The Puffer Forum

A friend of mine recently got a burrfish, and I have noticed that over the last week or so, it has swelled up. His face almost looks like a cabbage patch kid. Could this be dropsy? Or would his spines be sticking out? He is about an inch and one quarter long, currently in QT being treated for ich, I believe quick ich was used for two days. SG was about 1.015 at the lowest point of his treatment. (osmoregulation issues?) He is eating krill, and acting pretty normal, but his face is almost twice as big as it used to be. He also looks like he might be constipated? Could this be causing him to swell? I gave him some Garlic Guard to soak the krill in a few days ago. He won't eat peas. Any ideas on whether it could be just stuffed up or what a burrfish with dropsy would look like? I will try to get a pic.

If its eating krill, its likely constipation is a problem. Krill isn't a good staple, it causes constipation and malnutrition. Epson salt works for freshwater fish that won't eat peas, not sure about saltwater fish though.

If it is a C. schoepfii, the low sg wouldn't be the issue. They are often found in estuaries and river mouths. Is it just the face that is swelled? Could be an infection.

picture would help!

Secondary bacterial infections are common after external parasite infections.

Is it a Burrfish or a Porcupine Puffer? I noticed you asked, "Or would his spines be sticking out" leading me to believe it's a porc of some sort as Burrfish's spines always point out rather than laying flat like Porcs. If it is a C. shoepfi then as Spoot pointed out the low SG wouldn't be an issue. I kept mine at 1.009 for more than 4 weeks to treat ich and he didn't seem to suffer one bit from the salinity.

Regardless, a photo will really help us identify the problem, but I think Spoot & P_Q may be right that it could be an infection.

I dont' really have any advice, but my avatar is a burrfish's face, if that helps at all!

It is definately a burr, I believe it is schoepfi. The swelling has gone down, but he did get stuck to the filter today. Had to pull him off, but now he is swimming normally. ON a good note, ich is gone.