The Puffer Forum

Hey,

Glad to find this forum! I've recently brought home six dwarf puffers and as I was feeding I noticed one of them had an object protruding from its eye. As soon as I noticed, I recorded it. The video is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyWCbKdqchc

Basically, I was wondering what could cause this, and whether or not the other inhabitants look affected. They are differing a bit in their coloration, https://i.imgur.com/MDhxNzZ.jpg, https://i.imgur.com/uAv19Oi.jpg and https://i.imgur.com/1NJ2gvS.jpg which I understood is natural. As I'm newly getting into the hobby again, I can't distinguish disease symptoms from natural variation unless it's obvious.

Here's the info:

1) 92 liter (25 gallon) long aquarium with pH 7.5, temp 24 C, ammonia <0.25 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, nitrate <5 ppm.

2) six juvenile dwarf puffers, four amano shrimps, one assassin snail (so far no interaction with puffers). Feeding frozen bloodworms.

3) Tetra Bactozym and Easy-Life Easystart on start-up and water changes. Tetra Aquasafe as tap water treatment. Did a 25% water change after noticing the symptoms, plan is weekly 25% water changes unless water parameters start to increase.

4) It's a fresh tank with a pre-cycled filter. I've introduced all of the inhabitants and all of the plants over the last week, starting with snail and amano shrimps.

5) I started fishless cycle of the filter in december, using Tetra Tetramin fish food as ammonia source, and the aquarium itself was set up a week ago.

1.) source? Where did they come from
2) treated for parasites?? If so what did you use and how
3.) are you 100% it’s the eye, it almost looks look a parasite coming out the gills. External and internal parasites are very common in puffers, especially wild caught. I have peas as well and I KNOW how hard it is to get good pics of their flighty butts, can you try and get a closer one of the eye?

TBH the puff looks much healthier than I would have thought, which is a good sign. Are you noticing labored breathing (besides after feeding)? Any red around the eye or the gill? Does the whole thread move at all on its own?

Also, you must get that Amonia down. Puffs are extremely sensitive to nitrites and ammonia and should not be put into a tank that isn’t cycled: I would do a 50% water change ASAP and get some SeaChem stability. Keep up the water changes

Hi, just to update all the puffers are okay and water parameters are good.

It was probably just stress from the initial move that made them a bit on the weak side, it was quite cold outside. They are all active and eating and exploring as they should now. I had to rearrange the aquarium to provide more areas to form territories. I'm happy they have not even looked at the amano shrimps, and I've started breeding live ramshorn, bladder snail and blackworms for them.

Great news!