Blue spot puffer looks "shrunken" after being stuck against water filter

[tlancaster]

I have a blue spot puffer and I found him against my filter emperor water filter and I thought he was dead. When I went to remove him I noticed he is still trying to swim. My puffer looks a bit "shrunken" in and is pretty much going where the current takes him. I know I found him a lot of times wedged between rocks which my guess is what he does to sleep? I don't know if he was trying to use the suction from my filter to keep him still and couldn't get away or if it was just a accident... Anything I could do to save him or is it too late? Thank you for the feedback

 

[beth]

Fish, especially larger bulkier fish, don't usually get struck against intakes unless they are already sick. Does your intake have a screen to prevent significant water suction?

Not much you can do unless you have an established quarantine tank.