The Puffer Forum

Im Alfie and i need ur help i have these on my side and not sure what they are and whats the best way to get rid of them i have some pics of them so you can see. They have only appeared in the last 48 hrs

Tank size 100 gallon
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrates 0
Ph 7.2

15% water changed weekly

I have put some better pics in my album please have a look matt77

They look like spikes almost. Do they wiggle/move, or are they rigid?

no they dont move but just go with the current

Although I've never seen anything like it, it looks to be to be some sort of parasite. I'd treat with Prazipro.

Do you think it may have something to do with it just laying eggs recently?

All puffers have spines, but on many species you just can't see them usually. I would assume its probably an irritated spine.. sort of like an ingrown hair?

Keep the water prisine, consider doing larger water changes (usually with puffers, we suggest 50% a week, no matter what your nitrates). See if they clear up. If they don't or more start to show up, I'd start to wonder about parasites.

Are you sure your nitrates are zero? I have a hard time believing they are that low with a ton of eggs purged into the tank.. or did you remove the eggs?

yunachin wrote:Do you think it may have something to do with it just laying eggs recently?

It could be something to do with it i just dont know

Myaj wrote:All puffers have spines, but on many species you just can't see them usually. I would assume its probably an irritated spine.. sort of like an ingrown hair?

Keep the water prisine, consider doing larger water changes (usually with puffers, we suggest 50% a week, no matter what your nitrates). See if they clear up. If they don't or more start to show up, I'd start to wonder about parasites.

Are you sure your nitrates are zero? I have a hard time believing they are that low with a ton of eggs purged into the tank.. or did you remove the eggs?

Yes i cleaned out all the eggs it took about two days to get them all

Good job, that would have really been bad if they all started rotting.

Did a quick search, and here's some of the things I found that seemed related:

(http://arowana8.tripod.com/Arowana/diseases.html)

Anchor Worm
It lives on the fins or in partially embedded into the fish body. Spike about 1 cm long, grows on it's head which are used to absorb nutrition directly from the Arowana's body. The infected area swells and becomes ulcerated. An infected Arowana becomes impatient with less appetite and begins rubbing its body in a bid to get rid of the parasite.



This site contains a good reference picture with some ideas on how to cure it: http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Anchor%20Worm.html


Pictures only show so much, so you'll have to confirm if this looks like anchor worms.

They don't really look like anchor worms to me...if they are, they're in awefully deep!

IDK, that actually might be it. Ouch!

If they are, you actually have to remove them with a pair of pliers. Poor fish, better make absolutely sure they're anchor worms before you go tugging on them!

Yeah, I agree, you really need to take a close look. I've never seen stuff like this before, so I really have no idea what it is.