The Puffer Forum

Hullo to all of you...
I've been given the link to your site from another forum I post on... Am glad to have been sent in your direction!

I have been keeping puffers in one form or another for several years, and for the last year had my heart set on a Mbu. Having worked out size and perameters etc, he was to go into my community tank until he got a little larger and then I was to custom build him something in the region of a 1000g tank.

Finally last wednesday one came into my -notoriously bad- LFS and I snapped him up...
He's 4iches not inc. tail.
Unfortunately not having a quarantine tank set up, and as they were being iffy about keeping him in for awhile, I bought him that afternoon and put him into my "Slow and Nice Tempered" community tank, and he is fine with all other inhabitants. The tank is well over a year mature, and I removed several fish to adjust for his bio-load. All my levels have stayed exactly the same, pH is 7, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0mgl, and Nitrate 0mgl...

He has however got what looks like a small Bacterial infection on the rear section of his tail (As shown in the below picture, apologies for quality) which looks like a small lesion of some kind... with ever so slight ragged skin around the white wound



Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to treat this with? It's been there since I got him from the damn LFS, but I don't wanna take him back as there isn't any more, and I love 'im already

So far I've just been doing daily 20 percent water changes, while I found someone who might know about this kind of stuff... Doesn't seem to have spread, doesn't seem to have got worse...

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be supremely grateful... Thank you for taking time out to read this post...

A most concerned AJ.
Owner of Olaf Leviathan Mbu Esq.

Welcome. Has the spot gotten bigger or worse? Is it fuzzy or furry or anything, or just look like a pimple?

Weird that you have no nitrates at all.

You could spot treat it with mecurichrome or just add Melafix for now.

People thinking melafix the the way with puffs? I didn't get on well with it with my Fig 8's but am well willing to give it a try...

Spot is same sized as when I got him.... I just assumed it was part of the colouring as I couldn't get a good look (He was being shy)

now looking closely at it, it's slightly ragged around the edges... Not so much fuzzy and no loose flaps of skin....

You should send manutius a message if he doesn't chime in soon. I think this happened to his mbu before as well, or so I remember.

speak my name and I shall appear

Hi broken boy, congrats on picking up one of the coolest fish available. I do hope that you can get the 1000G tank asap, you and Olaf will be very happy about it. The sooner you can do this the better IMO

In reference to the spot, can you describe it a bit more for me please. Does it look like the skin pigment is blotchy/opaque or does it look red and sore? Are thre any other symptoms such as heavy breathing, are any of the other fish gasping at the surface or rapid gill movements? If its what Clooney gets I put it down to lack of O2 due to overefeeding.

Look here http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/vie ... verfeeding

Water changes and aerating the water will remedy it if that is the problem, you can aim the flow of your filteres upwards to ripple the waters surface.

If it is some kind of abbrasion use mela fix as prescribed on the label

Thanks very much Manuitus... I'm already well on the case with the tank mission

It's a white spot that has dark pigmentation around it... I guess for want of a better word it looks like a little ulcer...

All the other fish are happy, and apart from the abarasion he's really picking up now, being very social with me

I will try and take a fair few pics and post them on...

So in you ropinion, the melafix dosage on the bottle is the righht way?

Thanks for everyone's kind words and help. Me and Olaf both thank you!

From that description I would say it a is a harmles spot, possibly a swollen/sore spine. Clooney has had this a few times over the years and it goes without the need of treatment, I would stick with the melaifx to be on the safe side mate

You're a true star. Thank you for your help. Started Melafix tonight, will keep posted on improvements

Looks like a heater burn to me. Melafix should sort it out no problem.