The Puffer Forum

I've posted a video of Fig below. I hope it's clear enough to see the lumpyness. It's on his left side towards the end of the stomach before his tail starts. And it's slightly grey in the area behind his gills now too. Stress related or sick? Before the move to the big tank he was stuck in a little starter tank and unfortunately the ammonia levels were pretty high...I did a few water changes but it didn't get any lower.. perhaps he got a little poisoned? I was so worried when the ammonia wouldn't change, but now they've spent their first night in their big home, I hope they are happier. Will post a few pics once I've set up a few more rocks for them - going beach combing today

I'm still relatively new, but if you haven't treated for internal parasites, that is what his lumpy tummy looks like. If you have access to Jungle Tabs tank buddies: Parasite Clear, you could get those and soak their food in it (it's always good to treat puffers for IPs as most are wild caught) and you should see an improvement. Might want to wait until others weigh in their opinion before jumping on anything, but that is my recommendation. =) Cute puffers!!

My GSP often has a lumpy hindtummy sometime before taking a big poop when he had bloodworms.

I just got my Figure Eight within the last week as well. I had read on this forum that it was likely I needed to treat for IPs. I have been soaking food in IP medication and have already seen the puffer pass a visible worm or two. I would definitely treat for IPs. Mine seems to freak out a little when it is about to pass a worm, but it goes back to normal afterwards. I am going to continue treating mine for a few more days.

ok, thanks. I'll go tomorrow and enquire about IP meds for him. He is busy trying to push out an enormous turd right now in fact...but now FLIP MAN! poor little guy, my other f8 has white film forming on one of its eyes. I just added a new decoration to the tank today, I hope it didn't bump its eye on it while examining it too closely

inquire about the meds, but I'd hold off until we get a more clear image. That tiny little lump on the stomach, is it more like a pimple or is kind of spiral shape? Has it always been there or a recent development?

I've only had him for a week. He got the tiny pimple looking bump a couple of days before the entire left side became lumpy about 3-4 days ago. I'll wait till he poops though for any meds.
Do you have any ideas about the cloudy eye on Tsuki? I just got home from work and there's a cloudy film over the eye and hanging off. It looks a little like mucus.

An oddly shaped "lumpy tummy" is normal after eating. It is the pimple that could be bacterial based, or parasite based.

If it is parasite based than you are S.O.L.

If it is bacterial based it might explain your little mate's eye problem. The key word there is "might".

At the moment that means a lot of water changes. We'll still need a better pic. Of both.

Hey J-P,

Do you think it'd be good for them to start on some melafix and primafix? or perhaps Maracyn?

.../sigh no luck! I've spent the past 30 mins trying to get a good shot of them, but Tsuki seems to be camera shy, and Fig is staying to the back of the tank out of zoom and/or focus. I'll hopefully get to borrow my sister's Nikon tomorrow if it's still looking funny. My camera is a piece of junk.

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Hey J-P,

Do you think it'd be good for them to start on some melafix and primafix? or perhaps Maracyn?

Melafix /Pimafix are ok if they are available in the area. They are produced by a company called API now.

That and the clean water conditions may help the eye recover, but not the cyst (if it is one).

That would be one way of treating:
Super clean water, vitamin enriched foods, mild meds and wait and see (sorry no pun intended) for the fish's own immune system to beat it. The wait and see portion is what I worry about. If that cyst moves or relocates then that is a totally different can of worms (pun intended). That is where the difference lies.

There are also several cases on the forum of fish dying because of a cyst. The treatment was applied too late.
Foods laced with an antibacterial agent and garlic, actually sedating and draining the cyst... it could get complicated.

I am not an authority and can only offer opinion.

1) have a small QT tank on stand by and ready.
2) look into food supplements for the fish.
3) research your antibacterial meds (if that turns out to be a parasite there is nothing anyone can do except serious surgery because it is under the skin).
4) keep that water quality perfect.

ehz_148 wrote:.../sigh no luck! I've spent the past 30 mins trying to get a good shot of them, but Tsuki seems to be camera shy, and Fig is staying to the back of the tank out of zoom and/or focus. I'll hopefully get to borrow my sister's Nikon tomorrow if it's still looking funny. My camera is a piece of junk.

Get them when they are sleepy or sleeping

We need a mod to move this to the hospital forum. It will get more attention there.

Now that we are in the hospital forum (thanks seven), there are a bunch of questions at the top of the page in RED that need to be answered.

1) ammonia+nitrite = 0, nitrate below 10, pH 7.8 (salinity is N/A right now since I have moved them from a temporary fw to bw and I'm introducing the salt slowly

2) 30g: 3 f8, 2 bbg. (I know you'll probably say I need a bigger tank but it's the best I can do right now...they were given to me in a 5g as a present and I was able to borrow the 30g from my brother-in-law)

3) Feeding: I've been alternating between bloodworm and krill (both frozen) - little breakfast snack in the morning and a dinner snack when I get home early evenings; water change I've had them for one week so there's only been 1 water change on the weekend and then I moved them to the big tank; products: Organic Aqua maintenance kit, nutrafin Aqua plus dechlorinator, Aquarium Systems Instant Ocean.

4) What changes in tank: an entirely new home! They went from a 5g tank with marble chip gravel and a couple of plastic plants to a 30g with crushed coral substrate, 1/2 a teaspoon of salt to slowly adjust them to bw, and a few buddha statues to swim around and through - something to look at till I manage to disinfect some rocks to make hidy-holes. Last night I used the Organic Aqua stuff. It does say that it helps treat and prevent spreading of diseases (there's a photo of the box on one of my forum posts)

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? I guess since I was freaking out at the ammonia levels and the fact that they were nipping at each other after every feeding time in the 5g tank, I set up the bigger tank 2 days before putting them in. So I guess, from what I understand...it's still cycling? I clicked on the above link about cycling and it took me to a weirdly coded page with no information on it...I haven't been able to access any information other than forum posts. The pufferpedia and library seem to be offline to me.

GOOD NEWS THOUGH Tsuki's eye isn't as cloudy today. Instead of a big flapping piece of membrane-looking mucus-eye-cover, it's just a little cloudy spot on the eyeball. But Fig is still looking pale and lumpy.