Operating on a 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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Pufferpunk
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Re: Operating on a puffer
I really didn't know much about the innards of a puffer but when I opened up the suvattii that only lived 6 weeks for me but it's liver was yellow & hard as a rock. Just from HS biology, I do know it's supposed to be soft & pink.
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: Operating on a puffer
When I took a tumor out of mine I diden't have to look at the liver. It was not in view in the incision I made to remove the tumor and the fish was otherwise healthy.
I have taken large tumors off many fish and so far none of them got an infection or anything else. Fish have great capacity to heal which seems much better than ours considering the bacteria filled medium they live in
I have taken large tumors off many fish and so far none of them got an infection or anything else. Fish have great capacity to heal which seems much better than ours considering the bacteria filled medium they live in
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StormySkiez
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Thanks for sharing your experience with us Paul! I have always tried to keep up with my pets and different ailments that might strike but I'll tell you fish are one of a kind. Who would think one would do what we do to save our fish.
55g-2 green spotted puffers 1 year old Nov 08!
20g-5 leopard danio,4 whiteskirt tetras, amanos, nerita snails, 2 neon tetras
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Pufferpunk
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T miurus
A modestus
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DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Operating on a puffer
I think after this, maybe more folks should try removing those pesky nematodes!
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!"
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Agnate
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Not everyone has the stomach to cut into a living creature, especially when the tool you're using is almost as big as the thing you're cutting into.
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- Paul
40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
5 gallon - 1 Betta (Frederico)
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pufferfreak
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Haha. I dont know if i could do that. I would be so scared that id kill him. Howd you cover it up?
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Idontknow
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Does the fish stop bleeding right away or do you have to stop the bleeding before putting them back in the tank?
Multi-tank syndrome
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Jase
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Re: Operating on a puffer
you can remove them?Pufferpunk wrote:I think after this, maybe more folks should try removing those pesky nematodes!
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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Homer
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Re: Operating on a puffer
I'm just a little confused, so what do you do after you've done the surgery??? do you need to stitch them up at all, or did you just put some iodine on and throw them back in the tank and hope for the best???
Sleep is the cousin of Death...
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Jase
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Re: Operating on a puffer
fish heal remarkably fast and well. think how they heal in the wild...
as long as the water quality is good I don't think they need anything other than the iodine.
as long as the water quality is good I don't think they need anything other than the iodine.
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
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T miurus
A modestus
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C valentini
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C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Operating on a puffer
That's true. My fahaka bit a huge chunk out of the gut of a large Bosmani raimbow. I thought for sure it would get infected but it healed quite well. Until he finally ate it 2 years later...
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: Operating on a puffer
Then you will just have to let him die.Not everyone has the stomach to cut into a living creature, especially when the tool you're using is almost as big as the thing you're cutting into.
Fish don't hardly bleed unless you cut into an organ. If I were going to do an operation on one today I would seal it with crazy glue. They diden't have that stuff then.
I would also put neomycin and chlorimphenicol in the water.
I have never had a problem cutting anything off a fish. I once removed a large growth on a moray eel in a wholesalers. They are hard to operate on befause they are impossable to hold because of the slime, and they bite.
Of course we can't do much internal operations on a fish unless it is a tumor that is near the skin or some external growth.
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Nick
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Re: Operating on a puffer
My f8's spent a couple months in full SW when I had no other choice, and didn't notice any ill effect, though I did theorize at the time it would probably wear down their immune system in the long run. Perhaps they simply need a certain minimum carbonate hardness or other trace mineral do do well in captivity. It's good to know mine are unlikely to have shorter lives for their experience.
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Re: Operating on a puffer
Wouldn't doing a autopsy on a puffer be semi dangerous with there toxic liver?
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