My pufferfish is haveing a hard time swimming what should i do?

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pufferlovergirly14 said:
:(I have two pufferfish. One is having a hard time swimming. Any advise?

What size tank? What kind of puffers? What are the levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? How long has the tank been cycled? Is it heavily planted with lots of hiding places???
 
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What size tank? What kind of puffers? What are the levels of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? How long has the tank been cycled? Is it heavily planted with lots of hiding places???

Thanks for telling me this, well lets see my pufferfish are "green spotted puffer fish", there arnt that many plants and they are fake and im not sure what the levels of nitrogen are. But i think it may be because it got stuck behind the filter twice. what should i do? should i get ride of the filter and replace it with another one? i hate seeing the other puffer swim fast and furious, while the other swims slowly and with troubles.
 
how big is each puffer? there's a lot of things to learn about this seemingly simple fish.
 
All of its fins look healthy? If its injured, then maybe you can figure out a way to put it somewhere with less water flow.

Are you overfeeding? After each meal, their belly should be slightly rounded.
 
All of its fins look healthy? If its injured, then maybe you can figure out a way to put it somewhere with less water flow.

Are you overfeeding? After each meal, their belly should be slightly rounded.


I have a feeling it may have clamped fins. But no, i try hard not to over feed them. It makes it hard to clean the tank when theres to much left over food. I usually clean the tank every two weeks, by taking a little bit of the water out. if i take it all out, my puffers will turn black and curl up in stress. i feed each one, one shrimp gumdrop( clumps of small shrimp pieces that are frozen) that i melt before feeding them. The bottom fin and top are stuck at an angle that makes it hard for the puffer to swim. Your right, i should put my little puffer somewhere else with less water flow. Should i try one of those disolveable medicine tablets?
:thanks:
 
I find feeding a big raw prawn from the grocery store helps a lot with the messy eating behavior. I unthaw, cut off the head, then hold the prawn by the tail and slowly stick it into the water. When my puff eat just enough, I pull my hand away and feeding is over. At the end, there is a lot of shrimp left, but I throw it away. This is a little more challenging with 2 active puffs in a tank. Try to thaw it in vitamin water. More vitamins helps the healing process.

If your weaker GSP looks like its struggling to swim, then definitely try to find a way to put it into a place with less water flow. If it just looks funny when its swimming, then I don't think you need to remove and let the natural healing process go to work. I'm the least knowledgeable person about medicine and unhealthy fish since all my fish has been healthy so far.

Hopefully someone can delve into medicating your fish.


Fresh, Brackish, or Salt? This isn't the right place, need to know so I can move it to the right place.

FW & BW unhealthy fish.
 
I find feeding a big raw prawn from the grocery store helps a lot with the messy eating behavior. I unthaw, cut off the head, then hold the prawn by the tail and slowly stick it into the water. When my puff eat just enough, I pull my hand away and feeding is over. At the end, there is a lot of shrimp left, but I throw it away. This is a little more challenging with 2 active puffs in a tank. Try to thaw it in vitamin water. More vitamins helps the healing process.

If your weaker GSP looks like its struggling to swim, then definitely try to find a way to put it into a place with less water flow. If it just looks funny when its swimming, then I don't think you need to remove and let the natural healing process go to work. I'm the least knowledgeable person about medicine and unhealthy fish since all my fish has been healthy so far.

Hopefully someone can delve into medicating your fish.




FW & BW unhealthy fish.

Thanks ill try your suggestion. Sorry about putting this thread in the wrong catagory. I tried medicine but it hasnt worked on Spots, i think i will just let Spots heal himself.
 
Ive never heard of prawn? where can i buy it? I buy my gumdrops at petco for spots and greeny. Ive been feeding them each what they eat and they look healtheir, and spots tummy is pure white! Thanks for your suggestion:) You really know a lot about puffers! Hopefully spots fins get back to their old self.
 
Prawn is basically a big shrimp. Get wild (not farm raised) and raw (not cooked) prawns with no chemicals or preservatives. They're really inexpensive food. I could buy a pack of big prawns for $10, and it would last me 1-2 months). You could break the prawn in half when its still frozen. Feed half one day, and the other half the next day. Shell on or peeled off is up to you.

Soak it in vitamin water, such as Aquarium Fish Vitamins & Supplements: Vita-Chem Marine & Freshwater.

This really helps them live for 10+ years (assuming all other basic requirements are met). I need to buy some vitamins, but haven't had the time to purchase them yet.

As you know, give them snails too for dessert (or hard shelled seafood like cockle or mussel).
 
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