awww, Im sorry to hear you have to put him down.
It might be really hard to do, but after he is gone, you should dissect that spot to see if you can tell what it is. For others later
Sick Fahaka 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.
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xrayjeeper83
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 4167
- Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 9:31 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Fahaka named Bloat
Abei named Huey
GSP named Bacon - Location (country): USA
- Location: Orange Park, FL
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
RTR wrote:Fahakas do not have tank mates, they may have swimming food reserves.
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
In the process of euthanizing him.. I planned on taking my sharpest knife to it and take a snapshot of what was trying to push out there. I will be sure to label the picture properly. I troubleshoot computers for a living, so I am always on the search in life for root cause 
Indeed, it may save another puffer.
Indeed, it may save another puffer.
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marlana
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 9:24 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puff (2.5 inch GSP)
Yoshi (1.5 inch GSP) - Location (country): USA
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
So sorry to hear about him. That's a very tough decision to make. Good luck!
-Marlana
55 Gallon Marine Tank
■ Puff, (2 inch GSP) and Yoshi, (1.5 inch GSP)
■ 4 large hermit crabs and 30+ nassarius snails
■ AquaC Remora protein skimmer
■ Rena xP3 canister filter
55 Gallon Marine Tank
■ Puff, (2 inch GSP) and Yoshi, (1.5 inch GSP)
■ 4 large hermit crabs and 30+ nassarius snails
■ AquaC Remora protein skimmer
■ Rena xP3 canister filter
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El Scorpio
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 534
- Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2010 12:11 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: none, at the moment...
- Location (country): Louisville, KY.
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
I'm sorry to hear that it's come down to this, your Fahaka is a beautiful animal. I've used clove oil before on terminally ill fish, it's very painless, very easy for the fish. That spot on his belly is strange... I've never seen anything like it. I'm curious, too, as to what it is and what caused it.
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Black Widow
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
You have done well to nurse your puffer to this point and I think its reached the point of no return. Well done for coming this far and sticking with it, I too am very intrigued to see what comes out of that cyst. My money is on some kinda worms :X?
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
Puffer skin is way, way tougher than I ever imagined. No wonder they survive attacks in the wild. I was able to get through some of it to get to the sore and lump. You would almost need to purchase a true scalpel if you were trying to get really precise.
The lump was definitely air. I did not go to any major anatomy classes in college, so I wasn't sure what I was looking at.. but. In the picture, you can see the puffed out sac that was air. Took a lot of force to puncture, but when I did.. Immediately deflated him. No major signs of any worms around the sore or any major discoloration in the tissue underneath the sore. I tried so hard to push that air out prior to death, no luck though. I was just looking for a discolored mass of any sorts, couldn't find one. Got frustrated -- Put him in a ziplock bag with all the leftover clams and put in the trash.
RIP Puffy -- The most unoriginal name, but he was a good fish. Approx age 4 1/2 - 5 years old.
DO NOT CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH -- WARNING!
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/img0694bq.jpg/
The lump was definitely air. I did not go to any major anatomy classes in college, so I wasn't sure what I was looking at.. but. In the picture, you can see the puffed out sac that was air. Took a lot of force to puncture, but when I did.. Immediately deflated him. No major signs of any worms around the sore or any major discoloration in the tissue underneath the sore. I tried so hard to push that air out prior to death, no luck though. I was just looking for a discolored mass of any sorts, couldn't find one. Got frustrated -- Put him in a ziplock bag with all the leftover clams and put in the trash.
RIP Puffy -- The most unoriginal name, but he was a good fish. Approx age 4 1/2 - 5 years old.
DO NOT CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH -- WARNING!
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/img0694bq.jpg/
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
So sorry you lost him May he rest in peace.
May he rest in peace.It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
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Black Widow
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
You did well mate, what you can see there is the stomach sac that fills with air when they inflate. I am Glad you wore gloves those puffer have very poisonous guts, my advice now would be to throw away all the equipment, knife and gloves used while cutting him open in case of the presence of Tetrodotoxin.jnheinz wrote:Puffer skin is way, way tougher than I ever imagined. No wonder they survive attacks in the wild. I was able to get through some of it to get to the sore and lump. You would almost need to purchase a true scalpel if you were trying to get really precise.
The lump was definitely air. I did not go to any major anatomy classes in college, so I wasn't sure what I was looking at.. but. In the picture, you can see the puffed out sac that was air. Took a lot of force to puncture, but when I did.. Immediately deflated him. No major signs of any worms around the sore or any major discoloration in the tissue underneath the sore. I tried so hard to push that air out prior to death, no luck though. I was just looking for a discolored mass of any sorts, couldn't find one. Got frustrated -- Put him in a ziplock bag with all the leftover clams and put in the trash.
