The Puffer Forum

1. Ph = 7.8, ammonia = 0, nitrite = .2, nitrate = 5, salinity = 1.007 ( nitrate and nitrite are normal, straight from the tap like this)
2. 10 gallon brackish with 1 figure 8 puffer
3. Gets a couple snails every other day and a freeze dried krill twice a week, tank gets cleaned once a week and amquel is used to condition the water (snails come from my 55 gallon freshwater community tank)
4. No changes other than water changes in months.
5. This aquarium has had fish in it since last February but became a brackish, puffer only tank octobersih, after some mishaps with tank mates in a 20 gallon. Tank was cycled by using media, water and gravel from an existing tank.

Ok the problem now. My puffer was perfectly fine and happy, then I went out of town for a week for Christmas. When I came back his belly was no longer round, but I figured that it was since he hadn't eaten in a week. I fed him a krill, which he bit and made a loud fizz/electric shock type noise, his stomach got huge, he went upside down and he had problems swimming. I took the krill out, turned off the filter and bubbler and after about 10 min he went back to normal. Since then I've done water changes and bought him new krill which he has eaten fine till last night when the same thing happened. Its really scary I thought he was gonna die! He chases after his snails and acts the same as usual, the only thing is that his belly isn't rounded but its still pretty white, he's looking kinda anorexic, except for just after he's eaten. Is this a parasite or something else? What can I do for him and should I stop feeding him krill?

I've been doing some reading on here, but haven't found anything yet.

[b] I fed him a krill, which he bit and made a loud fizz/electric shock type noise, his stomach got huge, he went upside down and he had problems swimming.[/b]

I have no explanation for this. Never heard of that before maybe someone else can chime in and help you.

I took the krill out, turned off the filter and bubbler and after about 10 min he went back to normal.

Did you soak the krill before feeding. Maybe he swalloed air when he ate it. If he was back to normal in 10 min. that's all I can think of.

Since then I've done water changes and bought him new krill which he has eaten fine till last night when the same thing happened. Its really scary I thought he was gonna die!

Are you feeding him anything other than krill for his main diet? He really needs more variety. Krill is not a good staple food.

He chases after his snails and acts the same as usual, the only thing is that his belly isn't rounded but its still pretty white, he's looking kinda anorexic, except for just after he's eaten. Is this a parasite or something else?

As long as he's eating you can soak any food you give him in geltek ultra cure px. My puffer's don't mind the taste of it. Have you ever treated your puffer for IP's before?

No I don't soak the krill, I give it to him straight from the can. His main diet is snails he only gets krill 1-2 times a week. I used to give him ghost shrimp but then I read that those weren't good for him? I thought it might have been air too since it happed almost immediately.

I've never treated him for anything before, he's been perfectly happy. Thats why I'm not even sure he has parasites.

Most puffers are wild caught and have IP's. It's best to always treat a puffer for IP's rather you think they have them or not. It won't hurt him to treat him.
When you feed freeze-dried food you must soak it in tank water before feeding so that your puffer does not injest air.
Here's an article about feeding your puffer, most food you can find either in the fresh seafood department of the local grocery store or in the frozen department:
library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/

How do I feed him those? I've read that he should be eating that, but he has trouble with larger snails, how do I feed him something thats bigger than him? ( not that he won't try, he used to attack my apple snail that was 3 times as big as him at the time)

Crab: You could buy 1 crab at a time. Take it home pull the legs and pinchers off and cut the bodies into pieces, then freeze in a ziploc bag for future feeding.

Clams and Mussel: before freezing pull most of the meat off the shell, leaving just a small bit that the puffer will have to scrape his teeth to get it. You can cut the meat into chunks for feeding later. Some lfs sell clams on the half shell and they are much smaller than the kind you will find in the grocery store, you can find these in their freezer.

Shrimp: Buy just a few shrimp cut it up in pieces and feed your pufer a small piece at a time.

Earthworms: Rinse well then feed.

Thanks for all the help

I bought some jungle tabs - it had 2 of the medicines listed from the IP article in the library.

I also went to grocery store and bought him some clams, mussels, and shrimp. I pulled out the clam meat and gave him the shells to scrape. He was sooooo cute swimming inside the clam I tried to get a pic. I think the clam could have eaten him.
Sorry the pics are so blurry, but you can still see his flat belly. This is after all he could eat clam yesterday and a snail to get him to stay still while i took the pic today.

He's such a cutie. Just follow the directions and keep treating him. He will pass the ip's.

I bet he enjoyed that clam. There was a picture somewhere on this forum where someone's puffer was inside the clam shell, it was the cutest thing. Or it might have been a video. It's been a while since I've seen it. Anyway I sure hope your little guy get's better soon. Keep us posted. And if you can get that picture I would love to see it.

Yes, he is definately way too thin.

Can you get a more clear shot of his face? That top picture looks like his mouth is stretched way open, which could mean his teeth are overgrown and he can't eat properly (the teeth grating together is probably the noise you heard, my Figure 8 does that quite often). Unless he was just rubbing his lips on the glass or something? I would highly suggest taking a close look at those teeth though, they look like they could be a huge problem if he looks like that all the time.

How are you using the Jungle Clear Tabs? To treat IP's, you really need to be able to get the fish to eat food soaked in the medication, which is why we're all liking the GelTek Ultra Cure PX so much, you drip it on the food, let it soak in, and the fish gobble it right down. Most other meds taste horrible and you have trouble getting them to eat it.

I have a GSP that looks the EXACT same way and I have been trying to figure out what is wrong with him. The sunk in tummy and he is just annorexic looking! Let me know what you find about helping them! Ill go to the store tomorrow to get some stuff if it will help! Thanks!

cphipps70, Just read the IP article in our Library for all the info you'll need.

Ditto. I've used Gel-Tek Ultra Cure Px, and it was awesome. The directions say to drop it into the water, but my fish never, ever look twice at it and it didn't work so well. When I soaked the food in it, though, they went after it just fine. It's fairly cheap and lasts quite a long time. I bought a bottle of it (I think 4 oz, maybe less) back in like June and I've used it for 2 puffers (F8s), a betta, and some tetras, and I can barely see any difference in the level in the bottle. I did also soak the food in some Garlic Extreme to help encourage feeding.

I also think you should take a close look at those teeth. It's hard to tell in the pics, but he looks a lot like my puff did just before I had to trim his teeth. Avoid that at all costs, so stressful. I almost had to repeat the procedure because I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. Fortunately, I was able to trim just enough that he could more easily grab the snails, etc and his teeth trimmed down naturally. Thank god. Good luck with your little cutie!

I am getting a little worried about their teeth! Im really trying to get something they can eat that will naturally trim down their teeth but it is so difficult to do. If i have been reading some posts correctly some people go to the grocery store and get clams and that sort of thing. Is that correct and is that ok to do? Im a little worried about that but it would for sure be better than the dried krill and frozen shrim that they have now. I see some of the puffers chewing on rocks. They spit them back out but I wonder if this is helping them with their beaks?

Yes it's ok to buy clams, mussel's, crab etc. from the grocery store. I always freeze it first then defrost in tank water soak in vitamins and garlic before feeding.

Well bother, I've done 2 rounds of the gel tek and there is no difference in him, his belly is still all flat. I thought I might have seen some little worms after I did the Jungle tabs but I'm not sure. ^sigh^ I don't know what else to do for him.

Regarding his teeth, I think his mouth was just open cause I was teasing him with a snail to get him to stay still so I could take a pic.