Help – sharpnose puffer in trouble

seafan

seafan

New Member
I’ve had this 3” blue-spot sharpnose puffer in my 10g quarantine tank for 2 weeks. 2 days after I got him I saw him scratching on the rocks many times. I didn't see any spots to think it was ich. His dorsal fin is not clear, there are some whitish stuff on it, but I'm not sure if it is lymphocystis. I fed him garlic soaked shrimp and scallops, and the scratching reduced to only a few times a day, but the dorsal fin cloudines seemed to get worse. He has been very active and a greedy eater, but yesterday he ate much less than usual, and spent most time hiding under a cave, sitting on the tank bottom. After some close inspection, I found that there was a small area on his side, about 0.5” by 0.25”, where his scales looked “lifted” or “erected” for a lack of better description. I suspect it’s from his scratching on the rocks. He looked lethargic. I was afraid of infection in the described area so I treated with some Melafix. Is there anything else I could/should do at this point?
Thanks!
 
pufferlover

pufferlover

Active Member
Seafan; couple of things first good for you to QT your new fish. Second if your lfs is like mine it seems that within about 3 days of getting a new fish if it is going to show Ick it does then but sometimes it is a bit more latent and takes longer (that is why a 3 to 4 week QT is a must to give it time to show if it is there). The fact it was scratching is a indication that it does have a parasite problem and constant scratching could have caused the rough spot you describe.Now you said you used melafix which is a bacteria treatment and chose the garlic treatment for the probable Ick infestation. Now here is my read on this if the fish is eating that is a good thing, the fact it may lay around is not a bad thing as Puffs do that even sharpnoses (who sometimes stick themselves to the glass in a heads up position and just sit there). The white on the top fin could be from scratching also if you have CC in that tank it would pick up the white color from that or a rock if it is light colored. If it was Ick all 3 fins would be spotted and very noticeable on that type of Puff. Go easy on the melafix tho I do not like it and know many others here who do not like it either. You started with it so don't panic from what I said just make sure you do it exactly as directed (no more then regular dose) and remove it right on time after last treatment. I have used it a couple times and if the smell doesn't get you, or the foam on the top layer of water, the fact it doesn't work very often will. Keep posting as things develop and we will see if it clears up or at least gives us some more facts to figure its problem out. One last thing in the QT tank was that set up when that fish was bought and if so where did the water you used come from, or is it a on going tank running all the time?
 
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