Help!!! Puffer has been blown up for hrs!!!

alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
I feed him this moring and after about a hr he throw half of it up and sense then he has been blown up where talking like 4hrs now!
What do i do?
tank 75 water is okay nitrates still a little high around 20 everything else good!
its a porcpine and he goes down a tiny bit then rate back up??? Hes about 5 inch ball had him for about 6 mo!
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I would turn off the lights to see if that reduces stress. Is the fish being harassed?
I'm also going to copy your topic over to the aggressive forum so that hobbyists with more experience with puffers may comment, so keep an eye out there as well for discussion.
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
Along with Lions questions:
its a porcpine and he goes down a tiny bit then rate back up???
Is your puffer having a hard time swimming? Floating at the top?
Kaye
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
no floating at the top, he acts like he is sneezing and is trying to go down but looks as he cant like goes down a tiny bit then rate back up, Also somtimes spins in circles and can move, every 10 min he turns around and looks at me then spins back around, I donno its been about 7hrs now the lights have been off for 4 of them semse like he is doing better with the blue on!
Tank 75 gal everything is in check except nitrates are high around 20 i have been having trouble with them for awhile now, Just got a di filter
mates flame angle, clown goby, percula clown, lawnmore blenny, sixline so yeah he aint getting picked on and sense he has been blown up they all been hiding!
I dont get why he goes down a little then rate back up? Is there anything i can do? when i go up to the tank he comes to me so i guess he aint doing to bad then? please help this is my gilr friends fish and we have been though2 in the last yr the other died within a week due to ick
 
greencamaro454

greencamaro454

New Member
if u think its your filter it prolly is u mentioned it not me get a fluval fx5 and then ull have no worries freakin great fish only tank filters
 
boozzbro

boozzbro

Member
are you aerating before doing water changes with the di water. if you arent ther could be a severe lack of dissolved oxygen in the water. which would be causing problems with the puffers breathing and cause stress
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
money is low now but i will kep that in mind, i do have almost 130 lb of lr with a 4 inch dsb
update 12hrs later he is laying on the ground stiff as a board breathing a little more then normal, i turned the blue light on and he is really stiff and cant really swin kinda did circles and almost blow up again so i turned the light rate off and he returned back to the same as i found him this morning!
dont look to good guys! Almost like somthing is broke in his body, Now that i think of it for some reason i rember him smacking the cross brace in the tank head on pretty hard before this started(he prolly thought it was food lol)
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
yes i am making the water 48hrs before changes as the first 24 is just to get it to temp then the last 24 is the salt level with 2 ph in a 24 gal tub good thought but i did my homeowrk on that one!!!
Ive been doing saltwater for about a total of 5yrs now, mainly folr but i have done corals but due to the nitrates out of the tap it only lasted about 4mo before i returned them to the store!!!
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
I need your exact water parameters, please. Can you list your pH, kH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, salinity, temperature?
You say you are using tap water. Have you ever tested your tap water's TDS? How about its coppr level? Both of these could be major issues. Some areas have down-right polluted tap water, while other areas are not too bad.
Since you are using tap water, what kind of water conditioner/chlorine remover are you using?
When this fish eats, does he eat right at the top of the water? Does he stick his face out of the water when you feed him?
 
alfieferenzo84

alfieferenzo84

Member
ph8.3
ammonia 0
nitrie 0
nitrates 20
salt 1.021
temp 80
thats all i can tell you
I have crabs and snails walking around so i hope there is no copper also tons of lr/ls
he eats out of my hand sumtimes my finger and pops a little out of the water, but this happined hr after he ate
all my other fish appear to be fine!
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
Yes, but I have found that puffers can be pretty sensitive and easily spooked.
What do you use to remove chlorine/condition your water?
Do you live close by to an LFS? Could you possibly call them and ask them if they have a TDS meter in their store to check your tap water?
Did he come out of the water the last time you fed him before this all happened?
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
Have you tried Burping?
Even though puffers can expel water pretty quick on their own, you may be dealing with water plus air. Something needs done, and I am not sure what...... But it is a step I would try at this point.
Kaye
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
There are a few things that concern me here:
I do not see a list of tankmates, what are the puffers tankmates?
I may have missed it......
he acts like he is sneezing and is trying to go down but looks as he cant like goes down a tiny bit then rate back up,

Now that i think of it for some reason i rember him smacking the cross brace in the tank head on pretty hard before this started
This is why I say a combination of water and air ..... Anyone have thoughts on this?
Kaye
 
lion_crazz

lion_crazz

Active Member
Kaye, tank mates are:
mates flame angle, clown goby, percula clown, lawnmore blenny, sixline so yeah he aint getting picked on and sense he has been blown up they all been hiding!
I did miss the part about hitting the center brace though. It definitely could be air then.
 
boozzbro

boozzbro

Member
if it was jumping out of the water i would think it is most likely air.
if its stil puffed up you will have to burp it.
 
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