The Puffer Forum

Hello everyone.

I am new to this board but am a longtime aquarium fan. I have a year old MBU puffer. It is currently housed on a 400 gallon tank. It does have some small either fish with it (barbs, neons, and a school of small clown loaches). All inhabitants have been together for the last 12 months. All other inhabitants are doing great.

My water parameters are pristine and checked weekly. I do a 5% to 10% water change almost everyday with a bigger water change every weekend (30% to 40%).

Anyways, all was great till 7 days ago. We named him Mr. Poppers btw.

7 days ago he completely stopped eating. He continues to have a normal and healthy look but it's like his brain is fried. He appear almost "drunk" running into things. He doesn't seem to have the ability to balance.

He used to act like a puppy dog begging for food. Now he swims eradicately and runs into stuff head first. He also seems to lean to his side alot. His eyes looks fine but he is acting blind

I can easily grab him softly and he doesn't even resist.

Until 7 days ago he seemed very sharp and focused. His eyes would lock onto you and he would swim alot begging for food.

He now sits on the bottom all day. Occasionally the light current will literally move him and he almost rolls over.

It is very strange.

Has anyone heard of this before? What could be wrong?

He is about 16" long and still appears healthy looking.

What are you using to test the water?

Ok, sadly I believe I have discovered the issue and it has nothing to do with quality of care. I realized about 2 weeks ago I touched up a stain on my ceiling with a rattle can of paint blocker. The next morning I had small particles of paint on the counters and even the top of the aquarium glass. It was easy to clean up but some particles definitely got into the water. I feel really stupid right now.

The odd part is all the small fish continue to do fantastic. I have done large water changes daily at this point but I think my poor puffer is on the way out. He acts drunk and blind(best description I can provide).

He swims into stuff constantly. He rests on his side or even upside down. I can grab him and he is extremely strong but hasn't eaten in about 10 days. His body looks great but his brain seems to have stopped working.

I am so upset with myself about this. I never considered a small amount of paint particles doing such damage but I can't think of anything else that has recently changed.

Do you believe this makes sense?

He keeps ending up on his side or upside down. Not floating to the surface however. Often on the bottom. When I grab him, he is extremely strong but will swim like he is brain dead and eventually end up on his side again. Super weird

He now lays on the bottom upside down. When I attempt to grab him, he fights and is very strong but he has zero balance

Not only the paint but the aerosol. I'm so sorry... Some fish are more sensitive to toxins than others. Try running fresh carbon.