The Puffer Forum

HI, we have had our puffer for about 8 day's , in the last two day's we noticed a spot on his back it was about hte size of a nickel then , it's growing by the hour !!!!

i have a pic i am going to try to post it ... first time ....

HELP ............................anyone??

thanks !

Does it look like golden dust on there? My guess, with as fast as it's spreading, is velvet.

Thats what happened to my baby valentini puffer. She died within days. She developed the same spot also. It covered pretty much her whole body.

I would find a way to get rid of it fast!

Could it be some sort of fungus?

Thanks everyone ......................

what's velvet?

and Does anyone know how this is caused ???

I cant find anything about it on the Net... UMPH Kinda fustrating !!!!!

You haven't answered any of the questions we have asked.

Does it look like golden dust on there? No...it's black and looks like his skin.Excuse my ignorance but i dont have a clue what VELVET is ??


Could it be some sort of fungus? It looks like a big bruise , like he's bleeding from the inside ! I am trying to help him , but it seems no one knows what to do ... me neither !

We mean the water parameters above in red.

Velvet is a fast-moving parasite that eats away at the skin of a fish & does it very quickly. Looks like a dusting on the skin.

I suggest posting your Q here: http://forum.marinedepot.com/Forum10-1.aspx
Also, look thru that forum for similar problems & the solutions Kelly offered.

I've been searching that forum & am on page 13 w/o finding anything like your problem. Hopefully Kelly is around there soon & can answer you if you post there.

I found a few things:
The dusky grey patches can also be parasitic or bacterial. Maracyn is erythromycin which is good for gram positive bacteria - unfortunately most bacterial infections in saltwater tanks are gram negative. I recommend maracyn 2 (minocycline), nitrofurazone or kanamycin. Enrofloxacin (baytril) is an excellent choice as well unfortunately, trying to get a fish to ingest it is not easy. Adding it to the water is suboptimal & expensive. Injection is a good route, unfortunately not easily done with active fish.

Treatment recommendations - remove all fish from the tank & let it go fallow (fishless) for 4 - 6 weeks to rid the tank from parasites. Parasites will continue to live as long as there are fish. Treat all of the fish as if they have parasites for 4 - 6 weeks. I would recommend treating the firefish & mandarin in a separate tank with hyposalinity. The tangs, I would recommend in another tank with hyposalinity. If the areas in question begin to spread or change in color - consider adding an antibiotic. Make sure these tanks are bare bottom, with good aeration. Daily water changes and checking of pH & ammonia.

Enrich the diets with beta glucan, selcon & vitamins.

Maybe Brooklynella Hostilis or Costia infection? Look here: http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseas ... rders.html

Here's some info about velvet...

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/disease/p/velvet.htm

http://www.aboutfishonline.com/articles ... elvet.html

What's in Revive?

Bacterial in my opinion... needs antibiotic treatment in hospital tank or antibiotic baths ASAP.

...and Revive claims to be reef safe, which would me think about its effectivity vs. bacteria which are everywhere in a reef tank...