Operating on a puffer

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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.
User avatar
Agnate
Former Staff Member
Posts: 1203
Joined: Mon Dec 10, 2007 7:44 pm
My Puffers: -

1 Abei Puffer [Monotrete Abei]
(Captain Abe)
Location: Ontario, Canada
Contact:

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Agnate »

That's why you wear gloves! I believe their toxin is only potent when ingested, so as long as you don't eat the liver, you should be fine. :P Also, a puffer only receives toxin by consuming OTHER organisms that contain toxin. As far as I understand it, puffers don't produce their own.
Did our staff successfully help you? The Puffer Forum is an incredible resource and is run completely on the donations of its viewers. Proceeds from the Puffer Forum store go towards future contests and keeping the site running. Donations may also be made via PayPal.

- Paul

40 gallon - Future home of Abei Puffer
28 gallon - 1 Abei Puffer (Captain Abe)
5 gallon - 1 Betta (Frederico)
User avatar
Jase
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1579
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
Gender: Male
My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
Location (country): USA
Location: Montana

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Jase »

I believe it's the product of some bacteria in the wild, but either way...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home. :D
Paul B
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:35 pm

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Paul B »

Also, a puffer only receives toxin by consuming OTHER organisms that contain toxin. As far as I understand it, puffers don't produce their own
I believe they create their own toxins. Puffers don't necessarily eat toxic animals.
As long as you don't eat the liver you will be fine. Puffers are consumed by the thousands here in New York. You can't buy the entire fish, only the rear portion. They are sold as Chicken of the sea.
When I was a kid (many years ago) northern puffers were considered a pest fish as you would sometimes catch nothing but puffers. They just all but disappeared from the Long Island Sound to be replaced by cunners or as we call them, bergalls.
No one seems to know why they disappeared but you could still catch them on the south shore of Long Island but not in the numbers of the past. I collected a few last summer that ranged from 1/4" to about 2"
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32987
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Greenville, SC
Contact:

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Pufferpunk »

Which species is that?
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!"
User avatar
Jase
Mbu Puffer
Posts: 1579
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 3:13 am
Gender: Male
My Puffers: RIP Hootey :(
Location (country): USA
Location: Montana

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Jase »

I think that's Sphoeroides maculatus...
-Jase
edmlfc1 wrote:A house without a puffer is not a home. :D
User avatar
Idontknow
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 427
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 3:21 am
Gender: Male
My Puffers: .
2 x GSPs (Puffo and Suzanne)
2 x F8s (Nana and Hachi)
1 x Valentini (Choco)
2 x Porcupine (Cutey and Yoshi)
1 x DP (Margarine)
1 x Irrubesco (Beni)
Location (country): Japan
Location: Japan

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Idontknow »

The poison is in the internal organs and sometimes the skin. The poison is caused by tetrodotoxin bacteria which the puffer consumes through other organisms. In Japan, we are farm raising puffers now and they are non-toxic because they are kept away from anything containing the bacteria. We can buy whole puffers in a regular supermarket.
Multi-tank syndrome
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32987
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Greenville, SC
Contact:

Re: Operating on a puffer

Post by Pufferpunk »

Yeah, I figured it was probably one of the Sphoeroides species.
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!"
Post Reply