The Puffer Forum

Hy all!

I have a very big problem! I have two arrowhead puffer, they are very big (about 10 centimetres)
They haven’t aten for 5 days! I feel they are going to die soon, becouse they don’t swim, just lie. They seems very sick. Their colour is normal, they eyes are clean. They’re just moving their fins, but they don’t move about five days.
Usually they eat red mosquito larva, becouse this is their favorite food. My other puffers (collomesus, dwarves) eat it too, but they are ok!
Please help me!
Like them, and I don’t want they die!

Ps: I own them for six months, and before this, they haven’t any problems ..

(Sorry for my english, I’m a hungarian girl)

What size tank are they in? Any tankmates? What are the water perams?

Please try to answer all the questions above, in red.

Five days is nothing and in fact IMO they should be fed no more than once or twice a week.I feed all mine once.

Hi,
Their tank measures 80 litres, I change more than 1/3 of it once a week.
The temperature of the water is 27-28 C.
I don't know any other parameters, because I have emptied the tank and put them into a smaller one since they seemed to be in a really bad condition. (Thus I can observe them)
One of them is so weak now that it comes up to the surface and is only floating.
I have fed them almost every day, just a little, and they have eaten well. This is why I think the problem to be serious, they have not eaten for a week. They move only a little, and do not even swim from my hand.
What should I do?
Please, help me!

80L is about 20g which is only large enough for 1 of these fish. How did you cycle the tank? You have to find out what the parameters are, before we can help you. I would put at least 1 of them back into the larger tank. How big is the smaller one?

Once you find how your water is and straighten any problems out there you might want to consider feeding something a little larger. My arrowhead is only slightly smaller than what you say yours are and he wouldn't give larvae a second glance as food but will happily take on a crayfish half his size!

Hi

There is a hydor R05 duo II in their tank, and a lot of wood and plants.
Today I tried again to give them something to eat, but they didn’t eat.
I touched the smaller one (the bigger is about 10 cm, the smaller is about 8 cm) with my finger, and then she started to swim upside down and inordinately and fast and she swim and hit to the side of the tank. After this she started to float again…
In our country doesn’t any medicine for puffers. what do I give to them?
What can I do for them?

Sounds to me like the one on the top inhaled air. Maybe they all did? Were they netted out of the tank or scooped in the bag?

Yes, when I put them out of their tank, (and put them into a smaller one since they seemed to be in a really bad condition) I used „net”. But the other, the bigger one is not floating. He is just beeing at the bottom of the tank.

And if she inhaled air, what do I do?
What do You think: why don’t they eat for a week?

It's hard to swim & catch food with air in your belly. There is an article on air-filled puffers in our Library.

Most the time if they inhale air you can actually see the air bubble. Do they have any tumorish looking things on them?

I did what the article said, but nothing..
It wasn't any bubble
They still don't eat, and they are so soft and they don't move.

Could be severe internal parasites.