The Puffer Forum

Parameters
Temp:77-80F
Nitrites:0
Nitrates: 40ppm straight out of tap, so using a nitrate removal filter to
bring this down to 0 before adding to my tank(not RO, just a nitrate
remover)
Ammonia: 0.001(from seneye, verified as "0" with an API test kit)
Weekly 30% water changes
180L Tank - 2 DPs(now 1, 3 otos)
Daily Fertiliser
Daily Seachem Flourish
Co2

All,

Ive had my fish now for over a year. In a previous post I mentioned that I had started to see heavy breathing when feeding, I never really got to the bottom of the issue(ruled out Co2, what I was adding to the tank etc). The breathing would return to normal within about an hour.

Yesterday, one of my DPs looked extremely bloated, this morning it has died.

Having removed it from the tank I can see that it is very red and swollen all over its belly and towards the anus.

Could this be dropsy? And if so, could this explain the rapid breathing I sometimes see? If it is What would you recommend I do with my other DP? What precautionary steps can I take?

The swollen belly and death all happened in the space of 48 hours. Prior to this my fish was very active and eating well.

Very sad...

D

Sorry you lost him. Could it have been constipation? Keep a close eye on the other one just to be safe

Mine died this week too. It had tumors on it's body.

Thanks for the replies
Could it have been dropsy?
Is it worth treating my tank with anything? I'd be devastated if I lost another

Was the dp that died a male or female? What are the genders if all the dps?

Hi,

The one that died was male, the other is female.

Thanks for replying...

Oh..just making sure.. I lost a turgidus puffer once because she was "stuck" with eggs.

Honestly, I've never heard of a puffer having dropsy....however the same bacteria and water quality issues that cause dropsy can also cause other issues.

How are the other dps? Are they acting strange?

Any possibility the puffer was air filled?

I don't know anything about dropsy, so I could have that completely wrong! Symptoms seemed to match from what I was reading.

This all happened over 2 days, prior to that no symptoms at all.

No chance could have been air filled (not through anything I could have done anyway)..

The other puffer seems fine

Both did (and the reaming one still does) exhibit a strange behavior at feeding time - really heavy breathing - it goes back to normal an hour after feeding. Other than that all has been well..

I'm really at a loss as to what could have happened, I try to take very good care of these two fish, I just don't understand what could have gone wrong!

Do puffers do OK on there own, even if they have been with another puffer for a year or so? Or should I be looking to get another one in the relatively near future? (I plan to wait a few weeks at least to check all ok)..

D

Heavy breathing is somewhat normal after eating, mine will breath heavier when I accidentally over feed. What are you feeding them?

A dwarf puffer will be fine by itself, it is not a schooling species.

Generally frozen blood worms as a staple (occasionally live)
enriched brine shrimp every couple of weeks
Ive started to breed rams-horn snails - the female will eat those the male has never been interested
I've not fed anything else..

I don't see anything that you are doing wrong here. Dropsy is really a symptom of bad water quality..you see dropsy often in bettas living in bowls with out water changes or filters.

Your water changes and parameters seem fine, not bad enough to cause a rapid death.

And heavy breathing after eating is not a symptom of anything except being full (as long as it goes away in an hour or so)

I'm stumped...but everyone here just about has had a puffer just die...for seemingly no reason.

I don't think this is your fault, if the other puffer is fine..I would just keep an eye on him.

Thanks for your reply and reassurance..

Yup I agree with that. My fahaka just died without logical explanation, sometimes these things happen and we are left at a loss blaming ourselves. I ended up ruling out everything and still have no idea what happened. It sucks but you just got to realise that you gave them a good life compared to their wild cousins, you could add another female or two if you wish.

Thanks Bertie.

@purplecandle - here is a video of the "heavy breathing" I'm seeing after my DP eats..for my own peace of mind, please could you take a look and let me know if this is similar to what you see in yours..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26207876@N02/8198156912

Thanks!

D

Breathing seems normal to me, my singleton female DP breathes a little heavier like that after she's just sucked down a big fat blackworm.