The Puffer Forum

Swelling is gone today, he looks so small, and THIN, now im worried about him eating

So, with the nitrites down below 20 (THANK YOU MYAJ), the fish has become un-swollen. He is VERY skinny, though IS eating small amounts. I know he has been eating, and tonight, I know he is excreting. HOWEVER, being so skinny, he has a sunken in, dented look to his rear left side, pictures below. He seems to be swimming fine. Anyone ever seen this in a really skinny puffer. Is he broken?



http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2 ... 1381527271

I must say that does not look normal and though not the typical sign of Internal Parasites (IP's) I think you should treat for it as many new puffers have some infection of internal parasites. Normally the belly is sunken in undernetah. Are the poos white and stringy? If so IP's are at play and treatment is needed

You may find that this is just how your puffer is though and it may be like this for its entire life but if it is otherwise healthy then its more of a charming quirk like Cindy crawfords mole I had a gourami thats body was abnormal in shape and she lived for 5 years with no problems, even though her body was shorteer and dented with a lump in the tail

No, poos arent white, in fact, if you look at that last batch of pictures ( esp #1 )closely, you can take a look for yourself. I wish they had ribs.

appetite increasing . "dent" is unchanged . Wondering if a little meat on his bones will help. keeping the nite's and amonias down.

i havent been able to find anything out about the caved in side, wondering if he got himself wedged in something when he was swollen and there was skeletal damage, i read that they dont have ribs, maybe spine?

he currently picks at bloodworms, and eats a decent amount of plankton. ive got a smorgesbord in the freezer, hes really picky right now. got a single small ghost shrimp in his tank, in case he gets a hankering, hes eaten them before. Seems to nip at snails, but isnt aggressivly eating them, which is totally uncharacteristic from before the swelling.

since he wasnt eating anything for a while, how fast do their teeth grow?

great article ! --

only one question -- how on earth do you catch a puffer with your hands ? my figure 8's are speed demonds hell bent on staying as far away from my hands as possible -- is it easier to first catch them in a smaller container and then grab them ?>??

Precisely because they have no ribs, puffers are the shapes of their organs, so if his body was filling with fluid(quite possible) organs may have been displaces for a long time and take an equally long time or longer to move back.

Thank you Nick.

my name is mike wrote:great article ! --

only one question -- how on earth do you catch a puffer with your hands ? my figure 8's are speed demonds hell bent on staying as far away from my hands as possible -- is it easier to first catch them in a smaller container and then grab them ?>??

You can use a jar, I often use a plastic fish container like they have at the fish stores, the container they put the fish in before they put them into the bag while they're catching them.

With puffers you need to be very careful, esp GSP's because the nets can damage them really easily. It doesn't always happen but its' just a good idea *not* to do it.

I've found when catching SW fish or cichlids( or any smart, fast, dodgy fish), at the store I work in that the easiest way is to place a plastic specimin container in one corner of the tank flat to both pieces of glass(or as close as you can get in off shape tanks, not a problem in a LFS) and chase the fish around with the net. The fish eventually goes into the container, and you cap it with the net quick and you have your fish.

I have used a similar technique buy leaving a clear bag ope full of water in the tank and baiting it, when the fish is in there you pull the bag out