The Puffer Forum

Hi, I would need advise on how I can treat this fellow. He (sorry but I have this fixation that all my fish are males; very wrong concept, I know) is a 7" Fahaka and recently looked like he is storing a red-coloured fish pellet in right cheek. I did not notice it earlier until my mum told me that "He is so cute...like a hamster." Then I took a closer look and realised that the red is not a pellet stuck in his mouth but swelling.

Here's what I did so far.
1. Got antibiotics - only tetracycline is available
2. Changed the water in his tank and has been changing 50% everday since
ammonia - 0ppm
nitrites - 0 ppm
nitrates - 15ppm (a day after water change)
3. Added tetracycline to the main tank - I know this is not advisable but I do not have a hospital tank large enough for him..and I am freaky about netting him out of water. If anyone can advise on how to bring his fellow out for dips everyday, please let me know. I will go and buy a bathtub.
4. Added Melafix and Pemafix

Please help me out on this.
1. How long should the antibiotics treatment be? I started 2 days ago and the redness had gone down but the swelling is still there.
2. Although I read that Melafix and Pemafix can mixed with antibiotics, is it normal to have lots of foam/froth formed in the tank? I have a rain bar.
3. I have not fed him and he is begging for food. It is alright to starve him during this period right? Or should I feed him with antbiotics laden food?

Thanks so much.

Yes, the rain bar is causing the foaming. Can you lower the bar into the water? Sorry, I'm terrible at using meds.

I would feed him with vitamin laced food. I'm not a fan of throwing medications at them without finding out what the problem is first.

Hi, here are some pics of the boy. The bump is still there although it does not look as engorged with fluid/blood a few days ago.

Do you feed him snails? Very well may be a cyst caused by a shell cutting the inside of his mouth (hope it's not imbedded in there but if it was, it would be getting worse, IMO), that will probably be re-absorbed back into the skin. Just keep his conditions pristine & add Melafix.

PP, now that you mentioned shell cutting inside his mouth...he is in the habit of chewing the coral chips in his tank. I think I may have to change the gravel! He just did it again yesterday...I saw him biting a piece the size of a lady's pinky, despite his mouth being swollen.

This reminds me of another thread, I think it it was HRpuffers where a F8 had a lump on its chin and then it burst and went down on its own.

I just checked the fellow entirely and saw a bump on his back! This time the bump is smaller about the size of an acne and it has a hole on it! Like a whitehead!

Is that a nematode?

I wanna cry...

Dont think its a nematode, my sabahensis had something very similar on his cheek when i first got him, a lump with a white centre. After a few days the centre fell out then it started to heal. You can still see the mark where it was though.

It looks like this:

Is the centre slightly pink, its difficult to tell from the shot, if so that does look very similar to what mine had.

Thanks, Hilly. It is slightly pink as you have described. I will follow through with vitamins, daily water changes and Melafix. I have stopped the antibiotics.

Hopefully it will just clear up on its own. I initially used melafx and then stopped after a few days once I saw it was starting to heal up. Still dont know what it was.