Scary purple fungus-thing

[DracoRJC]

Hey guys, my figure 8 has developed some strange purplish growth on his "forehead". It looks slightly raised, kind of fuzzy (like a very short moss), and fairly triangular in shape. He's had it for about two days, and I noticed it shortly after returning to my dorm after evacuating for Hurricane Irene. Unfortunately, I couldn't take him with me, so I fed him a lot and left the tank running, and from what I heard the power was only out for a few hours the whole time, and we were gone from Thursday to Tuesday. Starting today he has been pacing the surface of the water in vague circles, at about a 45 degree angle with his nose barely sticking out of the water, and the normally shy puffer is not as responsive as he usually is to me tapping on or looking closely into the tank, and he also refused food for the first time (all VERY strange behavior, even to my roommates). He normally eats frozen "Marine Cuisine" cubes, Wardley shrimp pellets, and the occasional live ghost shrimp and snails. About a month or two ago I had another puffer dumped on me, and due to limited tank space I had to put a divider between them in a 20 gallon, and brought that to school with me. I have yet to test ammonia and nitrates/nitrites recently, but the pH is roughly 7.5 and the salinty 1.008 SG, at 80 degrees. When I moved into the dorm 2 weeks ago, I did a 40%ish water change, and another one shortly after discovering this fungus thing. Unsure of what to do, I also added a dash of Melafix in as well. Before I learned not to feed live fish, I fed him the occasional guppy or two for fun, and a few have survived, bred, and lived in this tank as well, and have actually been there about as long as he has (almost 2 years). I use Aqueon stress coat, dechlorinator, and algaefix in the tank when appropriate. This is the first health problem he's had, and both puffers have been looking fantastic as long as I've had them, and hopefully I can get them un-divided soon and into seperate tanks when I return home from school. Any information about this fungus(?) would be appreciated.

UPDATE! As I was typing this, the puffer stopped moving on the surface, and barely responded to pokes and prods, then woke back up and resuming the circle swimming. Then I look at the newer puffer, who has looked GREAT lately, and he suddenly looks emaciated (they both do now - very sudden!), and seems unable to properly submerge, sticking his head slightly out of the water like the other. They both have full bright colors on like they would when they're happy, and the resident guppies are totally fine. I sniffed the water and it smells like a mixture of Melafix (which I added today), and a noticeable dead fishy smell, and there are no dead fish in the tank. Is this some kind of ammonia spike caused by a water change? This is in southern VA, and their water normally comes from northern VA, and this is a new building from the one I kept them in last school year. The water all of a sudden looks cloudy (I've been gone all day, maybe this has been there since this morning, when I was groggy and on the way to class) as well, which is normal after a water change on this sandy substrate, but its lasting longer than normal. I have no idea what's up, and I fear they won't make it the night!!!!

[sevenyearnight]

Post your water parameters asap, and if the water is smelly, that's a fairly bad sign. If it smells fishy, it's probably bacterial. Do another water change, a large one, at least 50%. Do another one tomorrow morning, and how often is depending on your test results.

For future reference, fish can go a long time without eating, so if you have to leave them again, do a water change before you go, but don't overfeed them or you risk fouling the water.

I'm glad you're safe after the hurricane, good luck with your fish!

[DracoRJC]

Post your water parameters asap, and if the water is smelly, that's a fairly bad sign. If it smells fishy, it's probably bacterial. Do another water change, a large one, at least 50%. Do another one tomorrow morning, and how often is depending on your test results.

For future reference, fish can go a long time without eating, so if you have to leave them again, do a water change before you go, but don't overfeed them or you risk fouling the water.

I'm glad you're safe after the hurricane, good luck with your fish!

Gonna try a water change, but now the remaining guppies are getting the early symptoms, and the puffers are looking worse. The worst part is that even when they're "paralyzed" and can't swim, their eyes still look at me

[sevenyearnight]

Double up on your dechlorinater, they often need to do treatments to the water after hurricanes.
Not sure what brand you have, but Prime is fantastic at neutralizing a good range of things, best water conditioner in many people's opinion.

[bertie 83]

+ 1 to sevenyear and do as many w/c as you can. I would do 2x daily 50% , hope your guys make it

[DracoRJC]

I had a friend down the hall come in and take a look last night (she keeps a few SW tanks at home and works at her father's fish store), and she recommended tetracycline or erythromyacin, both meant for bacterial issues. We came to the conclusion that it was not water conditions, but something contagious, ie a bacteria. That purple growth on his head HAD to have something to do with it. I did a water change yesterday, and it was way too late at night to hit the pet store for medicine, and already it was too late - I've already lost them both, and even those bulletproof guppies are on their way out as well. These fish meant quite a lot to me, and even my friends and roommates (they were kind of our dorm mascot last year - we even made a flag). Instead of flushing, we're going to bury them at a nearby beach on the James River, at a beautiful spot we visit every few days to unwind. They were incredibly fun to have around, and brightened quite a few days throughout my freshman year of college, and I have to thank them for that.

RIP guys - the best pufferfish a guy could ask for

[puffykid]

I am really sorry about your loss = [

its always hard to lose a fish but even harder to lose a puffer..

[sevenyearnight]

Awww...yes I agree, puffers are very special, and I am very sorry for your loss.

I do agree with your friend on it probably being bacterial, however I do believe it was induced by the water conditions. If the water smelled fishy, it's likely a bacterial bloom. I didn't suggest any medications because as you said, it was late last night already, and you I don't suggest medicating fish without knowing the water parameters. If the water parameters are off, then the medication won't do it's job properly, and could even kill the fish. It also won't help any future issues if the water quality is not fixed. If the water quality fell, likely during the power outage, and possibly the excess bioload, then that will stress the fish and make them susceptible to illness. It could be a bacteria that has always present in your tap water, but in small amounts, and it multiplied given the circumstances. Or the fish may have always carried it, but the stress allowed it to take a foothold. Just a theory, but fish that have been healthy for a very long time don't normally fall ill unless there is a stressor, and that is normally the water quality, or a new fish is introduced that carries a disease.

I'm very sorry for your loss, I know I would be devastated if anything happened to my puffer. I hope you stick around here, and when you feel ready maybe you could get a Figure 8 puffer or a couple of dwarf puffers. I believe you said you had a 20 gallon, so that would be appropriate for either of those.
In the mean time, get some test results, and flush out whatever you have going on in that tank. The suggestion of erythromycin is a great one, it's safe and very effective. You might still want to treat your remaining guppies, and you still need to do daily water changes.

Good luck, and again I'm sorry for your loss, but I'm glad that you are safe from Irene.

[bertie 83]

Yea so sad you lost them, never nice to lose a pet