There's a weird ball in my SAP's belly (w/ photos)

[Myaj]

DMill, the word is Abscess.. basically a pocket of infection trapped under the skin.

We have to deal with them in horses too, they get them in their hooves sometimes and we have to cut them open and let them drain. If you don't, basically, the infection keeps spreading and causing more pain (building up a bigger and bigger pocked of pus), until it finds a way to break out and drain.

It never occured to me that thats what it might be.. you'd think an abscess would be able to break through a puffer's soft skin and drain out. But I suppose their super-stretchy skin is their downfall, and it needs external help (lancing) to open it up to drain.

By-a-coo, I'm betting yours finally hit a soft spot and burst internally, if that's in fact what it is. It makes sense, it would be rock hard because they are under a lot of pressure.

Okay, we are all going to have to remember this one. It makes perfect sense.. probably a bite wound that healed closed with some debris or bacteria trapped under the skin, that started to fester...

[dmill82]

my spelling is not the best,abscess was the word i was trying to spell.
yes i agree with you that it could off burst in side the poor puffer and thats why he passed away.
i also thought there skin would be soft enough to burst and let the pus out,but as you say they are very stretchy.
when i lanced mine it took a little force to get the needle through the skin,i did not have to stab it in or anything but it did fill quite strong and tough stretchy skin.
i hope this helps any 1 in the future that has a poorly puffer,i would recommend it as a last resort if it is not getting better on its own or with any treatments like melafix.
at least there is a last resort for our puffers in this situation,not saying it would work all the time but it worked on mine and as Myaj said it is use on other animals as well.

[Myaj]

Heck, I've done it to myself when I cut my finger and it got infected

I do remember years back when I had a SAP pass away, with a huge lump in its belly, I wanted to dissect it to see what the lump was (turned out to be a beetle shell that didn't digest). I had a heck of a time cutting the puffer open even with a fresh razor blade, their skin is TOUGH. They look so soft and delicate, but they are not...

[By_a_coo]

Well... All I have to do is "drill" that bubble with a needle, squeeze the puss out and use some melafix to heal the opened wound left, righ? I hope when I get home tonight my puffer is still healthy.

About the "bubble": could it be formed by bacterial infection under the skin? I never had it in my F8's, just in two SAPs...

[dmill82]

but only if it looks like the 1 in your first pic or in my pic,so just keep a close eye on it.

[By_a_coo]

He's doing very fine!! That yellowish/brownish spot is looking the same... nothing changed so far, and there's no "bubble" yet. The best thing is that he does eat a lot... at least, I'm happy 'cause he recognizes me as the mammal who feed him!

[Nick]

I"m very sorry I didn't notice this sooner, I'm the one that diagnosed the abscess on Dmill's puffer, and recommended lancing. If I'd payed more attention, I might have been able to recommend the same thing. Puffer skin is SO tough an abscess is unlikely to ever burst outward on its own, so the infection travels inwards

[By_a_coo]

Don't blame yourself Nick, the other SAP was too skinny to stand that emergency. Last sunday night I added melafix into the water.. the next morning he was gone.

The other SAP I got, is eating very well and his yellowish/brownish spot (the beginning stage of this disease), didn't develop to form a "bubble" yet (and I hope it cures by itself!!). This SAP is looking much better than the other one... if something goes wrong... I'll tell you all.

Please... wish us luck!! Because we'll need it!

[By_a_coo]

Okay, we are all going to have to remember this one. It makes perfect sense.. probably a bite wound that healed closed with some debris or bacteria trapped under the skin, that started to fester...

Myaj, I'd like to thank you for helping in this case too, but I DID not notice any wound that was healed closed with something inside. This odd stuff just started like a yellowish/brownish spot in the skin, as I mentioned before, evolving to that weird ball. It looks like something causing some infection under the skin. We shall keep an eye on it!

That's all I observed.

[Pufferpunk]

By_a_coo, I find it odd that 2 seperate puffers of yours wind up with the same skin abcesses. Were they both from the same batch?

[By_a_coo]

I'm not sure Pufferpunk, I bought them at differents LFSs, but they probably have the same supplier. As a matter of fact I bought one which is dead, then I bought 2 SAPs at another LFS. Between them both, just the biggerone is showing this sign of abscess, the smaller one is fine. Now they both are ick-free and eating well (putting on weight).
Could this abscess be a sign of internal bacteria infection? If so, shall I use food soak in antibiotic to cure that? (I can realize how to handle it!)

I'm keeping them in a QT with 100% WCs/daily (paying attention to keep the same parameters too). Also, I breed snails, as food source, by myself and their water is very clean (regular WCs). Sometimes I use freeze dried bloodworms (maker's mark - Tetra) as food.

So.. I don't believe this disease could be my fault.

[Myaj]

It doesn't necessarily have to be from a bite wound.. anything that would allow bacteria to get under the skin could cause it. An external parasite, a scrape against a rock, a bite from another fish.. lots of things.

An abscess often doesn't show up right away, especially if the fish's (person, horse, dog, whatever) immune system is strong enough to fight off infection for a while.

[dmill82]

i agree pufferpunk that it is wierd that he has had 2 saps in a row with the same thing,id never seen it before my sap had it.
not saying you have done anything wrong as it sounds like your doing all you can.
well lets hope it dont get worse.
sorry i cant remember,is this the only sap you have now or do you have more?

[By_a_coo]

Now I have 2 SAP's in a QT tank, they are together because I bought them both at the same LFS, they had ick (already cured), and they are still in the same tank... I was think to keep them there for 30 days to make sure the ick is REALLY gone.

I don't remember when the sign of this disease appeared in the second case since the first SAP was dead. I'm really scared to lose in the future this SAP, which is showing signs of that disease.

[By_a_coo]

Just to update... This SAP is gone. He was ok last night, when I got home one hour ago, I found him floating...

Thanks everyone for the great help.