The Puffer Forum

well shouldn't they? He said he is 3-4 inches big.

Shouldn't they what? Keep it in BW?

yes

Cause a MBU is total freshwater and most pet stores don't even keep fish that are suppose to be in brackish in that. Bottom line it would be very strange if this fish was kept in anything but freshwater, but not so strange that brackish water fish are kept in freshwater at the LFS. Did that just make sense?

Also, he would have shown the effects of shock right away, wouldn't he? It's been a bit since the puffer was bought, correct?

the picture of how the mbu has been sitting and its anus doesnt look good to me. only time ive seen anus enlarged like that is when my mbus have constupation sometimews IP's cause that look also?? still ive only seenmbus lye on there side if something is very wrong. i wish you all the best of luck all my fish are at a lfs at the moment im worrying about them they had to go there during a move

From the looks of the picture and what I know about Puffer anatomy it looks like he has some sort of blockage, more than likely from constipation. Is it possible it's the MTS? Yes it's possible. What to do? I'd treat him with Epsom salt to make sure things are still passing and see if he eliminates the blockage, whether it is the MTS or not. You do need to use Epsom salt and not the Aqualibrium salt. Aqualibrium is a well balanced tonic salt used to help soothe things like swim bladder and general irritation problems (actually pretty good stuff for a basic aquarium salt). Epsom Salts are used to increase gastrointestinal motility (get things moving) because they contain high amounts of Magnesium, actually Epsom Salt is Magnesium Sulfate. Magnesium Sulfate also pulls water in to the large intestine making it easier for the fish to eliminate feces.

I just wanted to say that I have read this entire thread and feel absolutely gutted.

That picture of the puffer laying on it's side has me heart-broken! I'm sorry I can't offer any concrete information that may help you, but I am praying for a good outcome and really hope that your puffer makes a full and complete recovery.

schismy007 wrote:I just wanted to say that I have read this entire thread and feel absolutely gutted.

That picture of the puffer laying on it's side has me heart-broken! I'm sorry I can't offer any concrete information that may help you, but I am praying for a good outcome and really hope that your puffer makes a full and complete recovery.

Yeah, what she said.....the picture really tore me up too.

Hello All,

Well the story so far is, After sitting infront of my laptop scanning hundreds of websites and seeking council from here, I decided to call my Vet (for my dog) who has a guy there big into his aquariums and weve spoken for ages when I take my Lab down for his jabs about all kinds of aquarium related stuff. He recommended I take him to a LFS who had a specialist guy there who may be able to help, after speaking with him he advised I take him there and he'll setup a quaratined tank for him and he'll monitor him and see if he can source whats wrong.

So I did, he's had puffdaddy over the weekend now and what he's found out sofar is that he passed (poo'd) out the Trumpet Snail whole about 3/4inch long and approx 3 hours later started swimming properly and looking abit better. He has the occassional twitch where he lays on he's side but things are looking up.

When I asked what he had done and what he added into his tank he replied, nothing otherthan feeding him peas on a cocktail stick, he said if it hadnt had helped he was going to go down the chemical route to try and help him.

So it was the snail causing constispation?? I replied, he confirmed that it was looking 99% sure that it was the snail causing his issues, but wanted to keep him in for another couple of days just to monitor him.

I am so glad that he's making a recovery, everywhere I looked for info / help couldnt really nail the diagnosis on the head, and with so many suggestions it was making everything so confusing.

Anyway, Ill report in again when I get him home to let you know how he's getting on.

Thankyou ever so much for the kind PM's and messages left on this post and thanks to those that tried to help, its really helped.

Ill update in a couple of days.
Cheers

Add this to yet another of the many reasons MTS snails should not be kept with puffers.

I had a similar thing happen to one of my SAP's, but it was a box elder beetle that fell in the tank, and it did not pass. Autopsy after death, the entire beetle was undigested and stuck.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed nothing internally was damaged too much by the passing of the snail! Keep us updated.

( and I told you to feed peas LOL)

I'm glad that it seems you've found the reason for your puffer's illness, and I hope he continues to improve! Very good news (and I have been praying too!).

I tried to tell someone not to feed their puffer MTS and they said it was all old wives tales about them being bad for puffers. Well I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I've always stayed away from them. All it takes is one and that proves the theory is right. I'm not prepared to take that chance and jeopardise my puffer's health.

Go Puffdaddy go!

Probably something more peas & Epsom salt would have cured. I'm really glad he's OK. This is why it's best to feed snails only as big as their eye or crush them. Not that I don't think this guy watching him doesn't know what he's doing but just be sure he is doing daily WC on that QT.

Wow. I would never have expected that. All the way to the end, I thought it had to be something else. Wow! I'm so glad he's improving!!!

Hi All

Havent been on for a while, backed up with work etc.

thought Id give you an update.
Puffdaddy is absolutley fine since weve had him back, ive been monitoring his Water conditions and his feeding and he id doing great, I introduced LARGE ramshorn snails back into his diet and he loves them, everything is going well for the little dude.

Oh and have been watching his tank for MTS's but thankfully none so far lol.

So thats about all I can tell you really, he's back live and kicking and quickly getting his funny old character back.

Thanks for the help guys, was much appreciated.

Take Care
Dan