The Puffer Forum

we have a porccupine puffer that has a promanate hump on the right side of his bak. we do not know what it is, we have tryed antibiotics with no results. any help in what the hump is and what we can do we don't want to be inhumane but he is our pet and we want to make him better if possible.




-90 gallon FOWLR
-no nitrates, amonia small trace amount of phosphate.

How's his appetite? Could be some kind of cyst--I've heard of these just going away after time. Could you post a pic?

well its either internal parasties (very possible since all puffers are wild caught) or being in too small of a tank for a while or even now. they need space and if it is in a bigger tank it will lengthen out within a week of being that way if its parasites then it will need meds for that, try getting the food based ones and sticking them in shrimp or other food.

you also say its the right side, does it have trouble swimming? or seem to bob in the water? if so it has an air bubble in its stomach or god forbid its intestines and needs to be literally burped.

gently grab the puffer and apply very easy pressure it should puff up (inflate) fairly fast, as soon as it starts donig that point the mouth straight up, and keep pressure up(do release your grip and allow his inflating to open your hand into a ball shape as he gets bigger. A porc inflating is a very painful experiance if you dont allow him to inflate fully as the spines can break skin. )

Painful how?

I though puffing is defensive but does not cause any physical pain for the puff.

things you learn, eh!


thanks!


Js

he has actually already puffed since the hump has appeared. he is not acting as he usually does and is not eating. I add vitamins in my tank anyway so he is getting some (though not enough) nutrition. He is in a ninety gallon tank and is only about 5 inches long.

try what i said and burp him its really is the best way to do it.

and yes it does harm the puffer not only in creating stress.

do this simple test and you will see. puff out your cheeks
now take both hands and push the cheeks inward like you are trying to deflate them.

KEEP YOUR CHEEKS PUFFED AND PUSH AS HARD AS YOU CAN TIL YOUR CHEEKS DEFLATE

that hurts right? if not it should hurt as your cheeks are being stretched and squished at the same time.

same thing with puffers. it actually strains their muscles and can pull or tear them.

we are going to do it tomorrow only b/c the porc has puffed today and yesterday. should we worry about ourselves getting poked with his spikes?

Is he swimming normally?

hes been bobbing around at the serface. but yesterday after he puffed he was lying on the bottom of the tank and today he's moved himself into a hole in the rocks.

I really would leave him alone, if he has expelled the air he might have swallowed. Like I said, I have heard of puffers having a bump/cyst similar to this & it went away as mysteriously at it had appeared. Check WetWebMedia's FAQs for this.

if he bobs at the surface he has an air pocket, many puffers will hide in the rocks so that they are not pulled to the surface by the bubble, if he does rise up too fast its time to burp him please see post above .

Puffing in the water is not painful for puffers in that it is full normal action. Puffing in air is not good for puffers because they are aquatic critters and the stomach inflation mechanism is not designed to expell air - with air in their stomach they cannot swim normally nor maintain their orientation in the water and may die of exhaustion and terror/stress resulting from that.

No pressure is required to burp a puffer other than the absolute minimum required to keep them in mouth-up postion while they burp out the air.

But I am confused - what does a a lump/cyst/parasite on the puffer have to do with burping the fish? And how did it swallow air?

I was wondering the same thing.

we are not sure. before he got the bump he would beg at the surface of the tank. we are hopping he will be able to expell the air. and with him puffing twice (that we saw) in two days, maybe he's trying to expell the air himself but each time he has puffed he has pointed him head down. today he's put himself on the bottom of the tank, he's not looking so good and he is geting picked at by his tank mates. we have to do something burping him is the last thing we have to try. he did have a course of antibiotics. we don't want to but we can't let him suffer. so if this burping dosn't work.........nevermind we'll deal with that if needed later. thankl you for all the advise