The Puffer Forum

Hi, I have a sick F8 I could use some help with. I've had it for about 11-12 years. During that time everything was going well. Then about 1.5 months ago it stopped eating. It wasn't interested in any food. A couple nights ago I found the F8 just doing very tight circles at the bottom of the tank, while titled to the side. Since then I moved it into a smaller container in the same aquarium for observation. It's laying on it's side and trying to swim but not really going anywhere. It's definitely trying, it's fins are going fast!
Occasionally it pops up and swims in the water colum either tilted or completely vertical (spinning) with it's head toward the bottom for a few seconds before resting on the bottom again. It's colors all still look good and even though it hasn't eaten in a while the F8 doesn't look emaciated.

I've started to dose Seachem KanaPlex in case it's an infection. I also found that my heater was putting stray voltage into the tank, so that's been replaced too.

1. PH: 8, Nitrate: 20, Nitrite: 0, Ammonia: 0, Salinity 1.001
2. 36 gallons, canister filter, live plants (Val's & java moss), no tank mates. About 5 months ago I replaced the soil with Seachem AquaSolum.
3. Feed some raw shrimp every other day when eating. Change 5-10 gallons once a month.
4. None
5. It's been setup for 4 years.

Any help or suggestions is appreciated. It might just be age, but I thought I'd see if anyone has encountered anything like this before.
Thanks.

All he's eaten is shrimp in all those years?

Yes. It was raw with shell on shrimp from the grocery store. I would occasionally try clams and mussels, but it never really took to it. But shrimp the F8 would really eat.

Shrimp contain thiamine & should not be fed as a primary diet staple. All fish need a varied diet.
library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/
library/puffers-in-focus/fig8/

Thanks for the links. Unfortunately, my little F8 didn't make it through the night.