The Puffer Forum

I noticed him swimming very fast and erratically this morning before his lights came on. He actually hit his head on a piece of wood a few times, as well as other decor. He was just shooting around the tank...Never seen him do this before. And yesterday he was aggressively "rubbing" the side of his body against a piece of wood, which really worried me! This lasted a minute of so then he stopped and didn't do it again for hours. Ive never seen him do this. Anyone have any experience with this?

I then checked the water and everything was fine...temp. 80, pH. 8.0, amm. 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5, sg. 1.018...

Besides these weird moments he seems fine though, swimming, exploring, eating, white belly, friendly...Im confused!

If he is rubbing his body, he could have ich. Can you see white spots on him (appart from the spines)?

I thought that at first too but I cant find any spots...Plus from what Ive been told Ich wont really survive in a higher salinity...

I may be wrong but I think there are different "strains" of ich for the different salinities. It could be I'm just crazy and imagining things though.

Or it could be one of many other external parasites, there are more than just ich out there.

Safest bet is step up water changes and monitor the fish.

Actually yeah I think you are right, I think I have heard of different strains of ich...And there are definetly lots of other parasites out there...

My GSP did this aswell. Last time it happened I didnt think much and the behavior didnt last very long. He did for like 2 days and then he just stopped doing it. But to be safe take the precautions, maybe Melafix/Pimafix.