The Puffer Forum

I have a spiny puffer (Diodon holacanthus) that has some type of white cottony looking film appearing on the outside of his left eye. It just appeared yesterday, and I woke up this morning and the coverage is over more of the eye than yesterday.
I'v had a few problems in the past with a cottony growth on his fins or somewhere like that. The white growth would apear for a couple of days and then it would be gone. He has always continued to eat very well anytime the growth has been on him. And it has always dissappeared after 2 or 3 days.
But now it is on the outside of his eye, and that is not the same as it just being on his fins. I'v gotten both melafix and pimafix to dose the tank if needed too, but I'v never had to use it yet.
I was afraid that if I started using medicine to cure him that it would lower his natural immune system to help fight off disease. Or does the melafix and pimafix just help the immune system fight off the disease.

I was just wandering if I should go ahead and try using the melafix? I read also that using melafix in combination with pimafix will help with the healing. Should I use both of them together or just melafix by itself? Or should I be using just pimafix by itself?
I really appreaciate anyones input in the matter.

I had problems in the past with my puffer not eating and you all really helped me with the problem. I thank you for that. He has been doing great ever since then.

I was also wandering if it safe to dose the tank with the medications with my nitrates being a little high. I was in the process of doing water changes to bring them down until this happened.
Thank You.

Kman

check ur water parameters..it could be due to the high nitrates.

water change.


js

Yeah, post us the parameters, but I'd deffo use the Mela and Pima, as they're natural plant extracts and won't mess with his immune system.
It seems that porcupine puffers are prone to these eye problems, but get us those numbers and we'll take it from there.
Pami.

fatpuffer wrote:check ur water parameters..it could be due to the high nitrates.

water change.


js

All my water parameters are fine except for the nitrates, and they are very high. I'v always had trouble with them for a long time. And the puffer has never had any problems.
All the water changes that I have done didn't seem to work until a certain way to do it that I gotten off of melev's reef web site, and they have been helping some. The water changes has been gradually bringing it down.

Like I said even though the tank has always had high nitrates it hasn't seemed to affect him much. I know if the puffer is in the tank with his tale curled all the time he is stressed, and by the change of his color. But this isn't so with him, his tail isn't curled up, and he doesn't act as if he is stressed from the high nitrates, but I still am trying to get them down.
And he gets alot of attention. I think it helps him to pay as much of attention as possible to him. I have really gotten attached.

The water parameters are pH is 8.2 the ammonia is 0 the nitrites are 0, and the nitrates are 100ppm, but I am in the process of doing another water change and hopefully I can get them down half way at least.
Thanks for your help.
Kman

I would dose with Mela and Pima, as the eye prob has lasted longer than the others.
High nitrAtes - and it's good that you're reducing them now - will have long-term effects on the fish, and this may be what you're seeing now.
Nip it in the bud..get those NO3s down and put some M&Pfix in the tank.
One option is to reduce feeding for a while to help with the nitrAtes.
Can you test your tap water for us as well - if it's naturally quite high, there's things you can do - I don't have experience of them, so I won't advise you on them, but others will.
What are the modifications you've made to your cleaning routine?
Pami.

I only used store bought distilled water or reverse osmosis water. I never use tap water. That is what I always do a water change with.
Yesterday I went out and bought 40 gallons of distilled water and a bag of instant ocean. I do this every week, and my nitrates are still sky high.
The puffer is only in a 75 gallon right now which is probably alot of the nitrate problems, and that is why I have already purchased a 180 gallon tank, and am in the process of setting it up now. I am hoping that it will be ready for him to transfer too by January or Febuary at the latest.
That is how much I care for this puffer. I'm setting up the 180 gallon for because I want him to be happy and healthy. I'm trying to do all I can right now to keep that 75 gallon in check until I can get him transfered in the big tank.
I'v been bashed by people telling me that I should of never gotten him for a 75 gallon to start with, and I agree if I new that a 75 wouldn't have been big enough I would have bought the tank size that was needed for him from the start. My LFS told me that a 75 gallon was big enough. That is what he was in at the LFS.

