The Puffer Forum

I have a F8 puffer that I bought recently. I have had it for about a month. Recently, the puffer has been displaying unusual behavior. He often looks lethargic and sits on the bottom of the tank. His tail fin is almost always clamped. I have been feeding the puffer frozen brine shrimp and mussels. In the past he had a good appetite but now he seems uninterested in food. Sometimes he keeps his tail twisted to one side. In addition, the puffer sometimes shakes in a weird motion. What could be the problem? I have checked water parameters and they seem fine (ammonia 0, nitrite 0, salinity 1.005, ph 7.8, temperature 76 F). My tank holds 15 gallons of water and the puffer is the sole inhabitant. I change about 20% of the water once a week and I use Novaqua+ and Instant Ocean sea salt for the water. I cycled the tank by using a filter from another tank that was already cycled.

what's the nitrate reading? The other parameters look ok.

was there any recent large changes in any of the parameters? more specifically, ph or salinity? Also, how do you add the salt?

yeah if the Nitrates are high that could cause the puffer problems, though if you do water changes it shouldn't be too high. Is ti possible that some parasites have been introduced into the tank? Any live food been added in the past?

I do not think there were recent changes in my parameters. I do not have a test for nitrate, but I don't think it should be high since I am doing weekly water changes. I prepare new water by dechlorinating tap water and then adding the salt. When it's well mixed I check the specific gravity before I add the water to the tank.

I do think that my puffer may have parasites, but I have no idea how he got them. I have not fed him live foods. Today, I noticed that his white belly has an area that is red. There are also some small, thin, brown things attached that are maybe 2 mm in length. I do not have a camera, otherwise I would post some pictures. When I discovered this today I bought some Parasite Clear tabs made by Jungle Labs and used that to treat the water. The ingredients are: praziquantel; N-[[(N-Chlorophenyl)amino]carbon 1]-2,6-difluorobenzamide; metronidazole; acriflavine. Was this the appropriate thing to do?