The Puffer Forum

Hi All,

I have recently been given the job of taking care of the puffer fish at work. I am a beginner at this. We have a 20 gallon tank with about 10 guppies and 1 puffer fish named Crick. The water is brackish. I feed Crick bloodworms but he also eats hermit crab pellets and fish flakes that I give to the guppies. I've changed the water once -- when the algae became pronounced. That's all I have.

Crick currently has a red fibrous growth coming out of his mouth. Unfortunately, I am unable to attach the photos I've taken. The growth has gotten very large and it's affecting his ability to eat and who knows what else. I've researched this using google with no results. I've also taken photos to a local pet/fish store and they said they had never seen anything like it but suggested I try an erythromycin bath. They said fungal infections would be white so it's more likely to be bacterial.

I'm posting here to see if any wise folk would be willing to offer advice.

Many thanks,
deb

Need more info & pics are a must! Upload them to www.photobucket.com & link them here. Please answer aLL the Qs above, in red.

Thanks Pufferpunk.

Here are some recent pics (sorry they're a blurry -- he's too active for the camera):




Current Information:
1) Water parameters: Unknown/not tested/no numbers available.
2) Tank Size and Inhabitants:
20 gallon tank
about 10 guppies
fist size mass of algae (Chaeto algae)
3) Feeding, water change schedule, products in tank:
feed about 10 bloodworms or 4 hermit crab pellets once per day
water change schedule is once every 3 weeks
tetra whisper filter unit
gravel, and rocks at the bottom
4) Changes in the last week or so:
water change (replaced 50%) of tank water (use 20 L of deionized water containing 490 g of Instant Ocean Sea Salt)

The person who brought the aquarium as a "side project" has left the workplace and asked me to take care of the aquarium. Apparently Crick has had the red growth for months.

Definitely at a loss on this one. I would highly recommend getting a good liquid test kit. As well as something to measure the salt levels. Hope someone has some insight for you on this.

P.S. love the spots down the side. Gorgeous gsp you have there.

It's got to be some sort of tumor. I'm surprised the poor puff can eat at all.

Thanks for your replies. Crick's spotting is very cool!

Not sure if the erythromycin baths are doing anything. The pet store folks are now saying it might be lymphocystis (growth from a viral infection). However, the growth is not a solid mass.

So, I've trimmed off a bit of the red stuff. As I mentioned before, it's very fibrous. It actually separates into fine thread-like strands. I'm going to have a look at this under a microscrope (if I can find one).

Managed to wrangle up a microscrope. Under the 'scope, the offending organism is filamentous and segmented. I'm thinking algae. If I'm correct, this would pretty much rule out fungal pathogens and cancerous or viral tumors. I'm wondering how an algae could be rooted so firmly in Crick's mouth. Anyways, I will consider blocking out light and consulting with the fish store people about algaecides. If someone has other suggestions please share them.

Thanks,
deb

Please post updates as you continue to figure it out. I hope Crick is able to recover from this, and live a long healthy life.

If you think you can remove it after research n consulting w/ knowledgeable people, I have seen and read safe method of sedating a fish, using a clove oil bath. There is information about it online, if this is a route you want to take.

Good luck, and good on you for taking care of Crick.

NOTHING safe about using clove oil. ONLY use it for permanently putting a fish out of it's misery. It stops breathing function & causes brain damage. Use MS-222 (Finquel) if you're going to tranq for any surgery or procedure.

Good to know. There are a lot of videos, including one filmed @ a vet's, that used clove oil to sedate puffers who needed dentistry done.

It is scary, the information available out there... esp when it comes from multiple sources. It solidifies the importance of always double-checking with what is available on the internet.