Possibly Pregnant Puffer?

[manda81305]

Hello All:

I have a figure 8 puffer who has been acting strangely over the last five days. I have two in a tank (Swisher and Moe) and they were/are very playful, active, colorful, lively little guys. Up until last Friday. Moe didn't eat his shrimp like he usually did and looked slightly pinkish. Swisher ate his dinner, had his little lumpy belly and went on his way, eating every other day with no problem.

Over the last four days I have not been able to get Moe to eat for anything. He has looked more and more pinkish, almost translucent at times. I did a water changes and added new brackish powder to the tank, which caused his brown & green color came back, but only for 20 minutes or so.

BUT....over the last few days, Moe has been sitting on the salt cup, rocking side to side, has had semi-labored breathing, he's been hiding in crevices near the bottom of the barrel I have in their tank, and rubbing his belly on almost everything he comes in contact with.

THEN....this morning I woke up and noticed a puffy belly in the morning darkness. Assuming it was Swisher that ate the shrimp I gave him last night, it was actually Moe's belly that was swollen. Neither of the fish ate yesterday, first time for Swisher...day 5 for Moe. The food I gave them yesterday was all accounted for, still stuck on the plant where it landed last night. Moe's belly is swollen, breathing is still labored, still pinkish, and still hiding from view, still belly rubbing. Swisher hasn't left his side though since yesterday which I find very wierd! They play together, but never rub on each other like they have been over the last 16 hours. Could Moe be sick (or constipated) and Swisher knows it.....or is Moe actually a baby girl with a surprise on the way for me??? Has anyone experienced such behavior before??? I have a tank cycling just in the small chance we end up with some puffer fry....better safe than sorry.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Fish don't get pregnant.

Well, except livebearers, but puffers definitely aren't livebearers. No one has been able to breed F8s in captivity, to my knowledge.

How are your water parameters? Do you have enough water circulation (thus enough oxygen)?

[jjj5311]

lilgreenpuff.. Is there a possibility of overgrown teeth with fig 8s?

[Flutter]

Yes, there is.

Manda, I'm going to move this to the hospital section as it sounds like your one puffer isn't feeling the best. Will you please answer the following questions?

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.

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.

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)

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.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it?

[bertie 83]

just curious as to the statement .... brackish powder ? and salt cup? I understand brackish water but wish to know what powder this is and also salt cup, if that means salt in a cup in the tank??? this cant be right or i am really confused. Flutters questions are very important to the diagnostics

[manda81305]

Hi Everyone....

Thanks for your replies. I know they don't get "pregnant" but if I had a belly full of eggs, I'd be quite round myself.

Sadly, my puffers passed away last night and I'm extremely heartbroken this morning, especially since they were a birthday gift for my husband.

Thanks for the help though!
Manda

[RTR]

Huge +1 to bertie 83's questions.

I have seen "salt cups" in stores and it is not good practice.

[Pufferpunk]

I think you need to figure out what you're doing wrong, if you ever want to keep these or any fish again.

[bertie 83]

Sorry your little ones did not make it. Have a look through the library on this forum. It's the best source of info available.

[manda81305]

@Pufferpunk: I have five other aquariums, four turtle tanks, two dogs, and an iguana (along with a husband).....I think I'm pretty good at keeping my pets alive.

I used that Ph 8.5 powder PetSmart told me to use, which would make it brackish. Ok, another pet store employee that did NOT know what they were talking about apparently! I just did more research and found that that crap only raises the Ph and not the salinity and only items like Instant Ocean will create the "brackish" condition. Nor did they suggest instant ocean or any other form of marine salt to add to the tank. IM SO PISSED I COULD SCREAM!

To answer the "salt cup" inquiries....I had aquarium salt in a small condiment cup with holes in the lid in the bottom of their tank....exactly how the fish store had it when I bought them. They hung out by that thing all the time and actually preferred to eat their shrimp after it was resting on it for a little while.

My Nitrates and Nitrites were at or real close to zero, my ammonia levels were barely reading on my meter, my water hardness read at a normal level, the alkaline was safe, but after my fish started barrel rolling, I test striped the water nd the dam Ph was over 9.5. Jack@sses at PetSmart said to read the directions on the powder, test the water in the meter and it should be fine. Thats what I did.....meter read 1.002, I figured all was well. Let the tank cycle for a few hours and put them back in. (after an accident with our siphon, we remove the fish before vacuuming gravel now) Stupid me should have test stripped the tank prior to putting them back in, but I figured they salinity meter was reading 1.002, they were good, just like I was told at the store. STUPID ME!!!! I should have known better.

Needless to say, I cried my eyes out for hours last night, and buried my little guys in my garden this morning. Not sure if I want to re-try this brackish thing.....its emotionally taxing and it feels like you need a freaking Chemistry degree to keep the fish alive.

[bertie 83]

im sorry you had to go through this on the lfs advise. Maybe we could help you set your tank up ready for a puffer? Sometimes what is typed seems harsher than it was meant, everyone here loves puffers and would be more than happy to help you keep any puffer you choose happy and alive. Best bet pick a puffer then we will help you build a tank ready so you can buy it. No-one questions your abilities , we are just used to peops who have no idea how to keep an animal alive. Dont be disheartened , if you want to keep a puffer, we will help you keep it happy and healthy. I promise

[volcomkrew4life]

It's really not all that hard at all to successfully keep a brackish tank. Especially for only 2 F8's. I'm really sorry for your losses but I think if you just do a good amount of research and try again with new knowledge you'll be successful=] All that's really required is Marine Salt. Brackish water is pretty similar to freshwater in the sense of caring for it (making sure your parameters are all normal) and the amount of water changes you do. Please let us know if you're gunna try again!

[LilGreenPuffer]

Thanks for your replies. I know they don't get "pregnant" but if I had a belly full of eggs, I'd be quite round myself.
Manda

Ah, the word for that is "gravid."

[trekenk]

[quote="manda81305]
My Nitrates and Nitrites were at or real close to zero, my ammonia levels were barely reading on my meter, .[/quote]
This sounds like your tank might not of been cycled?????
So sorry for your loss.

[Pufferpunk]

I think I'm pretty good at keeping my pets alive.

Keeping turtles, iguanas & dogs are way different than fish, especially puffers. Please do read the cycling articles in our Library.