Schnitzel, my puffer has been very bloated for the past week and refuses to eat, nevermind stalking his favourite prawns he loves. Now he just stays on the bottom of the tank, breathing very heavy and quick, like 5 times a second. I've noticed in the past that when he's stressed, his tail pulls in like a hook, but presently it's just not doing anything. His colouring looks totally fine.
Enviro-wise, he lives in a 37liter/9.7 US galon tank, temperature usually around 26 C, Filtersystem:internal>>300liters/h. I also have an airstone which is always on. Schnitz always used to play in the bubbles, but now, he barely moves. The ph is a tad high, 8.2, but it's never bothered him before. I feed him every two to three days> ramshorn snails, prawns and bloodworms. Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are 0 and i do regular weekly waterchanges of 50%. I have not made any changes in the tank whatsoever and it's been running for more or less 3 months after being cycled without any fish for a month. Schnitzel lives alone. He is getting really swollen and im really concerned. He literally seems constipated. He hasn't eaten in 5 days, which concerns me not as much as the fact that he is not moving. Please help, it's my favourite pet i've ever had and it's the most intelligent one at that too.
Swollen Fang's 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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Boxermom
- Former Staff Member
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Could he be constipated?
Edit: Doh, missed that part in your post. Puffers can get constipated. See if you can get him to eat peas. Otherwise, epsom salt is said to work on constipated bettas but I'm not sure of the amount to use.
Edit: Doh, missed that part in your post. Puffers can get constipated. See if you can get him to eat peas. Otherwise, epsom salt is said to work on constipated bettas but I'm not sure of the amount to use.
Tina
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Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
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Pufferpunk
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Schnitz is not any better. I tried the epson salts, but to no avail.. He's squeezed himself between the filter and the glass, sortof hanging there skew/imbalanced. I dunno if it's the vibration of the filter he's after or the current he's trying to avoid. Today is exactly a week since he's eaten anything.He's breathing seems faster. Could it b a lack of oxygen? Cuz my airstone is constantly on.I dunno what to do....Plz anyone...save my puffr..
I don't think he's got much time left...
I don't think he's got much time left...
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HRPuffersnStuff
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I would try it again... If all your params are good and he will not eat peas, it looks like that may be your best bet. Good luck... I lost one of my favorite puffs a few years ago because my PH test was inaccurate (maybe old when I bought it?) so I couldn't figure out what was wrong... I went to the LFS and my PH was 6.5 instead of 8 like usual, but by then it was too late. I now have crushed coral in all my tanks... So I always say if you are at a loss for a cause it is a good idea to take your water to the LFS just in case of human error or a faulty test kit...
I started Octozin(Waterlife) treatment today. I went to my "aquarist" just to ask his advice and after suggesting epsom salt treatment aswell, (which didn't work, he suggested Octozin which is most used for the treatment of bloatedness. I obviously did a 50% waterchange first. I dunno, if this does not work, shnitz will be done for. If he does'nt recover fairly quick, i don't think he'll ever fully recover or he'll kick the bucket. He still is'nt eating....Any opinions???
Some call it a product of a mis-spent youth, I call it Rock n Roll ! 
He doesn't really swim...He just lies there. The rare occasion he decides to moves, he swims fine, a bit wobbly but i think it's cuz of the current and he seems a bit weak. He seems heavy, if you could imagine what i mean... When he moves it looks like an obese fish with it's belly wobbling along...he's got direction tho...
I'm sad to say that i just found schnitz resting in peace. He is dead. Neither the epsom salts or the Octozin worked. Maybe it was too late for any treatment. I suggest to anyone if bloatedness or swelling occurs in your puffer, treat ASAP! Do not wait to see if he gets better on his own. Thanx for all the advice ppl.