The Puffer Forum

So, this morning - Golfball, our 4" GSP was on his side, breathing very very heavy. He was a bit bloated, but not puffed. However, he had a white tummy! I always thought that the 'white tummy' was a good sign. I got scared ... since just last night I did a water change, and I thought maybe I put too much NovAqua in ... I did a quick 50% water change. Waited. The readings were all fine (Nitra, Nitri near 0, Amo 0, etc.). Also thought maybe I added too much salt during last nights water change ...

Waited a few hours, left him alone ...

Returned to find him no longer on his side, but swimming. However, now his tummy is dark, as in stressed. Didn't want to futz with the water too much more ... but not knowing what else to do. I've had him for about 3 years - been very healthy otherwize ...

Just keeping an eye on him. Comments, advice, welcome! Live pix of him below - press F5 to refresh. Or view live: http://www.sandeeland.com/FishCam/





Pix of Golfball on a good day ...

Also thought maybe I added too much salt during last nights water change ...

What SG is he at?

How often do you feed your gsp? Nice cams by the way. Your porc came around to say hi.

On the last pic, he seems a bit fat. I haven't had the chance to see him on your webcams yet.

BTW your Fahaka is just lovely. He/she made a wonderful appearance in front of one of your cameras! Like he/she was teasing me: "I know your are there. Loooook how beautiful I am!"

Pufferpunk wrote:

Also thought maybe I added too much salt during last nights water change ...

What SG is he at?

It's shy of 1.010-ish. Not fully Brackish for sure ... but he started out in Freshwater 3 years ago, and only over the past 6 months or so, have I been gradually adding salt. It was only yesterday, that he freaked out.

Hey guys! Thanks for visiting my FishCams - YES, Chompers, the Fahaka is great ... I like that view ... he hangs out in that corner during the day. And yes too - Mr. Fish, the Porc, is very friendly. You should also be able to see the new Blue Box and Dog face on FishCam #6. #2 hosts Mr. Burr, our baby Burr fish ...

I've turned the lights off on #1, where Golfball is, for now.

Troender wrote:On the last pic, he seems a bit fat. I haven't had the chance to see him on your webcams yet.

BTW your Fahaka is just lovely. He/she made a wonderful appearance in front of one of your cameras! Like he/she was teasing me: "I know your are there. Loooook how beautiful I am!"

He's always been chubby, but not exploding-like fat. Right now, he does appear bloated. I'm reluctant to add any Epsom salt, re: constipation. But.

Adding Epsom salt will help fix his constipation, if that's what he has. It also will not hurt your tank (especially since there is already salt in it). Just add 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salt per 10 gallons of water. Also try feeding live Daphnia, as I've heard that can help.

If he's breathing heavily, you might try adding an airstone that produces very fine bubbles (or push the air into a powerhead to chop up the bubbles).

What his main diet? What did he eat a couple days before experiencing this?

After he starts to feel better, I'd start increasing the salinity of his tank by 0.001 SG until you reach marine, then begin use a skimmer and live rock. At 4 inches, he probably would prefer to be in a higher salinity, and although you could simply bring it to around 1.015 SG, it is much cheaper to switch to LR and skimmer in the long run.

<< Just add 1 tablespoon of Epsom Salt per 10 gallons of water >>

Brand new box of Epsom salt - will work on that now.

<< If he's breathing heavily, you might try adding an airstone that produces very fine bubbles >>

Did that right away ... bubble are fine and plentiful ...

<< What his main diet? What did he eat a couple days before experiencing this? >>

Fresh Krill, fresh clam on shell, and clam strips. A good, varied diet. I feed him one small-ish piece, per day.

Yes, will bring the SG up a bit, slowly. But wow - very scary. He's still not doing well. His eyes are clear, but bloated and dark tummy-tum-tum

Thanks VERY much for the comments. Live pix below. Don't be put off by the tank behind him ... those are his African Cichlid friends ...

Yeah, he doesn't look like he's doing too well.

Did you test the Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate? What were your readings (in PPM)? If there is any reading in Nitrite, that could be causing him his problems.

Is it possible even one small piece of food a day is too much? At 4 inches it is recommended to feed a puffer every 2 days or so.

I think I figured out what *I* did ... I over 'salted' during Saturday's water change!

I'm sorta blaming my husband here, but it's my fault. He bought a different brand of marine salt recently ... Tropic Marin Sea Salt vs the standard Coralife. Tropic Marin has various trace elements and is more concentrated - basically less salt needed. I may have dosed too much and it could have sent Golfball in a spin. I've since done a number of water changes to equalize the environment. And ... he's starting to come around, thanks fully!

He still has a dark tummy, but acting WAY better. Hasn't started eating yet, but that's ok for now.

Wow. Still keeping an eye on everything - but definitly think it was the change in the salt. Thanks again for everyone's comments and advice! Lights off at 11pm, live pix below.

Wow, you're wasting a TON of $$ on that specialty salt. I don't even use that in my reef tanks.

Instant Ocean salt is where it's at. Decent price, can purchase it in large quantities, and works well.

Also, if the salinity of the water changed by more than 0.002 SG, it probably caused some of the bacteria to die off, which would have caused a mini-cycle (hence why he'd have a black belly). Doing a couple water changes probably removed those excess toxins.

Generally, puffers can handle the changes in salinity (they're built to do it), but they can't tolerate the toxins that come along with rapid salinity changes in aquariums.

Glad to hear that he seems to be feeling better, though! ^_^

Very sad. Since posting his condition in early September - he hadn't started eating, and wasn't doing any better. Tried everything everyone suggested. Thanks so much. Found him this morning, must have gone to Puffer heaven last night.

I named him Golfball - since he was big and round, with spots. He had a good life ... below, a picture I took the day I got him.

Well, we're still very happy to have our other Puffers - and will continue to take good care of those guys!

Sorry to hear that. It's always sad when a puffer friend passes away.