The Puffer Forum

Thanks, Bred.

I haven't noticed any strange smells though I'm not familiar with the smell of H2S.

Tank has been up for about a year, and yeah, I treated for chlorine. I did a water change after his symptoms started.

It's extremely pungent, like rotten eggs. Humans are capable of detecting its smell at even very small concentrations in freshwater, so I'd be looking to a different cause of death.

The twitching is peculiar and makes me think there may have been some kind of parasitic infestation of the gills. Ich and gill flukes are most common.

There are so many possibilities in this case... I'm not sure the best explanation is even possible to determine without more information.

It might be wise to tear down the tank and disinfect (a prolonged soak in a 25% bleach solution will kill anything) all that you can before adding more fish, including the filter. It can be fishless cycled again later.

Thanks for the advice, and information Bred. You've given the most solid and wothwhile info so far.

I didn't see any flukes on his gills when I necropsied him though they may have been long gone without a host.

I'll take your advice and tear down the tank before placing new fish in it, regardless of the cause.

Thanks

cunniculus wrote:Yes......Again, why does that matter?

Sorry I still can't see where you confirmed that the substrate was sand.

Anyways the reason I was asking is because I lost a T.miurus in exactly the same way.I believe it to be poisoning by anerobic pockets.You don't have to get any smell. The gas is dissolved in the water and a very small amount(not detectable by smell) can cause havoc in atank.

I'm very sorry for your loss...Rocker, that scares me as I have sand in my miurus tank...is stirring alone enough to prevent this?

I'm not 100% sure what happened to this particular tank. The puffer showed all signs as described.Instead of lying flat on the sand his tail end would rise above his head end and he just looked awkward. That later developed into him flipping 'head over heels' when he was swimming. I did a large water change and he seemed to get better for about two months.Then again the same things happened. I would find him wedge in plants to prevent him from rising in the water.when he swam he would wobble from side to side.Then one day he was gone.
I tried a goldfish in after a 50% water change-he died
I tried another goldfish straight away he died.
I tried a third after almost a full change and stir of the sand, got some polyfilter(excellent stuff) and he lasted long enough for me to declare the tank safe and I returned him to my store. the T. abei went in for a while until I got my T. baileyi.He now has the tank.I don't have the answer but I am sure that it was some form of poisoning probably gaseous.

One thing to add as to why I think my problem was poisoning.With so many tanks I tend to keep a very brief diary and looking back prior to the events the only thing that was out of the 'norm' was i removed a very large plant with many large roots.Now no matter how hard i tried to stir the sand it was impossible to be sure that around this particular plant there were no toxic pockets. As I removed the plant several bubbles did surface.No smell though.

Did your miurus have a swollen abdomen? I think the goldfish test is interesting. Maybe I'll try it and see what happens.

All my tanks have sand. I haven't seen this before but there is always the first time. I wonder if there is a test for the water itself. Besides the canary/goldfish test

Sorry to hear about your puffer.

Rocker: Why goldfish?

I think he was using the goldfish as canaries to see if there were indeed toxins in the water.

Speaking of which, I've purchased 4 goldfish and they're happily digging through the sand. I'll give them a few days and assume that the water is clear.

Yeah I was just wondering over the choice of fish. I've tetras and platys in the tank which my SA died, to check if the water is clear. I'm wondering if the choice of goldfish is because goldfish are more sensitive to water conditions, just like puffers are?

actually, since goldfish are used to cycle tanks a lot of the time, I doubt that they're the best canary. They are, however, cheaper! Mine were 40 cents.

Sorry to see Honey, died, Creampuff.

Gold fish - big and messy -keep the bioload going - and free from my mates shop.

Aha.. I see the free part. yeah I agree that they're pigs. The amount of sh*t they produce... oh my goodness.

cunniculus wrote:Did your miurus have a swollen abdomen?

He was swollen towards the rear end which lifted his tail. At first I thought he was constipated.