The Puffer Forum

days like this i feel like giving up with fish i love them n try 2 do everything right so theyre happy etc, n they still get sick
few weeks back i posted about paddy, 1 of my sap's having worm kinda things stuck 2 him. that completely cleared up, n hes had completely no sign at all that he ever had them for like a couple of weeks. yesterday tho, ive noticed kinda funny marks on his skin, sounds crazy lol, but it was as if he had a problem with dry skin on his back, couple of white flakey looking bits and just little patches of pale looking skin. i put some melafix in last night. 2nite when ive come in from work they look terrible like bits of his skin have come off! like little pinky marks. theres a pic here, again not the best pic, im not good at fish pics man. hopefully some1 can maybe see what it is tho so i can try n fix him


everyone else in the tank is fine, just poor paddy again

Questions in red?

I hate to say medicated treatments since most people are fairly against them due to how sensitive puffers can be, but I've had luck with Jungle fizz tabs without causing my fish distress. My fat puffer, Buddy, always changes colors the moment something bothers him. He didn't turn grey at all when I treated him for internal parasites.

If all your water parameters are in check, maybe you should consider a more in-depth treatment. I don't know. Don't completely take my word for it. I've just had some luck is all.

questions in red lol
pH - 7.8
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - <10

240litre tank with 6 sap's, 1 african bush fish, 1 small bristlenose

few 3 times a day with frozen bloodworms, snails + occasionally cockles

50% wc weekly
using tetra aquasafe to condition water...this is the 1st time ive used this product and now that i think bout it paddys problems began the morning after i added it.
was adding salt up until last week to treat for whitespot, also have just lowered the temp again over the past week or so
have added melafixlast night + tonight

the aquarium has been set up maybe 3months now, but with a filter ive had running in a cycled tank for a year or so.

jivenjune i will defo have a look into that yep,do u think it sounds like internal parasites? i dunno if its the same thing,but about a month ago i wormed the whole tank.
hes not acting any different 2 normal. still eating well, still very nosy + excited about everything lol

Try using Prime. A tiny bit of that stuff goes a long way. Very affordable if you're using the proper dosages.

It also doesn't sound like internal parasites if your puffer is having flaking problems. If memory serves me correct, though, Jungle tabs treat a variety of parasites. I don't think it's limited to just internal; I've just had luck with treating internal parasites.

Oh, I probably also wouldn't treat him with medicine unless he's acting up, since medications should probably be a later option if things continue to progress increasingly worse.

IF you could get a closer picture it would sure help but I know how that goes....I'm not going to hazard a guess as to what it is but this is a great website for skin disorders.
http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/fish_diseas ... rders.html

cheers dadof4, looking there now
2nite when ive got in from work, on his back it looks kinda as if hes scraped himself really hard down something rough n taken some bits of skin off, the bits with skin missing are pink, so i guess that his flesh underneath?/ im not convinced that he has actually injured himself tho because he also has a pinky couloured patch on his skin under 1 of his gills, and a funny mark above it aswell. will try again for a pic lol, but yeh its never easy with these little guys!

Not bite marks by chance? Is he getting bullied? Just a thought.

I have to admit that my first thought was "bite marks". The photo isn't close enough for me to see, but that's where a bite would most likely occur. If that's the case, then I'd continue with the Melafix, and get him away from whomever is biting him of course.

tbh ive never seen any agression at all with the fish thats in that tank the only time they even bother each other is accidentally when they go for the bloodworms. i really need to get a better pic, will go try now

My suvatti often looks like his skin is all flakey and falling of under his stomach, after he has come out the sand for a min it all falls off and his skin and patern on his belly is dark and clear. It looks strange like it's his skin but i think it's just because he is sat in the sand for long periods of time?

This post is two years old.

Duh... and I sat & read the whole thing, worrying about that poor puffer!

woops lol, you ever seen your suvattii under belly look like this pufferpunk.