Got two 2" fahaka puffers imported from aquarium glaser

[emartin]

The one that I am likely keeping has intensified its colors and ate some frozen small krill pieces like a pig today.

The other didn't touch krill I put directly in front of it's nose (the one that ate came out of hiding and 'greeted me' and immediately went after the krill.

The one that ate however has a weird circle marking (will take a pic later) on its bottomside.

The other looks fine.

I couldn't figure out which one had the 'pen' markings i saw the other day.


Now...the one that didn't eat one of it's pectoral fins was a little red. I am assuming it got injured during transport, from squeezing through the eggcrate, or the other puffer did it (both are staying on their own sides NOW though).

I remember reading they are sensitive to medication.

What medications can I use, or would salt (I usually add 1cup/20g but not sure how puffers will react to that....cichlids react fine) and increase of heat to like 84F be good enough?

Or should I just leave him a lone, maybe add a little salt, and see if it heals up on its own?

I also bought them 5 feeder grass shrimp yesterday. Doesn't look like any of them ate any.

~Ed

[trekenk]

My guess would be the weird circle marking to be a puffer bite.

[emartin]

It's a bit big to be from a 2" puffer though. I could be wrong though.

Later tonight after they finish digesting a little longer I'll let the one with the markings out and quickly get a macro shot of its underside where the markings are.

[pufferpuggirl]

You could try some Melafix for the "bite" or whatever it is, if it's an open sore the Melafix should help.

My little Fahaka enjoys eating shrimp, the big ones you buy for human consumption, you might want to try those to get your guys fattened up. My puffers also seem to really love mussels (again, the bigger ones for human consumption - they won't eat the small ones I bought at the LFS).

[purplecandle]

The one that ate however has a weird circle marking (will take a pic later) on its bottomside.
~Ed

I would like to know the answer to this Q as well.. Some of my GSPs have a perfect circle on their bottom side..I do not think it could be a parasite..because sometimes when they are changing colors the circle will turn black/grey..

I do not think it is a bite either...it is a perfect circle....I sort of thought the circle could be an indentation of some kind..perhaps from an instrument used to hold them down, for some purpose when they are caught????????????

Or is it just something puffers have??????????????

[Pufferpunk]

If you have more than one puffer together, it's almost guaranteed to be a bite. Unless it's raised--then probably a nematode worm.

[purplecandle]

If you have more than one puffer together, it's almost guaranteed to be a bite. Unless it's raised--then probably a nematode worm.

No it is not raised, but I did a search just in case...and I do not think that nematodes are my answer...good thinking though

[emartin]

Yesterday (thursday) I couldn't get a chance to check on them but there was two really small freeze dried earthworms floating for them to eat if they wanted to.

Well I checked just a few minutes ago....found hundreds of shredded earthworm everywhere LOL. I'm going to have to do a 100% water change tomorrow after that haha.

But I couldn't locate both puffers. So I had to take apart the divider (the pvc pipes are holding the egg crate up) and found the one wedged between the the pvc and eggcrate. What's funny is after all this time they still seem behave after I netted them twice before to put them back on their proper sides...

I looked at their undersides again and they were on the right sides. The one with the big circle mark was on the left again, and the one on the right no longer had a red pectoral fin...but had a couple small circles on the underside.

I'm going to take macro pictures tomorrow of the markings.

Any idea what they are? I can't believe that they would possibly be scars from bite marks.

I've seen a similar marking on my old WC Synodontis decorus. I was siphoning waste through a 1"-OD cpvc pipe using a python water hose connected to my utility sink. The catfish decided to swim by and it's side got stuck on the pipe. I obviously shut off the valve on the other end of the pipe and freed the poor guy but he still had a perfect circle scar on its side for a few weeks before it completely disappeared.

Now I highly doubt that both of these puffers had that experience in Germany or in Africa..

Could they just be 'growth marks' of some sort, scars from being collected, or what? Or even stretch marks from whatever they ate, puffing up, etc.

I forgot to mention when I took them out of the bag last week while they were only out of water for a few seconds one of them did puff up (FUNNIEST THING I EVER SAW!!! Seeing a little golf ball sized puffer! If I knew it wasn't very stressful on them I would've grabbed a camera) but I immediately put them in a bucket with fresh dechlorinated tap water and a couple pinches of baking soda to acclimate them a to a neutral-slight-alkaline pH. As soon as the puffer touched water it deflated.

So any theories? Obviously I don't think these 'rings' are signs of illness...they have to be some sort of a physical scar, stretch mark, or a scar from an illness... But since they are eating and otherwise appear healthy I am not worried...just wondering.

This weekend I am probably going to pick which one I want to keep and sell the other.

Now before I sell one to my LFS... Does anybody hear want one for exactly the same price I paid... $12usd? Pickup or Meet Up (garden state parkway or nj turnpike/i-95) in New Jersey only though no shipping (unless you accept that I will not give a DOA guarantee).

[[Insert Name Here]]

Is it possible that it has some circle markings like cross river puffers? Probably unlikely but, I figured I'd throw that out there.

[Pufferfreak42]

I'm not sure if this as already been mentioned but you should really be defrosting anything you're planning on giving him that's frozen.

[emartin]

Yeah of course lol. I only said "frozen" because that's what it is...not like I have access to fresh market krill (I know in Asia they have access to that...apparently it's good for putting in with rice) and so on. All frozen foods get defrosted in tank water.

[emartin]

Going to photograph today.

Could it just be a stretch mark or some sort of a membrane or something for the inflating process?

This picture of a wild fahaka in the wild in Lake Nasser, Africa... You can see the markings I am talking about on it's underside

[Pufferpunk]

Those look like veins that you can see though the stretched skin. Believe me--a puffer can really stretch a lot!

[purplecandle]

AHHH..that makes sense PP..

Mine do not (have not puffed up)..maybe mine have visible veins..and they just look odd because they are not puffed up..

[emartin]

So do you think that may be what I am seeing?

I am taking a break from water changes at the moment. Later when I do a water change on that particular tank I'll post photos.