The Puffer Forum

I was hoping never to use this section.

Water Parameters
PH 6.5
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10
Ammonia 0

My Abei has a white patch on his back (No pics I don't have a digital camera on me) I changed the tank around a few days ago and since then he has spent a lot of time perched on top of a plant under the heater. I am now thinking he has burnt himself from resting in that position.

The patch itself is sort of oval in shape. I thought I had noticed a white patch on him yesterday but the way he positions himself when he moves it was difficult to see and on second glance he looked fine. Tonight I got a good look at it.

Do you think its a burn, should I treat with some Melafix and Pimafix to aid in the healing? or should I go with something else? I'm gonna do a 50-70% water change in the morning (it's 11pm here)

I have moved the plants away from the heater to discourage him from going near it. He is not displaying any signs of illness in fact he's quite active, no heavy breathing.

Your advice please.

Using melafix and pimafix would be a start.

Is it an open wound? A picture would really help a ton.

Well the top layer of skin is broken. and the wounded area is white, no redness though. I decided to do the water change tonight.

He was swimming around happily enough as I did the change, totally normal behaviour from him.

I will try and get a pic up tomorrow and also pick up some Melafix and Pimafix. I've got to wait for a sodding delivery from a courier before I can go anywhere. Typical.

I had a "burn" on a few of my irrubesco in the past.

What i presumed was a burn soon got bigger, and started to peel. After diagnosis, turned out to be a bacterial infection (which some of my irrubesco still get from time to time, I've had to treat this week.

My treatment is to dip in full strength SW for 20 minutes.



I'm not saying this is what yours has, I'm just saying when i thought my puffer had a burn, it was something more sinister.



Be careful.

Fella I remember when you posted this and it had crossed my mind. I have had a look at it this morning and it does not appear to have gotten any bigger. Hopefully everything will be OK.

Ok here's what i've done so far

I've put a dose of Melafix in
Added an airstone to increase aeration.
Put a Heater Guard on.

I've took a few pics of the offending wound, sorry about the quality he wouldn't stop moving. Let me know what you think.






His appetite hasn't changed, popped some whole mussel in and it didn't make it to the floor.

Should I dose with Melafix for 7 days as is recommended on the bottle?

Some people think that melafix and pimafix can hinder a puffs breathing and do more harm than good. I don't think this is the case though. I think on some fish they may already be so weakened that they can't handle it, but if the fish is showing the first signs of an injury, and if they were relatively healthy to begin with, the fixes should be doing more good than harm.

That said, I don't usually follow the directions exactly when I use it. I start by raising the temp a couple degrees and adding an airstone. Then I do a 50% water change, followed by a full dose of melafix/pimafix. 24 hours later I do another 50% water change but don't add another dose for another 24 hours yet. I follow this for as many days as it takes to show improvement, but usually stop after 7 or 8 days and then just do daily 50% water changes for a couple days.

OK i'll raise the tank temp a few degrees, it's currently at 75 degrees.

I'll do another 50% water change tomorrow after the Melafix has been in 24 hours and then follow your directions on dosing every other day and see what happens.

Adding an airstone if you havent already would be prudent. good luck!

Already put one in Phaedrus, he's playing in the new current.

Just done a 50% water change today. Wound doesn't look as deep as it did yesterday.

I don't know whether its the Melafix or the addition of the airstone but he's a lot more active than he used to be, he comes up to the front of the tank a lot more as well as exploring the tank.

I'm pleased to say the burn is healing nicely, its already reduced half in size. Should be gone totally in the next few days.

I think i'll leave the airstone in after that he seems to like the extra oxygen in the water.

As always your advice is much appreciated.

Yup, Melafix is wonderful stuff! Will help prevent scarring too.

Smells nice too

Great to hear. I love happy endings.