Need help quick!!

[luv4reef]

I noticed a very small swollen area on my porc. puffer's back a couple of days ago but he was acting fine, yesterday there was a white discoloration on his lips (at 1st I thought fungus) but this morning it's all most everywhere and you can tell it's a discoloration, it's not raised or cottonlike. The swollen area is spread and it has a yellow discolration to it, does anyone know what the heck is wrong w/him? I'm waiting for the lfs to open so I can bring him in to see if I can get some med. to help him but I don't think he is going to make it he looks bad and is breathing hard.
I had a lion that I had to return due to his overly aggressive behavior towards all the other fish but do you think the puffer may have been stung or is this some kind of disease?(this started right after we caught the lion which was quit a chore) Please help w/any info on what it is or what I can do! Thank you!

 

[squidd]

What's your water parameters like..?
Post your most recent test results...
Are any other fish showing signs of illness/stress..?
Is it just "one" spot like a sting or blister on the puffer or is there more...
How did it go at the LFS...?

 

[oyam1]

QT asap till you know whats going on.
sounds like you may need antibiotics, unless if its malnutrition.
has it been eating well, and are you feeding quality foods?
keep asking, send photo if you can.
if not look for photos on this sight (disease thread).
good luck

 

[luv4reef]

well unfortunatly things are going down hill fast! The lfs tested our water and it all came out good & he said to do a water change that the puffer seems stressed so we put him in another lg container (all we had)did the water change and he seemed to get some of his color back so we put him back in and about 30 seconds later ALL the fish started to gasp for air, 2 died instantly and the puffer turned white in alot areas right in front of me(wildest thing i have ever seem) also my new trigger was losing his color and laying on the bottom trying to breathe so we quickly got the 2 out and put them back in the container (they seemed a little better but still bad) we did another water test at the store only our nitrites were a little high so he said the fish are stressed to go ahead & put them back in the tank that is all I can do is wait, so I did. They didn't loose more color like before but they are laying on the bottom struggling still, I tested my ammonia again myself and it was at .04!! So I had an ammonia spike, I must have done something wrong during the water change (1st water change to tank) but the puffer was already stressed before and my coral beauty died before the water change too, so I don't know whats going on! I would love any and all advice on this problem. I'm so upset over this if I loose the last 2 fish I'm afraid to buy any more till I know whts wrong.

 

[squidd]

If this is your first " water change,,,How long has this tank been set up...?
How many fish are in this tank...?
I would suggest having a set of test kits at home and continue doing your "own" testing to track your tanks water condition...
Sounds like you "may" have had a high ammonia level prior to your water change and it's just catching up with you...

 

[oyam1]

IMO stress is the #1 thing.
trigger, puffer, angel, and etc. all in a 65.
aggressive fish, that will get to big.
you may need to let things cool down.
see who lives after all this.
trigger and puffer may be the limit of the 65, to kep fish from stressing.
if all the fish go, then add fish slow (nothing for 4 weeks).
you can keep lots of great fish in a 65.
just make sure they are size is optimal for 65, and that the mix of fish will do well together.
good luck.:happyfish

 

[luv4reef]

We relize these fish will outgrow a 65 so we do intend on upgrading much larger when they grow bigger and turn the 65 into a reef only but for now they are quit small. Also we got lucky with the 4 we had as far as temperment goes, no one ever messed with anyone except for the lion who we returned due to his size and aggressiveness(lucky 4 him he missed all this!)
Well, the lfs and I have figured some of this out. My ammonia was a tad high before(reason 4 w change)from trying to feed my puffer frozen but he will only eat live so there was debris on the bottom from all the left over plus adding new fish. As for the fish turning white they went into shock from having such a huge salinty drop in points(dropped 5 pts)while doing the change we ran out of salt and the salinty dropped drastically for about an hr while I bought some more. The trigger/puffer survived since we got them out 1st after seeing the fish turn white. We housed them in a gallon container(all we had) with an air stone while we figured this mess out. Being new to this and our 1st water change we did not know to keep the temp/salinty close to what it was before or fish will go into shock. Hard lesson learned!! We have been testing frequently at home and the lfs, today both ours and the lfs testing came out wonderful, no traces of ammonia or nitrites so that is good but I'm still not sure what caused such a huge spike after the w. change.
Also my trigger has regained all color and is eating the live fish i gave him and swimming/breathing great! But even though my puffer has most his color back is still laying on the bottom and breathing hard, I'm told there is nothing more I can do but wait if anyone thinks otherwise please let me know he has made it this far I feel I need to do something!
One more thing I noticed my water is a little cloudy, what causes that and what can I do? Thank you for all the advice/info!

 

[oyam1]

you need some one to give you info on this hobby.
and not the LFS.
good books take it slow dont over stock and dont over feed.
get good skimmer and get RO/DI ($100 unit will do).
hope for the best with the fish you have.
when you set up your big tank, then get all the aggressive and big fish.
the growing into it, and bigger tank comming soon theorys never seem to work.
good luck