The Puffer Forum

Hi all I just noticed a weird growth on my puffer... He was still eating yesterday but not today.. and he seems much less active now... Anyone knows what that growth is? Is there anything that I can do for him?

Pics are not clear enuf, can you get a closer pic of the growth?

It's really hard to take some really clear pics.. I hope this one does the job..



I also noticed today that teh surface of his skin looks very rough...



He's not moving the fin on the side that has the growth... Is there anything that I can do for him?

He looks quite ill... Please answer ALL the Qs above, in red.
Add Melafix & an airstone for now.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

PH: 6
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 5-10
Nitrite: 0

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

Tank size is 22 gal long. 3 Amazon puffers and a red eye irrubesco.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

Fed once a day w/ bloodworms. Used prime and metricide.

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

No changes that I can think of.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

Tank is setup for about a month. It's a downgrade from a 33 long. The 33 long was up for at least a year.

I just added melafix to the tank and added a powerhead.
Any help will be appreciated.. Thanks in advance.. Really don't wanna lose him

you gotta get yourself a bigger tank, also your ph is quite low, your going to need to do something about that as well..

I agree--your tank is way overstocked. Although Amazon puffers can handle a low pH, I've got to wonder why yours is about the pH or urine. What's the pH of your tap water? Water change schedule?

Thanks for the help. He passed away this morning.

sorry for the loss, but you still need to upgrade that tank to at least a 50 gallon

What is the KH of your tap water?

Just curious, did any of you have any idea what could have been wrong with her puff?