Help Please- I think my fish is ill

[Steven A]

Hi,
My male pufferfish is laying on his sides breathing heavy (which is sometimes normall) and his mouth and fins are still moving so I know he is alive and sometimes he swims up and down the tank.

What can / should I do and what is wrong please reply a.s.a.p

S. Askham

[Steven A]

Is it possible that this is just him displaying because they should breed soon i..e The female is ready and the males colours are extremely nice at the moment. Like I said the breathing is normall n the lazyness its just he wa son his sides but he can still swim straight.

So do you think this is just him displaying ?

[mr86mister]

it may just be him "courting" but i'm not too familiar with puffers....if he has no other symptoms of any illnesses then that might be it, but just make sure to keep an eye on him

also, put this in the Illness forum, you will most likely get a quicker and more detailed response from people that know what they are talking about...LOL

[FawnN]

I thought all puffer fish are brackish to salt water fish except the dwarf puffer??

Breathing hard is usually a sign that he is lacking oxygen. Other then that, I don't know a whole lot about puffers.

[mr86mister]

there are a few other puffers that are a bit larger for freshwater but only like 2 or 3 of them...i beleive

[Steven A]

Mine is freshwater. The oxygen levels are fine , as all other fish are fine and no changes have been made to the tank. Hopefully it will just be him courting. 8) 8)

[mr86mister]

me too!

[GIMojo]

lol imagine if we humans court that way

laying on our sides breathing heavily. thats vice versa of us. we lay on our sides and breath heavily after courting,

[TankGirl]

I am not an expert (these puffers are fresh to light brackish, according to what I have read about them) but I am very suspicious of laying on the side and breathing heavy. Have you tested your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? Is the fish eating, and is the poo long, pale and stringy?

I'd PM Pufferpunk if this behavior continues and your water tests show no abnormal parameters.

[Steven A]

well water is fine, and other fish are fine. The only behaviour I found mainly strange is that he laid on his sides for a bit and he seems extra lazy. He doesnt seem to want to eat much and I cant see an poo

Please reply.

S.Askham

P.S. - I think it might be constipation or just courting.

[greenmaji]

Were is pufferpunk when you need her! LOL

[Steven A]

I have just put a garden pea in to see if it helps it as I got told that it helps fish with constipation but he wont eat it

[FawnN]

What have you been feeding them?

I'm no expert but, I have never read or seen any courtship where the fish is laying on it's side breathing hard.

Breathing hard is a good indication that the fish is stressing about something. I guess we will have to wait and see.

In the meantime, I found this... Maybe it will help.

http://www.theaquarians.net/html/fis...C=4&nl=18&nt=3