problems with Fahaka/nile puffer. need urgent help!!

[Griffdowg]

need some quick help on this one guys,

been a while since Ive been on here, but my girlfriend just fed my Nile (bonobo) a large prawn (5min before i got home) and hes now got some serious buoyancy issues.

hes floating near the surface, with his dorsal fin protruding from the water, hes using his pectoral fins for balance. he cant seem to swim down. water quality checks out. his eyes and fins are all fine. his mouth does not look obstructed by anything.

my girlfriend said he got really excited and possibly... possibly caught some air on coming to the surface. hes never shown this before and i am very very worried... as you can imagine

is there anything i can do to help him? i haven't handled him since introducing him to the tank over a year ago. i don't think he would like it, but if i have to i will.

do you think his stomach is obstructed? air taken through gills? i really really don't know what to do. if i lose him, the g/f is out the door!

any help, suggestions, info, experiences very much appreciated as always.

cheers

Gareth

[Boxermom]

Try burping him. Do a search here for information on how to do it.

[Griffdowg]

wont let me sech as im nt a member... can someone give me a link on "burping my puffer"?

hes rolling alot more now and more of his body is out of the water

still doesnt seem to stressed though.

cheers

G

[Steelgeek]

To sum up "burping" you grab them by the tail and hold it down so that they are vertical with the head up. Shake lightly to dislodge the air bubble from where it is trapped.

Sometimes the puff inflates since they get stressed, so keep their head away from the surface. Puffing isn't a bad idea, since when I've done this I've seen the bubble of air get dislodged by the puffing mechanism.

I've also had better luck catching them in a net first to make it easier to grab their tail, and then I'm not touching the fish either, also a plus.

[Griffdowg]

F%^& me... i dont like the sound of that.

will give it a go though... once im mentally prepared.

is there anything else i can do? do you think its air? will this hurt him, due to the pressure changes etc.

sorry, im not used to these kinds of extreme measures. both my puffers have been fine for over a year.

thanks for the quick responses guys, kee pthem coming

G

[Dinsdale]

Here's the article: http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/ ... rpuff.html

Good luck! You can do it!

[Phaedrus]

One of our puffer experts Puffer_queen recommends putting the puffer in a pet carrier type cage and weighting it down. This keeps the puffer under water and they don't have to fight against buoyancy as hard. They are also secluded from other fish so they won't be picked on. They are then free to expel the air on their own without the stress of being man-handled.

I think for larger puffs this may be the safest option for all parties involved.

[Steelgeek]

How big is your fish?

[Griffdowg]

its hard to get an accurate measurement, but somewhere between 10 and 12" inc. tail. i dont really want to use my hands because i am pretty sure he will bite.

cage sounds like a good idea. dont think i have anything though and he will go skitz! no other fish in tank, only Bonobo.

hes not struggling at the surface at all. hes quite relaxed and seems to have stopped rolling.

my main question really is: is he likely to die? and will he be able to rectify the situation by himself? what sort of timeframe should i give him?

so we all agree this is an air problem over i digestive problem? just want to clear that up.

ta very much

G

[Phaedrus]

From your description it sounds very likely that he ingested some air in the feeding frenzy. This is why I always use tweezers or tongs to feed so I can make sure the food is fully submerged when they go after it.

I'd wait a bit to see if there is any change. If he's not suffering, best to let him try to work it out on his own. And maybe puffer queen herself will chime in.

[Griffdowg]

yer, i guess. im just so worried.

i told my girlfriend it was ok to feed them if she was confident. shs done it before with no problems. shes a marine biologist for F$%£ sake!

so i dont know what happened. i always let the food sink cos i dont want him to bite me fingers

maybe i will give it some time.

puffer queen where are you!

thanks for the instant info guys, it is so appreciated. feeling a bit better about things now.

G

[Myaj]

He was probably already at the surface gulping in excitement before she got the tank lid open to feed him, I really doubt she did anything wrong. My SAP's used to do that as well and often had me worried.

I would wait a bit.. hopefully he can do it himself. I can't imagine trying to hold a squiggly, 12" fahaka with big teeth. Do you have a net big enough? Or a clean, small rubbermaid type tub you can put over him to weigh him down?

[Griffdowg]

yer probably... thats why i hide the food from view until i drop it in.

he is squiggly... i just got a net around him and tried to massage his belly. when i tried to (gently) hold him down he turned, :S so i let him go.

hes now furiously trying to swim down (head 1st). he can reach the bottom (also head 1st) but quickly gets tired and floats to the surface. hes back where he started now. he seemed ok with me touching him its a start.

hmmm...

[Griffdowg]

well thats it for the night. been massaging him all night, but nothing has really changes, havent seen many air bubbles. he has gotten alot thinner though and is not rolling anymore. hes just relaxed on the surface.

your thoughts tomorrow again much appreciated. thank you all for chipping in.

hopefully he will be OK tomorrow... i have always vowed to give up fish keeping if my fahaka does not make it... i hope tomorrow isnt the day.

cheers,

Gareth

[Myaj]

when you massaged him, were you holding him vertically, so his tail was down and his mouth pointed towards the surface? That's the trick I think.

Good luck with him, and keep us updated!