RIP Puffy -- The most unoriginal name, but he was a good fish. Approx age 4 1/2 - 5 years old.
DO NOT CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH -- WARNING!
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/img0694bq.jpg/
and again Well done-
xrayjeeper83
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 4167
- Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 9:31 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Fahaka named Bloat
Abei named Huey
GSP named Bacon - Location (country): USA
- Location: Orange Park, FL
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
odd that the lump didnt have anything in it, sad that you couldnt get the air out
RTR wrote:Fahakas do not have tank mates, they may have swimming food reserves.
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sevenyearnight
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
I'm thinking that it may be related to thiaminase. Here is an excerpt from a thiaminase article:
"Symptoms of this syndrome are well known from several commercially important fish groups and can be confirmed using appropriate biochemical tests. Flatfish fed exclusively with thiaminase-rich clams suffer and die from paralysis and related physical shocks. Eels show a trunk-winding syndrome and hemorrhages along the base of the fins (similar symptoms have been reported from moray husbandry, too). Salmonids show nervous disorders, poor appetite, poor growth and jumpiness (again, similar things have observed among a variety of ornamental fish species). Skin congestion and haemorrhage have been reported from carp and other cyprinids. In general then, excessive amounts of thiaminase are connected with symptoms of sickness that include poor growth, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling and hemorrhage, loss of equilibrum, convulsions, muscle atrophy and a weak immune system."
"Symptoms of this syndrome are well known from several commercially important fish groups and can be confirmed using appropriate biochemical tests. Flatfish fed exclusively with thiaminase-rich clams suffer and die from paralysis and related physical shocks. Eels show a trunk-winding syndrome and hemorrhages along the base of the fins (similar symptoms have been reported from moray husbandry, too). Salmonids show nervous disorders, poor appetite, poor growth and jumpiness (again, similar things have observed among a variety of ornamental fish species). Skin congestion and haemorrhage have been reported from carp and other cyprinids. In general then, excessive amounts of thiaminase are connected with symptoms of sickness that include poor growth, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling and hemorrhage, loss of equilibrum, convulsions, muscle atrophy and a weak immune system."
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J-P
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 5626
- Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:21 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Japan
- Location: Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
That could have been a trigger but not the final cause of death.
Sorry for the loss. I know it is hard.
Sorry for the loss. I know it is hard.
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
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C valentini
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DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
Although very sad, thank you for the dissection. Yes, puffer skin is very thick & hard to cut!
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!"
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
I did get the air out. I poked it with a knife.xrayjeeper83 wrote:odd that the lump didnt have anything in it, sad that you couldnt get the air out
Everything got kind of gooey at that point, and I didn't study the anatomy of a puffer beforehand, so I kind of gave up when I couldn't find any masses or severe discoloration.
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
Wow, thanks for the warning. I used a sharp Gerber. Do you think I could sterilize it instead of throwing it away? Heat from blow torch, soak in sanitizer, time?Walrus Head wrote:You did well mate, what you can see there is the stomach sac that fills with air when they inflate. I am Glad you wore gloves those puffer have very poisonous guts, my advice now would be to throw away all the equipment, knife and gloves used while cutting him open in case of the presence of Tetrodotoxin.jnheinz wrote:Puffer skin is way, way tougher than I ever imagined. No wonder they survive attacks in the wild. I was able to get through some of it to get to the sore and lump. You would almost need to purchase a true scalpel if you were trying to get really precise.
The lump was definitely air. I did not go to any major anatomy classes in college, so I wasn't sure what I was looking at.. but. In the picture, you can see the puffed out sac that was air. Took a lot of force to puncture, but when I did.. Immediately deflated him. No major signs of any worms around the sore or any major discoloration in the tissue underneath the sore. I tried so hard to push that air out prior to death, no luck though. I was just looking for a discolored mass of any sorts, couldn't find one. Got frustrated -- Put him in a ziplock bag with all the leftover clams and put in the trash.
RIP Puffy -- The most unoriginal name, but he was a good fish. Approx age 4 1/2 - 5 years old.
DO NOT CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH -- WARNING!
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/171/img0694bq.jpg/
Re: Sick Fahaka Puffer
Nevermind, I think I may just toss all that stuff in the trash after reading about fugu, Japan, terrible deaths... I just had to know what was in that lump.
Scares me to think people are tossing their puffers in the toilets when they die with all that toxin in their body, with no known antidote.
Scares me to think people are tossing their puffers in the toilets when they die with all that toxin in their body, with no known antidote.