The Puffer Forum

so my girlfriend did a water change on my puffer tank, and i wasnt home to see it. but when i looked in his tank he seemed all puffed up upset and pale. he has been like this for 3 days im getting concerned. right now i am checking all the water parameters to see if there is a ph spike or something. he is acting like he ate to much or something but i havent fed him for 4-5 days. HELP

We can better help you after you answer the Qs above, in red.

sorry i was in a hurry, ph is 7.4.. ammonia .25 or less..... nitrite o ppm.... nitrate 5.0
30g tank, only fish is my arrowhead
50% water change weekly add aqua safe after every change, feed shell on shirmp every 3-4 days
only change in the tank was the water change
the puffer has been living in his tank for months im sure its not a cycling problem

Does your girlfriend normally do the water changes? I only ask because if she is not familiar with doing it herself, she may have overlooked a few things... Maybe the water temp was too high or too low when added, is there any possible way the bucket (if a bucket is used) was contaminated prior to the water change? Did she have a lotion or something on that my have been on her hands/gotten into the tank? Not trying to blame your girlfriend, please don't take it that way. I just know that my boyfriend would be like, "yea I can do a water change if you need me to," but he'd also use the mop bucket, and not care if the water was anywhere near close to the right temp- even if I told him it was important.

Did she do any other cleaning in the room (use any cleaners, or air freshening sprays?) even if not in or directly around the tank it can affect the tank... (overspray, or floating in the air). Do you have any decor that may have gotten jostled around? Perhaps something fell over and hit him, or something? Even if promptly picked up, and wasn't noticed that he was hit - it's a possibility.

The fact that you have a reading of Ammonia in your tank shows that it IS a cycling issue... Is there leftover food in there? a dead snail or fish? The ammonia has to come from somewhere, and it's usually a waste or something that is rotting. I'm not an expert on arrowheads either, but do they need a more varied diet that just shrimp as well? Have you tried feeding him again? He may be partially puffed and upset you have not fed him (a guess)?

I am curious about your source of ammonia with a lack of nitrite reading, and a low nitrate reading. I believe that means there is 'waste' in there that is not broken down - if you haven't fed him or introduced a waste source and he hasn't eaten in 4-5 days ? Have you continued to do water changes after that to help dilute the ammonia and possible contaminate?

An ammonia spike does NOT make it a cycle issue. It makes it an ammonia issue that is obviously coming from somewhere or something. Excess food, dirty tank/filter. Do you vacuum each time you do a water change? Do you remove all uneaten food when its finished eating? Piscavores are easily one of the most filthy eaters I've seen as far as puffers go.

All good questions presented by Ohyouknow ....
I have an Arrowhead (suvattii) and I feed mine every other day, and I give him pieces of raw jumbo shrimp, mussels and his favourite, earthworms.
I know this has nothing to do with what's going on with your puffer, but I'd start feeding him a bit more, but that's just my opinion. I don't give mine alot of food, but I feel that a little food more often is better than alot of food every few days, again that's just me.
It's not uncommon for the piscivore puffers to sulk. Mine do it regularly. I would offer him some food and see if he accepts, but try something different. Offer an earthworm. If he's just being "sulky" then I wouldn't worry too much, of course you know your puffer better than anyone.
Not sure what to think about this one.

i did another water change today to see if i got an improvement, so far no change. i will try to offer him an earthworm tonight and see if that helps.

no response when i dropped an earthworm next to him, he just sits there hyperventilating half way puffed up.

Is he swimming OK or does it seem he has swallowed some air? Can he stay at the bottom or is he floating up?

no if anything it looks like he swallowed water he stays at the bottom and can swim but his belly almost drags

Pufferpunk wrote:Is he swimming OK or does it seem he has swallowed some air? Can he stay at the bottom or is he floating up?

This is my thought and also a temperature issue, try bringing the temp up a degree or two for a short while. My Arrowhead is real sensitive to temp changes and gets like you are describing when the tank temp drops too far.

As for the tank params, there are two legitimate causes of readings like this after a WC. First, something in your tank has just started to give off higher levels of ammonia than normal and Nitrosomonas spp hasn't had a chance to oxidize it to nitrite yet (mini cycle), or the bio-filter has completely crashed. Run another set of numbers now to see what you get, I'm guessing it's the first cause.

yea so he is looking less bloated but his behavior is about the same. I cant belive none of you guys or girls have ever had any problems with your arrow head puffers before. I mean If anyone had a problem with a sick puffer this would be how he acted, and no one has any posts on this.

Just a suggestion...I have no idea about Ohio...but have you ever heard of spring thaw?? Perhaps something like that is going on..and GF did not add enough aqua safe...I know it is late for spring thaw but it kind of fits..and you are up north...

Or, if you are on city water...perhaps something came from you water treatment plant...

Have you tested your tap water for ph, ammonia and so on??

I had a few puffs die from spring thaw...sounds similar...


Just a thought...

its city water, but he did make it and is fluttering all around the tank now, I have started feeding him every 2 days now.

Excellent, glad to hear that he's back to normal again!