Tank info.
78 deg. SG is 1.019 pH 8.3 , Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates 0. 15-20 percent water changes are done every 2-3 weeks 150 gallon tank. With Protien skimmer. Tank mates pink tail triggerfish and 1 dogface puffer
I had started feeding my niger triger about 1 week ago marine cuisine and the puffer in question had ate some of the food that is the only thing that is out of the norm. I noticed 3 days ago that my puffer was not swimming as much breathing harder and didn't seem to have any interest in the food, thawed shrimp with shell on, krill, squid.like he normally does. Just stayed curled up with bloated stomach in the corner of the tank. Since I was planning on breaking down the tank that these two fish are in and adding them to my 220 that houses a porcupine puff, Niger triggerfish, Foxface Lo and 1 dogface puffer. I went ahead and checked the levels and temp of the tanks and they were exactly the same except for the SG the 220 was 1.023 so it was a bit higher, I got them into huge plastic containers and floated them and slowly added water from the 220 till the container matched the tank. This was over about 2 hours. I also added stress coat to the water that is made for saltwater use. Since his stomach looked so lumpy/bloated I held him in my hand and with is head up gently rubbed his tummy upwards to expell any air he might have trapped. Nothing came out. At this time his eyes were fine not as bright but not swollen. When released into the tank he just found a corner and laid there breating harder than normal like he had been doing in his previous tank. But he has been swimming around more but still stays at the bottom of the tank. I get up today and his left eye is swollen I don't know if it is a injury or parasite, or just stress from moving to a new tank, I have not seen any "fish fights" everone is getting along fine. The other dogface has actually curled up in the same cave with the new dogface to sleep. I just don't know what to do at this point. It seems like he is breathing out his mouth more than his gills, I have watched him for hours I can't see anything in his gills , redness and he is not scraching or rubbing against anything. I will continue to use a variety of different foods to entice him to eat but he really has not interest in it at all. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Dogface puffer stopped eating, now has swollen eye
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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SaltwaterPufferGirl
- Dwarf Puffer
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Re: Dogface puffer stopped eating, now has swollen eye
Err, my two cents worth? IP? Intestinal parasite. bloated stomach and all.
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yunachin
- Former Staff Member
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Re: Dogface puffer stopped eating, now has swollen eye
A shrunken stomach would indicate an internal parasite. The swollen eye could be a bacterial infection called Exophthalmia or "pop-eye". A picture, would help confirm this. It could also be caused by bumping into things or even from an attack from the trigger. I would get him into a quarantine tank and treat him with some Metronidazole and Nitrofuranace, which you can find at your LFS.
E.Ridgeway
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Pufferpunk
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Re: Dogface puffer stopped eating, now has swollen eye
I PMed PQ on this one.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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yunachin
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1753
- Joined: Fri Nov 09, 2007 1:33 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 1x A. Meleagris (Golden)
2x Tetraodon nigroviridis
1x Tetraodon lineatus
1x A. hispidus
2x Takifugu Ocellatus
9x Tetraodon biocellatus
1x Canthigaster solandri
1x Diodon Holocanthus
2x A. nigropunctatus
1x Tetraodon miurus
1x Irrubesco - Location (country): USA
- Location: SC
Re: Dogface puffer stopped eating, now has swollen eye
Yes, PufferQueen would know the exact answer.
E.Ridgeway