampton

Re: Hairy Puffer

Post by Iliveinazoo »

Hello migitymke, it sounds more like a fungal infection.

Could you post a picture and also answer the questions in red above please?
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