we have a porccupine puffer that has a promanate hump on the right side of his bak. we do not know what it is, we have tryed antibiotics with no results. any help in what the hump is and what we can do we don't want to be inhumane but he is our pet and we want to make him better if possible.
-90 gallon FOWLR
-no nitrates, amonia small trace amount of phosphate.
Puffer is sick
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.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
How's his appetite? Could be some kind of cyst--I've heard of these just going away after time. Could you post a pic?
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!"
-
Jager
well its either internal parasties (very possible since all puffers are wild caught) or being in too small of a tank for a while or even now. they need space and if it is in a bigger tank it will lengthen out within a week of being that way if its parasites then it will need meds for that, try getting the food based ones and sticking them in shrimp or other food.
you also say its the right side, does it have trouble swimming? or seem to bob in the water? if so it has an air bubble in its stomach or god forbid its intestines and needs to be literally burped.
gently grab the puffer and apply very easy pressure it should puff up (inflate) fairly fast, as soon as it starts donig that point the mouth straight up, and keep pressure up(do release your grip and allow his inflating to open your hand into a ball shape as he gets bigger. A porc inflating is a very painful experiance if you dont allow him to inflate fully as the spines can break skin. )
you also say its the right side, does it have trouble swimming? or seem to bob in the water? if so it has an air bubble in its stomach or god forbid its intestines and needs to be literally burped.
gently grab the puffer and apply very easy pressure it should puff up (inflate) fairly fast, as soon as it starts donig that point the mouth straight up, and keep pressure up(do release your grip and allow his inflating to open your hand into a ball shape as he gets bigger. A porc inflating is a very painful experiance if you dont allow him to inflate fully as the spines can break skin. )
Last edited by Jager on Sat Oct 22, 2005 2:55 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
-
Jager
try what i said and burp him its really is the best way to do it.
and yes it does harm the puffer not only in creating stress.
do this simple test and you will see. puff out your cheeks
now take both hands and push the cheeks inward like you are trying to deflate them.
KEEP YOUR CHEEKS PUFFED AND PUSH AS HARD AS YOU CAN TIL YOUR CHEEKS DEFLATE
that hurts right? if not it should hurt as your cheeks are being stretched and squished at the same time.
same thing with puffers. it actually strains their muscles and can pull or tear them.
and yes it does harm the puffer not only in creating stress.
do this simple test and you will see. puff out your cheeks
now take both hands and push the cheeks inward like you are trying to deflate them.
KEEP YOUR CHEEKS PUFFED AND PUSH AS HARD AS YOU CAN TIL YOUR CHEEKS DEFLATE
that hurts right? if not it should hurt as your cheeks are being stretched and squished at the same time.
same thing with puffers. it actually strains their muscles and can pull or tear them.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
I really would leave him alone, if he has expelled the air he might have swallowed. Like I said, I have heard of puffers having a bump/cyst similar to this & it went away as mysteriously at it had appeared. Check WetWebMedia's FAQs for this.
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!"
-
Jager
-
RTR
- Mentor
- Posts: 6155
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:39 pm
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): East Coast, USA
Puffing in the water is not painful for puffers in that it is full normal action. Puffing in air is not good for puffers because they are aquatic critters and the stomach inflation mechanism is not designed to expell air - with air in their stomach they cannot swim normally nor maintain their orientation in the water and may die of exhaustion and terror/stress resulting from that.
No pressure is required to burp a puffer other than the absolute minimum required to keep them in mouth-up postion while they burp out the air.
But I am confused - what does a a lump/cyst/parasite on the puffer have to do with burping the fish? And how did it swallow air?
No pressure is required to burp a puffer other than the absolute minimum required to keep them in mouth-up postion while they burp out the air.
But I am confused - what does a a lump/cyst/parasite on the puffer have to do with burping the fish? And how did it swallow air?
Where's the fish? - Neptune
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
we are not sure. before he got the bump he would beg at the surface of the tank. we are hopping he will be able to expell the air. and with him puffing twice (that we saw) in two days, maybe he's trying to expell the air himself but each time he has puffed he has pointed him head down. today he's put himself on the bottom of the tank, he's not looking so good and he is geting picked at by his tank mates. we have to do something burping him is the last thing we have to try. he did have a course of antibiotics. we don't want to but we can't let him suffer. so if this burping dosn't work.........nevermind we'll deal with that if needed later. thankl you for all the advise