The Puffer Forum

My figure 8 puffer has 2 weird lumps on his belly, more towards the back. They have been there for maybe a week but I was not too worried, until today when he could not swim balanced and settled at the bottom of the tank. I put food in and it seems like he wants to eat, but is unable to actually get any food in his mouth. He also has very labored breathing. Im not completely sure but he also looks thinner than usual. I just changed he water yesterday because I was moving the tank and he seemed fine until a couple hours ago. I cant check the pH right now, but the temperature is around 80 and the SG is 1.005. He is the only fish in the 15 gallon tank.

First of all, welcome to the forum! Sorry it had to be because of a problem with your puffer, but then that's what brings a lot of people here.

How long has the tank been set up? How long have you had your F8 in the tank? Is it possible for you to provide more of the information requested above in the pink area? Labored breathing often comes about because of poor water quality - and it's very easy for the water in a 15 gallon tank to get nasty real quick, especially with a puffer as they are quite dirty little creatures. You said you changed the water yesterday - what percentage of the tank did you change, and did you use dechlorinator?

Persistent lumps in the belly can mean a few things: one, that he has internal parasites; two, that he has not had many good meals and needs to fatten up a bit; and three, that he's constipated. The first reason I mentioned is the more likely of the three. Have you seen his poo? If so, what's it look like? You mentioned that he seems unable to get food into his mouth...do you mean that he tries to suck some in, but it won't go in? Or do you mean he goes up to it but never actually tries to eat it? Or does he suck it in but then spit it back out? What type of food(s) are you offering him?

Is the tank adequately aerated? Do you have good flow from a filter? Can you drop in an airstone?

Try to respond ASAP because your puffer sounds like he needs immediate action.

Ive had the tank set up for about 4 months and he had been doing fine. I was traveling back to college, so i changed all the water. I know this could be bad for the beneficial bacteria and all that so i added water from his previous tank in with it. I did use a de chlorinator when i changed the water. I really havent seen anything come out of him at all lately. When he tries to eat the food he has a hard time swimming to it because he is so off balance. when he actually got food in his mouth, he spat it back out. my filter is running fine, and i dont have any airstones. thank you for responding though

More of the answers in red please.