Figure 8 parrasite ?

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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.

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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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SirPufferfishy

Figure 8 parrasite ?

Post by SirPufferfishy »

Hello,

Just saved a Figure 8 puffer yesterday from my LFS as i felt really sorry for this little fella that was in a stupid so called brackish tank ( no trace of salt when i brought it back home ) all by himself with the power head been too strong for even 40 tanks !! ( looked like a whirlpool ! )
Soon as i got him home i placed him in one of those breeding traps in the main tank as my hospital tank has not been used for ages and I don’t fancy placing this fish in my community freshwater setup,
The main tank is currently light brackish 1.005sg, 120Litre capacity, well planted with many hiding places, houses 3 mollies, 2 bumble bees and "Penelope" the green spotted puffer !
When i inspected him/her i noticed a lump near the back tail but looking close up it looks like a flat snail shell embedded underneath the skin !! I have never seen this before… :?
Currently I have divided a small portion of the tank to give him more room to swim about
And get more relaxed, he is feeding very well on live bloodworm, frozen prawns and frozen shrimp but im very concerned about the lump and not 100% sure on what actions I should do

Any expert advice appreciated or may be able to take a picture if you need,

p.s my water conditions are superb, tested weekly and using RO premixed salt water from a marine specialist, 25% replaced monthly, tank been setup for 3 months in new location and 4 years previous to that.
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lisalisa

Post by lisalisa »

That gsp will need full saltwater when an adult. Most likely the bump is a parasitic crustatea, with which I have little experience.
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ChesapeakeSwellfish
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Post by ChesapeakeSwellfish »

Crustacean parasites such as copepods (at least 10 families!), branchiurids, isopods and cirripedes, are almost always attached to the the skin/fins or on the gills.

It sounds as though this is under the skin and only visible as an outline? If the appearance is that of a coil like a snail coil, then my best guess without seeing it is that it is an encysted nematode. While nematodes are bad, sometimes fish live a long time with encysted ones. I have had native killifish live their 3 to 4 year lifespan with them. However, if the fish and/or nematode become stressed, the nematode will become active and penetrate tissues and that is fatal.
The only cure for somatic nematodes is physical removal by surgery - easier said than done on a small fish (very hard to make such small stitches), followed with antibiotics. I would not panic but I would keep a close eye on it - especially if it seems to be moving.

I hope I am wrong on this one; maybe its healed scar tissue from an injury. If its a nematode, a separate tank may be advisable - at the same salinity. I do not recommend any parasite med for somatic nematodes.
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YBeNormal
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Post by YBeNormal »

Could be a nematode, not at all unusual to find in wild-caught fish such as puffers. If so, killing it will most likely result in death of the puffer as well. The good news is that many puffers with nematodes go on to live relatively long lives.

I strongly caution against placing any fish in your main tank w/o a proper QT period. What if the lump turned out to be a very difficult and contagious disease?
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Pufferpunk
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Post by Pufferpunk »

I would definately QT that fish! Also, if your GSP is > than 1", I'd get it into saltier water, like 1,008-12.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

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