The Puffer Forum

Hi everyone,

I hate that this is my first post, but unfortunately my Figure 8 puffer died last night. I had him for about three weeks. He seemed perfectly fine, he wasn't exhibiting any symptoms or anything, then I came home from class and he was listless on the bottom. He perked up a little after I hung out by the tank, and then I fed him and he ate, although not as aggressively as normal. I tested all of the water conditions and they seemed to be fine. PH was 7.8, SG 1.004, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates around 10, 76 degrees. I'm not sure what happened. It's a 10 gallon tank that he lived in by himself, I fed him 6 days a week, bloodworms usually, but a snail every few days. Weekly water changes around 50%. Last water change was Saturday. No products added to the tank. The aquarium has been set up for about two months, it was cycled freshwater, and the puffer was added in fresh water because he was in fresh water at the store. I slowly brought the SG up to where it was over the course of the 3 weeks I had him. I know that he can't be resurrected, but I was wondering: 1. Is there something else that I could have done, or should I just chalk this one up to bad luck? 2. If there was some parasite in the tank that killed him somehow, how do I clean the tank to start over? Is there a way to disinfect the live plants?

Sorry about the long post I tried to give as much detail as possible. I'm glad to be a new member of the Forum, hopefully in the future I'll have happier posts

Thank you in advance,
Keith

Sory to hear that I can't see that you have done anything wrong from the details you have given and an infection of some kind would have given you cuse for concern a while ago. Was his poo normal, any visible signs like rubbing or flicking against decor. Also did you treat the water with Prime or something simlar before adding to the tank?

My hunch is that it could just be down to bad luck

Welcome to the forum!
Sorry about your loss. Chances are his death was uncontrollable. It could have been IPs or he was an unhealthy fish and didn't ship well.

sooo sorry for your loss. I had the same thing happen. I chock it up to these guys go through *So* much stress in their little lives, getting caught, shipped shipped shipped, dunked into a tank, taken care of by untrained personell with a bunch of people walking by, some kids might bang on the glass and go FISHIEFISHIEFISHIE!!! and then the transfer to your home...it's just too much for them...

It kinda chafes when you do everything *right* and they just..up and die isn't it?? it hits you right in the gut...

I would be very tempted to get another one as the tank is cycled and see if you have any joy, maybe reduce the SG a bit before hand though

I guess I feel a little better knowing that it probably wasn't something negligent on my part, I'd hate to think I killed him. I will probably get another but I'm nervous that there's something in the tank that might be causing the problem. He wasn't rubbing against the decorations or anything. He was breathing very rapidly last night before I went to bed, but other than that and not moving much when I got home no other signs, and then I woke up and he was dead. Too bad there isn't a shrugging shoulders smiley, cuz I don't really know what else it could be. I know sometimes that's just what happens, but as this was my first brackish tank, I wanted to make sure there wasn't something stupid I was missing. Thanks for the condolences, it seems like there's a great community here, I'm glad to be a part of it.

I agree with Pandora, these fish are all wild caught and go through so much stress.. short of internal parasites there's not much we can treat for when they aren't showing any obvious signs of problems. But sometimes the stress from the whole capture/transport/sale/new tank process is too much for them.

At least he died in a good home

yeah me too, I'm amazed that they make it over in one peice, for some its just too much

We call that SPDS (sudden puffer death syndrome). You did everything perfect, but sometimes there are unforseen problems, as listeed above, when dealing with wild-caught fish. Short of a autospy done by an Ichthyologist, we'll never know...

Hey PufferPunk,

I did alot of research before I bought my puffer and I saw your name all over the place. It's an honor to meet you

-Keith

one of the only disinfectents ive ever been told of and used is diluted vinegar and water. im not sure if live plants will be ok with this.

im sorry you lost your little pal its sad!