And actually the eye problem hasn't lasted longer than the others. The other places that would come up on his fins would last for about 3 or 4 days and then just disappear.
Kman

I'm curious--what did that reef site say to do for high nitrates? I have a fairly new reef tank (not new as a SW tank though) & I'm having the same problem. Been doing lots of water changes & it's getting quite expensive.

Pufferpunk wrote:I'm curious--what did that reef site say to do for high nitrates? I have a fairly new reef tank (not new as a SW tank though) & I'm having the same problem. Been doing lots of water changes & it's getting quite expensive.

Kelp mabe? Or some marine plant that will consume nitrate mabe?

Pufferpunk wrote:I'm curious--what did that reef site say to do for high nitrates? I have a fairly new reef tank (not new as a SW tank though) & I'm having the same problem. Been doing lots of water changes & it's getting quite expensive.

The reef sites solution was just a water change, but it was doing it a little different than what I had seen or heard of before.

This type of water change is based on doing it on a 55 gallon tank, so I'll use a 55 gallon as an example.

First get a rubbermaid tub and mix up 20 gallons of saltwater, and of course let it areate for a while. Then you siphon out 10 gallons of water from your tank and add it to the rubbermaid tub of water, and let it aerate for a few minutes with a couple of powerheads or something to mix it up good. Then just add 10 gallons from the rubber maid tub back into your tank, and do this 3 more times. Then you mix up another 20 gallons and do the same thing again. All this type of water change is doing is diluting the nitrates down. But I tell you I'v have changed out 30 gallons or more of regular water changes in the past with hardly no change in the nitrate levels.
After trying this type of water change I could tell a big difference. It brought the nitrate levels down to almost half of what they were.
And another good thing about this type of water change is that it doesn't stress the fish out at all, because your only taking out 10 gallons at a time.
If you have a bigger tank just mix up more water in a bigger rubbermaid tub and take more out of the tank, it still is going to do the same thing.
The web site is http://www.melevesreef.com
click on hidden treasures then scroll down to solutions and there you will see where it says lower your nitrates, then click on that.

It did help to get my nitrates down but I let them get back up again. So I'm going through it again. I need to add a refugium people say that will help tremendously. The water changes only bring the nitrates down then you have to get to the problem of what is causing them to get so high and resolve those issues like any type of filter pads are bad about causing excessive nitrates.
I hope it works for you, and thanks for help with my puffer.
Kman

I suggest going for a refugium with macroalgae like chaeto...I was told that they help reduce some of the phosphate and nitrate in the water...

RTR...do u know if mangroves are able to take nutrients fromt the water? I would like to try it just because i like the way it looks..with the leaves sticking out of the tank.


js

I wanted to ask about dosing with melafix and pimafix. Each bottle says to dose 1 tsp. to every 10 gallons. If I dose with both the melafix and pimafix should I use 1 tsp. for every 10 gallons like the bottles say? It doesn't say when you are using both of them at the same time. I wanted to know if I should maybe dose .5 tsp. to every 10 gallons, since I'll be using both of them? Is it possible to overmedicate with these products?

i would lay off the mela or pima fix as they are not the best items for porc puffers. use a standard epsom salt from a grocery sore at 1tsp per 5 gallons (teaspoon) also try a basic antibiotic or comiob ati fungul med in a q/t tank and it should clear up fairly quickly.

Thanks for all the help. I checked out all I could at wet web media and seen where it is not so good to use melafix or pimafix with puffers so I stopped using it, and I did some massive water changes to bring my nitrates down. I got them down to under 40 ppm. One more good size water change and I'll finally get them down to zero. His eye hasn't gotten completely better yet, but it seems to be getting a little better each day without the medicine. I'm keeping a close watch on him and if it gets any worse at all I'll try the epson salts, and maybe some type of formallin dip or something similiar. I want to investigate a little more on wet web media on the subject. They have alot of information like this forum does. Between this forum and wet web media I beleive I can find the cure for what ever ails him. And thanks again for all the help.
Kman

Can you or Jager provide links to the information outlining why P&M-fix should not be used with puffers? A lot of folks on this board have used both products with good results. I, fortunately, have not had to use these products in my puffer tank but I would not hesitate to do so if I felt it was necessary.

I think it'll probably be related to the gakking up of the protein skimmer as the M-fix has been noticed to cause in high SGs.
Pami.