Puffer explodes

[nine28girl]

Never purchase a fish because you feel sorry for them, you only get more attached

A couple weeks ago I puchased what seemed to be a depressed puffer. He seemed so sad just sitting on the bottom of his small tank only moving his eyes around for the most part waiting for someone to take him home. I thought my 95 gallon tank would make him happy so I took him home only to see that he perked up very little. I fed him live shrimp and he readily ate them but afterwords he would just go back and perched himself up on a rock and lay there.
Well, yesterday I spoke to my LFS guy and he agreed to take him back and put him into is awesome 300 gallon tank. Surely that would perk him up! Unfortuately tonight I brought him in and one minute he was fine the next bam, his insides where on the outside

I don't understand what happened? Anyone out there heard of this? He was still alive but his underbelly was split wide open and there as a big clear bubble. I used to go fishing with my father when I was little so I have seen puffers fill with air before but I never seen anything like this.
Please someone explain what happened...
Samantha

 

[farslayer]

Perhaps something in there gutted him? It is not uncommon for puffers to lay on the sandbed or rock, I have two of them and they do this on a regular basis. Puffers don't fill with air, they fill with water. They suck it through their mouths and blow out excess through their gills, I've been blasted by water several times. I've never heard of one just exploding however, I would think something sliced him.

 

[celacanthr]

Well, I am sorry to say that the end is near for the puffer.

What happened was that he was exposed to air.
When a puffer is exposed to air, and is scared, they will go with their natural instinct...to puff up...but when in an environment with air, they accidentally puff up...to much, and actually split themselves open as you saw.
For anyone else, who is ever going to handle a puffer, please realize that this is a very real danger, so always catch puffers, wiht something like a cup, so that they are ALWAY underwater. never allow them to get out of water.

 

[nine28girl]

He was never in air that's what I don't understand. I knew of the dangers so we used a net to sort of herd him and a large tupperware thing to scoop him up in water. Same with LFS - never let him touch the air. We stood and watched him for a good 15-20 mins and he was fine. LFS even threw some live shrimp in the tank for everyone one to eat. He (puffer) was chasing a few around. He looked fine. Then I went looking for some stuff we needed, walked away for no more than 5 mins only to come back and find him struggling upside down with a big bubble hanging out.
I just don't get it.

 

[celacanthr]

Wow, that is wierd! I have no clue. sorry i couldn't be of more help. The reason I assumed (wrongly) that he had been exposed to air is that this is what happens when they are exposed.

 

[nine28girl]

Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
Wow, that is wierd! I have no clue. sorry i couldn't be of more help. The reason I assumed (wrongly) that he had been exposed to air is that this is what happens when they are exposed.
No, I just appreciate you responding! Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[nine28girl]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
Perhaps something in there gutted him? It is not uncommon for puffers to lay on the sandbed or rock, I have two of them and they do this on a regular basis. Puffers don't fill with air, they fill with water. They suck it through their mouths and blow out excess through their gills, I've been blasted by water several times. I've never heard of one just exploding however, I would think something sliced him.

This was the first thing I thought as well! I questioned my LFS guy about it and he assured me that there is nothing agressive in the tank. There is another puffer that's been in there for a while and he is doing beautifully. I still just don't understand and I feel horrible

 

[farslayer]

Is it possible he went too near the surface and swallowed a bunch of air?

 

[nine28girl]

Originally Posted by Farslayer
Is it possible he went too near the surface and swallowed a bunch of air?

I don't know.. it's possible I guess at some point after I walked away from the tank. I watched him for a good 15-20 mins though before I walked away and he was fine. He was even trying to catch shrimp to eat. Maybe something scared him and he went to the top? Would another fish scare him enough to do that? I am trying to remember all the fish in the tank...
A couple angels (I think)
Dogface puffer
another Spiny puffer
Pacific Blue Tang
Lionfish
somekind of eel..resembles the banded snake eel - very non agressive
Nothing that I can imagine would scare a puffer..

 

[vanquish]

Perhaps he had some kind of a gut-bloat? Built up gas in his intestine combined with strong puffage could make him burst perhaps? Did you ever see him eat a pice of gravel that could have gotten lodged in his intestine?

 

[nine28girl]

Originally Posted by Vanquish
Perhaps he had some kind of a gut-bloat? Built up gas in his intestine combined with strong puffage could make him burst perhaps? Did you ever see him eat a pice of gravel that could have gotten lodged in his intestine?

Actually, yes. Several times I noticed as he was trying to catch shrimp he would miss and get a mouth full of live sand and spit it out. Is this uncommon?

 

[vanquish]

Probably not sand... but if he ingested a larger or odd shaped rock hidden in the sand it could have caused blockage. This is something that would have happened several days prior to his exploding trick though, as the intestine gas would need time to build. What made me think of this is you said, "underbelly was split wide open and there as a big clear bubble" which sounds intestinal. The bubble you saw could have been his inflated intestine, causing his belly to rupture. This happens frequently in amphibians for example the fire belly toad when they swallow a pebble.

 

[nine28girl]

Originally Posted by Vanquish
Probably not sand... but if he ingested a larger or odd shaped rock hidden in the sand it could have caused blockage. This is something that would have happened several days prior to his exploding trick though, as the intestine gas would need time to build. What made me think of this is you said, "underbelly was split wide open and there as a big clear bubble" which sounds intestinal. The bubble you saw could have been his inflated intestine, causing his belly to rupture. This happens frequently in amphibians for example the fire belly toad when they swallow a pebble.
Ok, so what you are saying is that there was nothing I could have done to prevent this and by taking him back to the store I didn't kill him? I know that's a loaded question because we can never know for sure what EXACTLY happened, BUT chances are it wasn't my fault????

 

[vanquish]

Probably not lol. Granted I've never actually kept a puffer, but I'm pretty sure that death by explosion is rather rare. There probably wasn’t anything you could do to treat him other than take him to an exotic animal vet. But even then, that’s going to very extreme measures which you weren't prompted to do by its symptoms. The fact that that you didn’t witness the cause of death itself means its impossible to tell for sure what happened. Don’t blame yourself, freakish things happen with all kinds of pets, especially those we understand the least. I suggest you buy a new puffer, one who doesn't look so sick, and give it another go!

 

[pacino]

i lost my puffer last week. i think to the same type of problem. i had him for about a year, i think what i might have doing wrong is i would leave the dried shrimp he loved at the surface and he would come up and get it. that would have been the only time he was exposed to air. or else he must have had something internal going on. which in your possible case is just part of nature, so dont feel bad like you did something wrong. i am still kinda bummed myself so i feel your pain.

 

[nine28girl]

I feel awful. I feel responsible for the each life I place in the tank. It took me days to reach the conclusion he'd be happier in the LFS 300 gallon aquarium. I thought I was doing the best thing for him and then this happens. I am crushed. No, no more puffers for me until I am more experienced. I have actually decided to stay away from all fish that require live food for for a while. It makes me too crazy! I worry constantly that they are eating enough or too much, nitrates... Argggh. This stuff is stressful!!!