Does my Green Spotted Puffer have ICK or something different?!

[Loiwra348]

I've had a 30 gallon brackish tank for over 6 months now and have 2 green spotted puffer fish with 1 jewel cichlid. They have always gotten along very well even though they are not recommended tank mates.
I tried to add another fish to the tank over a week ago but he started to develop this white fuzzy stuff and I took him out after a day. However, one of my puffer's (named Rocky) developed a grayish white patch on his side, close to the tail. It is not fuzzy like the other fish that died, just flat.
I have never experienced ick before, but I do know it can look like a series of white dots. I was told by a friend that it could be ick and to treat it as such, but I wanted to make sure because it's only one large patch. It has turned completely white in the past day or two, and it even appears to have an dark ring around it.
He still appears to be healthy and happy otherwise; swimming around and eating plenty. I am new to owning aquariums and have grown very attached to my puffers, so if anyone could give me advice, that would be great!
I'm so worried he's not going to be okay!

 

[dkpate]

Welcome to the forum.

No, not ich, I would lean more towards bacteria, fungus, or even possibly a heater burn. He could beeen rubbing too. Ich looks like salt sprinkles, not white patches. Is it fuzzy?

 

[Loiwra348]

Not ICH

Not it is not fuzzy at all. I tried inspecting it, and it just appears to be flat with nothing raised. It showed up first as a grey color but now only white. I've heard from a few people that it could be a fungus or a stress spot. A burn spot is not a bad idea, this is my puffer who likes to squeeze between the filter tube and thermometer and swim through. I wasn't aware that it was hot enough to burn though!
Do you think I should go ahead an treat it as a fungus? I don't want to give him any unnessary chemicals incase it is a burn or rubbed spot.
Thank SO much for your help!!

Laura

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Looks like a burn to me. Does he hang out by a heater? He also looks very pale on the side of the burn compared to the top, which looks fairly normal. He also has a nice white belly which is normal. But yes, I think it's a burn.

100% sure it isn't Ich. Although this does not mean the fish doesn't have it, just that that isn't what the large white patch is (just to cover myself, hehe).

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Here's a relatively healthy GSP for you:
Green Spotted Puffer | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The overall pale look is worrying me a bit, but it could be pale due to (what I think is) the burn injury. Do you have this fish in brackish water? Are you aware they require brackish water when young and more towards full marine when adults?

 

[Loiwra348]

Looks like a burn to me. Does he hang out by a heater? He also looks very pale on the side of the burn compared to the top, which looks fairly normal. He also has a nice white belly which is normal. But yes, I think it's a burn.

100% sure it isn't Ich. Although this does not mean the fish doesn't have it, just that that isn't what the large white patch is (just to cover myself, hehe).

Yeah I'm sure it's not ich now. Being new to the aquarium world, I had only heard of ich. I wrote thermometer when I meant to write heater, sorry! Yes occasionally he does. Sometimes he looks like he's trying to find a way to swim behind it. How can I protect him from not doing that again?
You don't need to cover yourself. Anything is a possibility!!
I'm happy to hear that he may not be sick overall! Thank you

Laura

 

[Tim Wheatley]

You can either put it somewhere where it is less likely to be used for cover, or you can buy a heater with a protective cover like the Fluval E Series:
Amazon.com: Fluval E 50 Watt Electronic Heater - Fluval A771: Kitchen & Dining

If you do buy one of those, make sure you get the wattage you require, I just linked to the 50 watt but others are there on Amazon.

 

[Loiwra348]

Here's a relatively healthy GSP for you:
Green Spotted Puffer | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

The overall pale look is worrying me a bit, but it could be pale due to (what I think is) the burn injury. Do you have this fish in brackish water? Are you aware they require brackish water when young and more towards full marine when adults?

Yes I do have them in a brackish tank, salinity between 1.010 and 1.012. I actually have 2 puffers except the other one is a darker green with smaller spots, they have gotten along pretty well. I've had them both together for over 8 months. He's always had a fairly good color, his color seems to fade with his mood like if he's sleeping or hiding under a rock. His color comes right back when he gets up to swim around or eat. So I'm not really sure, it could be pale from the injury. I could load up some more pictures to make sure my little guys are healthy.

Laura

 

[Loiwra348]

Yes I've had them in a brackish tank from the very beginning. Salinity between 1.010 and 1.012. I actually purchased two together from the start and they have always gotten along. The other one is a darker green with smaller spots.
I agree with you that he looks pale. His color fades with his mood but comes right back when he goes up swim around and eat. However, the spots near the burn spot towards his back tail have not been bright since the spot showed up. He always had bright color and nice dark spots before though. Is there another thing that could cause this?

Laura

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Only perhaps some other kind of injury I think. If it were fuzzy then I would say it's bacterial, if not? Then it's possibly an injury, either a bite, rub or burn.

 

[Loiwra348]

Sorry for the multiple messages, I was trying to use the app on my phone and got all messed up. Yeah I agree, if the color of the spots don't come back soon is there something else I can check?

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Well the only other thing is that these fish are pretty territorial. Even if you don't see problems, it doesn't mean there aren't any... The color issues could be related to stress from being the fish being picked on. My GSP was most active right after I turned out the lights and went to bed (I know because if I ever walked back in and turned on the room light I would hear a splash as the puffer had quickly swum back to it's hiding spot). It is recommended to have one in 30 gallons to give it it's own territory of a decent size.