The Puffer Forum

Hello,

First time posted but I have been reading the forum since I got Fahaka puffs this year.

This morning I went to check on my guy to feed him and get a cleaning done and he was extremely lethargic and hardly moving, I took him out of the tank and into a small bowl of clean & tank water mix, did a full scrubbing and 50% water change, I didn't take the water parameters before hand like I should have but in the heat of the moment I just wanted to get the tank back up as soon as possibly.

I now put him back in the tank and he is still not looking very good at all, I feel horrible for him, I have turn off the pump to limit the amount of water movement but have left the air pump on.

This is where my tank is right now after the change :
Size :48G
PH 7.5
Amonnia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm
KH 90ppm
GH100ppm
Temp: 25.5 C

It is a sand bottom no plants just a cave and a coconut and he is the only guy in the tank now, I originally got 3, one passed away the day after I got them and one a few days after so I just more so thought it was just from them being so small or new, now I am thinking it has been my fault or the tank this entire time.

The tank has been cycled for about 6 months before I got them and this guy has been here for probably just over two months now.

Any help would be grateful at this time. I feel like the worst person ever for letting it get this bad to begin with.

First off, welcome- I'm sorry your first post was in hospital, but you're in the right place for help!

Take a deep breath and quit being so damn hard on yourself. You're not a bad fish parent or person bc your puff isn't feeling well. It doesn't matter why, only that you care enough to help the fish and correct any issues that may cause a reoccurrence! Can you explain his state any further? Has his body or belly darkened (often called "stress coloration"), or gotten extremely light colored? How about breathing, is he breathing hard? With a thorough inspection of his body with a small pen light, do you see anything out of the usual (cuts, bumps, lumps, possible external parasites/bugs)? Also check his eyes with the pen light, to make sure they are clear without any cloudyness or bulging. His belly should not be sunken in or very far distended.

Without seeing your little puffer or knowing anything further, my first word of advice is treat for internal parasites. If you haven't already i would start treating for IPs now, bc if he stops eating then it's very hard to get the medicine inside their bodies, and IPs are the only immediate thought that came to me with the info given.

Sadly my poor guy passed away the next day, he was having issues breathing but was eating up until the day I posted, I tested my water again afterwards and it was still the same, sadly I think he was to far along by the time I noticed something was wrong. His belly never darked or changed colour, and he seems quite active up to that day, the previous time I fed him he did not go after the blood worms as much as usual, but I figured it was more so to do with him wanted snails more then worms. I should have taken the drop in interested in food as a bad sign, but I took it as him being picky

I did look him over and didn't see any bumps or scratched, his belly was sunken by the end of the day when he passed.

I really am not sure where I went wrong. I really loved him and love puffer fish, but I seem to be doing something wrong and don't feel like I should get anymore until I figure it out, not very fair for the poor little guys.

So if anyone has any more help that would still be great.