Bloated Puffer

[uk.kat.uk]

I have a Valentini puffer in my tank who has been in there for about 3 months. He is happy, eating and swimming arround but recently over about 4 weeks he has been getting bigger. I dont think it is air. Is it possible that he has worms. If so what can I use to treat it? I have corals so dont want to kill anything.

Please help. I dont want to loose this little guy.

 

[Sniperhank]

Can you tell us more about the system? How big is it and what are the other inhabitants? It is possible that it just puffed up due to being stressed.

 

[uk.kat.uk]

Can you tell us more about the system? How big is it and what are the other inhabitants? It is possible that it just puffed up due to being stressed.

It is a 290 liter tank. There are a lot of various corals but also have a Tang, Blenny, two clown fish, cleaner wrass and an angel. A couple of shrimp, crabs and some feather duaters. If it is puffed due to stress then I dont know what has caused it. I feed it dry food, frozen and algae. Change the water every weekend. The Nitrite is a bit on the high side but everything else is within normal parameters. He seems happy but just keeps getting bigger.

 

[dylanp]

Very interesting. I really wish I could help with this one. I had a porcupine puffer a while back that would suck in air during feeding and puff up when it couldn't swim down so I'd have to physically tilt it up to get the air out. That's obviously not the case here. I'll look into it and let you know what I come up with

 

[uk.kat.uk]

Thanks, hope your puffer is ok now. Mine is swimming and does not seem to be in discomfort. Thats why I thought he might have worms but if thats the case I dont know how to treat him. Also he is bigger on his left than his right and on one side he has a small white spot.

 

[dylanp]

I can't sleep so I did a little research this seems common with over eating. Some people suggest feeding seaweed to help with digestion and had similar pictures of what you had and it helped. Try not feed for a couple days and give it seaweed when you do. Maybe put it in the sump to keep it from other food. Sniper hank is very knowledgeable so I'd also take this time to get your nitrites in check. When I first joined this group in 2012 he was very helpful with any issues I've had. Water quality is the number one thing to watch in this hobby

 

[uk.kat.uk]

Thanks, I dont have a sump. I use two filters and uv light. I do have a spare tank I could set up for him. Just did not wast to stress him out my moving him. If I dont feed him in my current tank all my other livestock would suffer. I am doing a big water change today so the Nitrite should go back down. Also going to my local fish shop today so will ask for their help. Ill try to minimise the food but its hard when you have corals to feed too.

Thanks for your help.

 

[dylanp]

Your corals shouldn't need feeding if they are photosynthetic the lighting should be enough to keep them happy. That's where the nitrites are coming from. Try feeding the puffer with kelp using tongs or tweezers before feeding your other fish. Again the over feeding is just what I read up on line so I'm not 100% sure. I would however stop feeding the corals at least until your nitrites go down as most coral can live very health without. The dry food should ideally be changed to frozen as well to help the nutrients problem and possibly help the puffers bloating

 

[uk.kat.uk]

I have one coral that is not photosynthetic. Its a sun coral but I could take it out for feeding I suppose and put it in a plastic box during feeding and return it back after. I will give it a try once I have also spoken to the fish shop. Who knew I could just have a fat fish.

 

[uk.kat.uk]

I have one coral that is not photosynthetic. Its a sun coral but I could take it out for feeding I suppose and put it in a plastic box during feeding and return it back after. I will give it a try once I have also spoken to the fish shop. Who knew I could just have a fat fish.

I am glad to report that I found a solution that helped my puffer. He had gotten very bloated but after talking to my local aquatic shop they suggested trying de-shelled peas. I kept other feeding to a minimum and to my surprise all my fish loved the peas but the puffer most of all. It only took about 2 days and look at the before and after pictures. Peas will be a occasional treat from now on as they all love them.