The Puffer Forum

Okay, this is not working. I think he is very unhappy to in the small tank and away from all the other fish. He is swimming up and down the sides for 15 hours now and the growth is getting worse, because he is bumping it on things. The more I look at it, I think it may be an injury, but it was just not healing at all.

Should I move him back into the big tank and treat that tank with Melafix and Pimafix? There is one other GSP and one knight goby in the big tank.

If he tears his whole Caudal fin off, can he survive without it?

I already mentioned to treat the main tank w/those products. It will not harm your filtration or other fish. It will only stress out the injured fish by moving it.

I moved my puffer back to the large tank with his tank mates. He is much happier here and is now swimming around again and has a white belly.

The thing on his fin seems to be tearing even more and I'm not sure what to do. I feel so badly for him.

I have since discovered that something else was going on in my tank at the same time and may be related? I had 3 Mollies in with my 2 Puffers and 1 Knight Goby. I thought one of the Puffers had eaten a Mollie [he was missing for a week]. I decided to bring them to the LFS so the other 2 wouldn't get eaten. While netting them, I moved a rock and the missing Mollie swam out in very bad shape. He had a serious illness. His whole body looked like it was disintegrating and his scales were kinda puffy. After some calls I euthanized him [it was very hard] and then took the other 2 into the store where they put them into quarantine.

I'm not sure if it is related to what's going on with my Puffer. I've had the whole tank medicated with Melfix and Pimafix for 2 days now. Since medicating the tank none of my 3 remaining fish will eat anything. I have tried all of their favorites.

The only other thing I did was to raise the Ph to 8.0...it was a little low.

So between all of these events...I don't really know what to do. I'm planning to continue with the tank meds for 5 more days and check their progress. I am now wondering if the Mollie infected them with something else.

Also, if they don't eat because of the meds in the water will they be okay for the remaining 5 days?

I have attached a better picture of his fin damage/disease. He finally stayed out for the flash.

I appreciate all of your advice.

What other chemicals do you use in that tank?
How do you raise the pH?

They will eventually eat. They may just be stressed out from you mucking about in the tank, and turned off by the added "flavour" of the melafix and pimafix. They will be fine for several days without food. I bet that sooner than later they will cave in to hunger and have a snack.

Okay, today is Friday and they haven't eaten since Monday when I medicated the tank. It's strange. When I put food into the tank the puffer with the injury won't eat and then he guards the other puffer and won't let him eat either. He's not aggresive, he just guides the other puffer away from the food over and over. They've never done this before. What's up with that??

To answer your questions...

I don't normally use any chemicals in the tank other than water conditioner and marine salt.

I used a product called Proper PH 8.2 by [Aquarium Pharmaceuticals] to raise the pH. It was at 7.6 and went up to 8.0 with this product *then* after a small water change yesterday is now back at 7.6. We moved 7 months ago and the water is different here. I've never had to regulate the pH...our old tap water was perfect. What are some ways to raise and maintain the pH at 8.0?

Changing the substrate to crushed coral or aragonite, will keep the pH around a steady 8. Emphasis on the word "steady", because fluctuating pH is way worse that the wrong one.

I'd rather have a steady 7.6 than a fluctuating 7.6 to 8.
8 is a target, but not absolutely necessary. Steady pH is the most important thing provided it isn't way off in either direction.

Getting an aragonite or crushed coral substrate is the best way to go about maintaining a proper ph. If you don't want to change your substrate, you can always just keep a bag of it in your filter.

Sometimes I find that isn't enough.

Yeah, I think you'd need a pretty substantial amount in a very high flow filter to really see a big impact. But any amount would help somewhat.

Excellent, thanks! I picked up some aragonite and will add a small amount to the substrate and put a bag into the filter as well.

Good news! They're eating. Mind you they'll only eat the deluxe seafood blend from the fish market.

The injury may be a bit less pink, but there is definitely a detachment along the base of the fin. I just hope it reattaches as it heals.

I've seen fish with very ragged fins, fins almost totally eaten away by fin rot and fish with gaping wounds fully heal with good care and feeding. In fact, my GSPs cut themselves on the LR in my tank quite often and heal just fine with no meds at all. Keep the tank clean, treat with M-fix and P-fix and feed a high-quality diet and there is a good chance that all will work out fine.