The Puffer Forum

Hello Me again!
Seem to be having nothing but bad luck with fluffy...

Fluffys left eye is all puffy and white...
well not so much puffy but it looks like he has a white filmy slime type bubble over his left eye.

Ive checked my water...
Ammonia levels are 0
Nitrate 05
and the Nitrit is 0.3
(Tanks 125ltr i have two fluval filters, fluval heater and one air stone, two live plants and two pieces of bog wood)

I didn't test the pH. But if needed ill do it, it takes two Min's.

I read up a little bit and it could also be stress... But i don't think anything has been stressing him out as he's been buzzing around his tank with his tail fin out and hes been really light in co lour.
Unless its something from the thermometer he chomped on.
But i did a 75% water change on him after that.
Any ideas on how to treat?
Bactericide's? Would it be best to put him in a hospital tank before treating him with that so it doesn't kill my good bacteria?
God i must be so annoying always asking questions.
Thanks for reading!

Pop-eye is best cured with some epsom salts.

exact dosage is somewhere around here...

Do daily water changes till you get those Nitrites down to zero...

Could bad water quality be the reason for it then?

Bad water quality is usually involved in puffer illness, yes. The tank he's in appears to be uncycled if you are still getting nitrites, so chances are the water is bothering him. You need do do 50% or so water changes every day until nitrites read zero a couple days running. Also, as a brackish water fish, he is much more susceptible to eye and skin problems if he's in FW.

O.k.
is this going to be the best time to also start to turn the water brackish or is 50% to much to increase it by at a time?
And i have been doing every other day 40% water changes to dilute the nitrite, so ill step it up a notch and do the 50% every day.
Thanks for your help.

No, bad time, wait until the nitrites have zeroed out, otherwise you will be going through crazy amounts of marine mix. When the tank is cycled, you can increase the SG by about .002 per week, if you are doing 50% water changes, that means the water in your change bucket should read no more than 1.004.

Ah OK brilliant!
Thank you very much.
And for the bubbly eye? Epson salts?

That should help, yes Some melafix might also help, in case it's some other kind of nasty, but the epsom salt will help draw out the liquid and is the most important.

1tbsp/5g. Also add Melafix.

Brilliant,
thank you so much!

Also!
Will melaflix kill the good bacteria in my tank or just the nastys?

Melafix won't harm any good bacteria in your tank. Remove carbon though (don't need it anyway).

Ok thanks very much!
Hopefully hell be fixed soon because i don't like fluffy sick makes me feel real bad.

Just an update!
Mr/Mrs Fluff's eye seems to be on the mend!
Fluff can now see again and its properly clearing up!
Thanks for all your help peoples
xx