The Puffer Forum

My Green spotted puffer - little puff - was happy as a sandboy, munching on bloodworm, perfect tank parameters, fully established tank - had her for 3 weeks (bought from Maidenhead Aquatics Uk) and was thriving going from fresh to brackish. She seemed sleepy this morning and an hour later was dead.

As a biologist I did an autopsy, I’ve done a lot of seals but never a fish but I knew I had to find out for the sake of my other puffer (big puff).

Autopsy findings - Black discolouration surrounding swim bladder towards anal fin.
Black tiny worm like (almost single hair strand size) around heart.
Digestive system - large yellow cyst - completely circular - attached to digestive system. Yellow/orange fluid inside. (What could this be!? Nothing should be that colour inside of her)
Air in stomach - unsure how as she hasn’t been out of water.
She was also full of faeces, though she had been feeding normally. Perhaps stomach not distending during feeding like her tank mates.

My other puffer is happy and normal. They got along well. Never any food fights. Fed frozen blood worm with occasional snails. Tank perameters perfect.
I’m going to be treating him for internal parasites tomorrow, as well as for disease.

My question is - what do you think killed her? Air in stomach would kill but I don’t see how she puffed with air. The orange ball in digestive tract seems to be an obvious cause but what could this be!?
And tiny black hair like worms around heart!?!

I’m really gutted. She was such a good character, would swim through my hand if I made an ‘O’. Under a year old.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Awww... poor lil fella! It sounds like something that the puffer must have picked up in the wild. Air, in itself will not kill a puffer. It is what it does to the functionality of the fish. It cannot swim properly or right itself--essentially bobbing upside-down at the surface, which would prevent it from eating.