Sick Green Spotted Puffer

[Puffer Lover]

Hi! I'm desperate to help my BFF Spot! He's a 12 year old green spotted puffer who lives alone in a 12 gallon tank, and he's having a REALLY hard time at the moment (a larger tank is currently in the works). He's been in low salinity all this time and it's never seemed to be an issue (~1.002), he's always been a happy little guy buzzing around the tank and this is the first issue I've had with him. Kind of a little miracle fish, if you will!

Water parameters are below:

Salanity ~1.002
Ammonia 0
NO3 Somewhere between 0-20
NO2 0
pH 7.5
KH 80
GH 120

I left town for 2.5 weeks and it would appear the people feeding him over fed him immensely (dropped in an entire cube of bloodworms in once a day vs half a cube twice a day) which caused the ammonia levels to sky rocket. Also the air pump to his bubble machine was knocked over and the tube came unplugged so he was without the extra oxygen from the bubbles for these 2.5 weeks.

Since I've been home on Sunday, he's been SUPER lethargic, his belly is grey and his colors are very dull. He's either been laying on the floor of his cave or hanging out at the top of the tank near the water line, and is slow to greet me and beg for food when I get home from work. He's usually super excited to see me and immediately begs for food, but he recently stopped eating as of Tuesday morning. All of the above is very unlike him and I'm obviously concerned.

It also looked like he might have some sort of tiny parasites behind his pectoral fins, very small white splinter-like things...I figured skin flukes.

I did two ~30% water changes to get the ammonia, nitrate, & nitrite levels down on Sunday and Monday, however he's still not back to normal so I dosed the tank with 1 tablet of Tetra Parasite Guard on Monday night and am getting ready ready to change the water and add a 2nd dose.

Since adding the medicine I've noticed a few things that are a little weird...

1. He's still really lethargic but it looks like the flukes have decreased in amount, however he's still not eating.
2. His anus looks like it's plugged up, almost like he's constipated, and it appears there's whiteish clear substance clogging it...Is this him pooping out internal parasites? usually when he's not pooping the cavity shrinks in size but it's like there's a cork in there (So graphic, but I just want to be specific as possible to find out what's going on with him. He pooped normal brown color on Monday night but there was 1 string of clearish sting hanging from it, which is the first time I've ever seen anything like that...and is another reason why I decided to dose the tank)

His breathing was pretty fast on Monday, but has chilled out sine I dosed the tank, however he's still dull in color, not eating and lingering at the top and or bottom of the tank with very little movement. He'll periodically come out and swim up to greet me but it almost instantly wears him out.

As another option I've picked up instant ocean and am starting to increase the salinity gradually, however this is new to me and I'm open to any help I can get on how to best do that, as well as any suggestions on what else might be wrong with him.

I can tell he's reeeally trying to hang in there, so any feedback on what I an do to help him would be really appreciated!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

 

[Brookster123]

I'd keep up on water changes. 60% anyways, get those numbers stable. If the tank was stagnant for that long he may have some ammonia poisoning. At his age, who knows? If he appears more bloated than usually and has a visible blockage try an Epsom salt bath. I wouldnt mess with salinity to much at the point, clean and stable parameters seem best for a sick fish. Once hes in the clear consider adjusting salinity up slowly to meet brackish requirements.

 

[Puffer Lover]

Thank you so much for your reply!

So I actually did bump up the sanity to 1.003 last night before your reply came through cause I genuinely thought that was my last resort, and read several places that increasing salinity would help rid the tank of parasites without more harsh medication...he’s hanging on, but seems more listless than before, but it’s hard to tell if that’s from increasing the salinity or just because he’s been progressively getting worse/more listless as the week has progressed due to his condition. How long does a Monica poisoning usually last for after the water levels have been corrected?

I found him nose down in one of his trees stuck, it was like he didn’t have the strength to get himself free so I helped him out if it, but he went straight to the bottom of the tank after that and was just hanging out. If he’s not there he’s VERY close to the water line just chillin.

His belly is less grey than it’s been but is still splotchy patches of grey around the rim where is whit belly meets his spots, and his color is still pretty dull. Not like gone, just a dull green and black.

He’s still refusing to eat and the blockage is still there. It’s like he doesn’t have the strength to push it through. So on that note, these Epsom salt baths you mentioned...I did some research but am still really confused on how to properly do this and what materials I need. Can you expand on how to do these? Any feedback would be helpful.

Also I did not apply the second dose of parasite treatment to the tank given I bumped the salinity and didn’t want to overwhelm him of the salt truly does help get rid of the parasites.

Pretty much expecting the worst when I get home from work, but am hoping for an improvement.

Any additional thoughts or feedback would be so appreciated cause I’m feeling like this might be it for my little faithful friend. ? I know 12 years is above average for these guys, but I have heard of some living to 15 in some cases, so anything I can do to get him back on the right track would be helpful!

Thanks again for your help! ??

 

[Necris]

Holding thumbs for your puffer. Wish I could be of some help

 

[Brookster123]

You can use Epsom salt purchased at pharmacy or grocery store. Cant remember the mix but there is info out there. Basically mix up a gallon of it in tank water and soak him for 20 minutes, ideally the blockage would move on and hed feel better. Is he eating yet?

 

[evil Nick]

good luck, I just reccomended prazi pro and paraguard to someone in another forum. It has worked really well for me in the past and should eliminate the flukes safely. ive done the epsom bath on a betta in the past and it works. just remove some tank water and put about a 1/2 to full teaspoon in it and place the fish in it for a little while. at that age i would think any stress is a gamble on him.

 

[Magma4life]

Just make sure to mix the salt in some of the tank water first so it won't burn him.

 

[Brookster123]

Hows the patient?