Operating on a puffer
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.
- Agnate
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Re: Operating on a puffer
That's why you wear gloves! I believe their toxin is only potent when ingested, so as long as you don't eat the liver, you should be fine.
Also, a puffer only receives toxin by consuming OTHER organisms that contain toxin. As far as I understand it, puffers don't produce their own.
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- Jase
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Re: Operating on a puffer
I believe it's the product of some bacteria in the wild, but either way...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.![]()
Re: Operating on a puffer
I believe they create their own toxins. Puffers don't necessarily eat toxic animals.Also, a puffer only receives toxin by consuming OTHER organisms that contain toxin. As far as I understand it, puffers don't produce their own
As long as you don't eat the liver you will be fine. Puffers are consumed by the thousands here in New York. You can't buy the entire fish, only the rear portion. They are sold as Chicken of the sea.
When I was a kid (many years ago) northern puffers were considered a pest fish as you would sometimes catch nothing but puffers. They just all but disappeared from the Long Island Sound to be replaced by cunners or as we call them, bergalls.
No one seems to know why they disappeared but you could still catch them on the south shore of Long Island but not in the numbers of the past. I collected a few last summer that ranged from 1/4" to about 2"
- Pufferpunk
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T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Which species is that?
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!"
- Jase
- Mbu Puffer
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Re: Operating on a puffer
I think that's Sphoeroides maculatus...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.![]()
- Idontknow
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Re: Operating on a puffer
The poison is in the internal organs and sometimes the skin. The poison is caused by tetrodotoxin bacteria which the puffer consumes through other organisms. In Japan, we are farm raising puffers now and they are non-toxic because they are kept away from anything containing the bacteria. We can buy whole puffers in a regular supermarket.
Multi-tank syndrome
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32987
- 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:
Re: Operating on a puffer
Yeah, I figured it was probably one of the Sphoeroides species.
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!"