The Puffer Forum

My spotted green puffer, Sir Munchalot, of 7 years, I think has dropsy. I removed the two healthy puffers, Chomp and Nibbler, and kept him in the main tank to try and reduce stress, but it's not looking good. I read something about increase the salt...but it's already a salty brackish tank. I also read something about taking a syringe and draining the fluid, but with the puffer I don't even know where I would go. I'm Treating with Maracyn Two and an anti ick, because he looks like he might have a spot or two and I'm already in panic-mode. I was thinking it might be constipation, but it looks a lot like dropsy...so I went ahead and started trying to treat it.

pH: 8 Ammonia: .1 Nitrite: tested white for zero Nitrate: light pink for an okay level Salinity: 1.015

55 gallon, 3 spotted green puffers and a guppy, who was also moved out (he's been in there for about 3 months and deserves to live after all of the carnage he's had to witness). No live plants, either can't handle the salt or they decide it's fun to shred them.

I feed everyday with pellets, shrimp stick thingies, crab, or flakes and usually do either feeder fish, ghost shrimp, or clams once a week and will skip a day or two of feeding after. I do a water change every 3 to 11 days, I use oceanic sea salt mix and water conditioner. Stress Zyme.

There have been no changes in the last week, that are abnormal to my normal habits, I lied I didn't do the treat this week, because he was looking off and I didn't want to overstimulate Sir Munchalot and I trimmed Nibbler's teeth, but he's not the concern and needed it done.

The aquarium has been set up for 2 or 3 years and I did cycle it, previous to that there was a 29 gallon, but the puffs outgrew the comfort zone, and prior to that it was a 20, and before that it was a 10.

What makes you think it's dropsy? Can you post a pic of him? What are the symptoms he's having? Never heard of a puffer having dropsy.

There's puffer puffed, there's puffer stuffed, and then there's this. I will try to get a good picture of him tomorrow, but he's stuck on gigantic.

My guess is he's swallowed air.

library/hospital/help-my-puffer-is-air-filled/

Are you using test strips or liquid kits? sometimes the strips can give inaccurate readings -since you said white for ammonia and pink for nitrate. hope your puff makes a full recovery good luck

i'd have to wonder what dropsy even looks like on a puffer- all of the examples i've ever seen are of scaled fish showing the tell-tale pinconing.

See I thought it was the air at first too, but I've only had the one puffer ever puff and I've done some ridiculous things to them in my time. I broke my phone and was trying to use the computer cam to get a picture and I gave up, but his swelling has went a little down and he's swimming around the tank now. I wish I had gotten a picture of him yesterday, he just sat on top of the tank for 3 hours and didn't move. I would walk over, worrying that he was dead and his eyes would move and I would tell him that I was just checking, no fin movement nothing. No angry, upset puffer tail curl just sat there circling in the currents. He then sat on the bottom brooding, which isn't to abnormal if I'm not in the room, but I was. He does seem so much more lively today, but unless he drastically loses his roundness I'm thinking second dose of the Maracyn two, before I put the one back in there. I think I'm going to leave the one puffer in the guppy thank, he seems so much happier. He's also anti-destroying things I'm not sure why, but I have to trim his teeth and with the other two their's are always fine.

So here's my question, the water change between the new round of doses, should I increase the salinity to help draw out the fluid or should I leave the salinity alone and thank the stars that he hasn't kicked the bucket yet and even seems to be improving?

Actually, if it's fluid, then Epsom salt works well for that: 1 tbsp/5g.

Alright tried the massage under water just in case it was air. Which he puffed the little he could, first time I've seen him puff, and is now not being "social." He is still huge, but I started the transfer of one of the other puffs back into the tank and he seems pretty excited about that. They can see each other but the water is almost completely separated but for a drip thing. I worry about shocking with the medicine in the tank, other than that they're the same. I was going to wait but they seem to be besties and would swim in sync across the room. Water change tomorrow!