My puffer fish is swimming around with very cloudy eyes and is acting like he's blind

[Trdrollinon22s]

My puffer fish is swimming around with very cloudy eyes and is acting like he's blind. I can always hand feed him but today he didn't even eat not 1 silver side. And my lion fish is the same way. What's going on I check all my water condition levels and everything's great. Even tank temp hasn't changed

[Trdrollinon22s]

Anyone ?? Alrdy lost my grouper

[Terrance]

1. What kind of puffer and how big is your puffer?
2. Tank size and tank mates?
3. What are your nitrAtes?
4. What do you feed on a weekly basis (and special occasion)?
5. What is your water change schedule?
6. What equipment do you have to keep the water clean?

Cloudy eyes indicate poor water quality and/or stress.

[Trdrollinon22s]

Stars and stripes puffer. 75 gal tank. In with a lion fish. 3+ yrs old. But the lion fish has the same problem. O nitrates and 0 niirites 0 coral

[Trdrollinon22s]

He gets shrimp scolopes and silver sides on a constant rowtation

[Trdrollinon22s]

I just changed out 20 gal of water yesterday and changed both filter systems

[Terrance]

Be sure to answer each question thoroughly.

[Trdrollinon22s]

The puffer is defentlly full size.

[Trdrollinon22s]

The water gets changed 20-30 gal every 3-4 weeks. They really like to let a mess lay around

[Trdrollinon22s]

9 inches long. Softball size or maybey even bigger

[Trdrollinon22s]

I just added stress coat

[Terrance]

Originally Posted by Trdrollinon22s

9 inches long. Softball size or maybey even bigger

At 9inches, how often do you feed and how big do you let his stomach get before ending his meal?

[Trdrollinon22s]

He does have a slim coat on him.

[Trdrollinon22s]

I feed the aggressive tank every other day. And I only feed him 2-3 silver sides

[Trdrollinon22s]

At each feeding every other day

[Trdrollinon22s]

In the past 3 + yrs I've only seen him puffed 2 times.

[Terrance]

You're overfeeding him. At 9inches, you should be feeding 1-2 times per week until stomach is slightly rounded.

My guess is that your water is polluted due the high level of waste your puffer excretes after meals. It doesn't show up in your water parameter readings because your water is polluted with dissolved waste that are not measureable by test hobby kits.

Do you have a skimmer? Refugium with chaeto? Anything to help keep your water clean?

Your tank is also too small for the stars and stripes alone.

[Hondatek]

Puffers should not be eating fish at all. Giving puffers fish can lead to fatty liver disease . Overfeeding an incorrect diet can cause that as well.

[Terrance]

Originally Posted by Hondatek

Puffers should not be eating fish at all. Giving puffers fish can lead to fatty liver disease . Overfeeding an incorrect diet can cause that as well.

I thought the same as well. Then i looked it up and surprising enough its an acceptable source of food. Not much more details than that.. I think it should only be fed as a treat every once in a while. Fish in general are very hard on a puffer's internal organs, especially the kidneys.

Feed a more varied diet. Main staple of crustaceans is the best practice.

I'll look more into the silversides though.

[Hondatek]

Yep the fish are bad for puffer kidneys too. Everything I have read says no fish for puffers . I would not even feed as a treat it's just not worth it at all IMO .