Something Very Wrong with Abei

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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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pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Something Very Wrong with Abei

Post by pufferpuggirl »

I'm really feeling quite sad because clearly there is something very wrong with my Abei puffer. I hadn't noticed because she likes to hide behind a big terra cotta plate I have in the tank and I normally drop her food behind it and I see her coming for it. Now, I don't know this is a female Abei, but I've always thought of this one as a "she". This big "lump" has only come up within the past few days. She was eating fine, but hasn't eaten anything in maybe 4 days, which is unusual for my Abei.

To give some background, maybe about 2 years ago, I thought something was wrong with her back then. She had smaller lumps on each side of the top of her body, but they were symmetrical and she seemed fine in every other way, eating good, being active, showing her colours, so I didn't think much of it. And then over time, they went away. So you can imagine my surprise when I got a good look at her this morning and seen this really large lump on her . It's on her right side and I really think this is serious. Besides not eating, she seems to be breathing heavily and laying more on her side than sitting as she normally would.

I've had this puffer about 8 years and she's always been active and full of funny antics. I've never had a puffer with an issue like this, and while I honestly don't know ... I have a sinking feeling she's on her way to Puffer Heaven. Has anyone dealt with something like this, and if so, is there anything that can be done?
Abei sick 31 July 2020.jpg
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"Puffer .... man's best friend?"
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Pufferpunk
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My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
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Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
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Also kept:
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Re: Something Very Wrong with Abei

Post by Pufferpunk »

Oh gosh, poor thing! Was she a juvie when you got her? Can she swim at all?
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!"
User avatar
pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Something Very Wrong with Abei

Post by pufferpuggirl »

Yes, I've had her since she was tiny. It's really sad because I look into her eyes and she looks at me in mine. I haven't seen her swim, but the way she's laying on her side worries me, she's not all the way over, but as you can (hopefully) see in the photo, she is leaning over some. The last time I seen her actually come up for her food would have been 4-5 days ago. She came up for it, and it fell in a different place, so she retreated back to her hiding spot. I am not sure if she had the lump then or not. It's definitely popped up pretty quick though. I know she can go without eating for a time, but it's the laboured breathing that saddens me. She's still moving her little fins. I just think it's very sad and I have this feeling she's leaving me soon. I hope she's not in pain. I guess I think it's odd that she had 2 lumps a couple years ago and they went away, and now this ... only I don't think this will go away. :(
"Puffer .... man's best friend?"
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: Something Very Wrong with Abei

Post by Pufferpunk »

Do you have a vet you can take her to for a biopsy?
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!"
User avatar
pufferpuggirl
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 3979
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2008 3:04 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffs & Stuff:

1 x M Abei
1 x M Turgidus
1 x T Palembangensis
1 x M Baileyii
1 x T Schoutedeni
1 x T Leiurus
1 x T Miurus
Rainbow crab
crayfish
Location (country): Yorkshire, GB
Location: South Yorkshire, UK

Re: Something Very Wrong with Abei

Post by pufferpuggirl »

The vets around here? I highly doubt they would know what to do. And aside from that, we're still in a sort of lockdown. If I take my dog to the vet, I literally have to give my dog to the assistant, remain outside and then wait for them to do whatever. I can't see them even knowing how to deal with a puffer fish.
"Puffer .... man's best friend?"
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