The Puffer Forum

Hi
I have a well established tank, 18 US G, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10 with 3 dwarf puffers ( one male and 2 females) all of which we have had for 3 years. One of the girls had a problem with her eye about 2 years ago and has acted a little odd ever since ( I think she lost some of her sight her behaviour changed from being quite friendly to being quite skittish and she became quite elusive) Anyway to cut a long story short, the puffer with the odd behaviour is now behaving even odder!!
She spends most of her time at very strange angles leaning against a plant or the side of the tank ( not unlike a pleco) several times I have thought she was dead as she was laying upside down but as soon as she see's me she swims away. If she swims slowly she swims at a rather jaunty angle although if she swims quickly she looks almost normal. She is feeding well and chases the other two away at dinner time so I don't think she feels unwell.
I am assuming this is either a swim bladder problem or she is getting old ( she was the 'runt' when we bought her, bless her!!) but I am wondering if there is anything I should be doing to help her in any way. The other two puffers are absolutely fine, and aren't harrassing her at all ( apart from a little bit of flirting from the male which doesn't seem to bother her too much ) and I said she holds her own at dinner time.
Anyway I am leaving her and the tank well alone for now but if anyone has any thoughts I would love to hear them
Thanks
Regards
Sue

Hi Sue. Sorry to hear your little girl is acting funny.

Maybe she has an internal tumor that is pressing on her organs or even a fin muscle, causing her a bit of trouble with swimming properly. What was the cause of the problem with her eye, do you know? Injury, infection, etc?

Other than keeping the water quality really good and watching out for the other puffers picking on her, I can't really think of what else you could try. Does she look bloated at all? If so, maybe a bit of constipation...

Her eye became very swollen,it looked like a bubble! but I am not sure if was an infection or an injury, it recovered of its own accord but she was never the same really.We wondered if she had some kind of brain damage or something. She is eating well and doesn't seem to have a swollen tummy or anything. Her colours are normally quite dull compared to the other two but her tummy is very white and apaprt from the swimming at a strange angle and the resting in odd positions, she is behaving as she has done for the last couple of years .
I look out for her every day, and I don't think she is suffering, I hope not anyway!!
Sue

Sadley our little girl died today. We came home from a day out and she was laying on the stones upside down and barely breathing, when I touched her she swam round in circles very disorientated and obviously very unwell,and didn't respond to food. we took the difficult decision to euthanase her. When she was in the container we could see an obvious lump on her back, to one side so I guess maybe she did have a tumour.
She is in fishy heaven now.
RIP Cream Puff

So sorry she went through all that.

Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, it does sound like she had a tumor, possibly more of them inside her (I was wondering if that might have been what irritated her eye in the first place).

I had to do the same with my one female goldfish, her tumors got so bad she coudln't swim after food anymore. Hand feeding her was keeping her alive, but I figured they were hurting her inside.