Blue Spotted Puffers Sudden Loss

[TheFishTeen]

I purchased a pair of 3" Blue Spotted Puffers from LiveAquaria Divers Den. They came happy and healthy. They devoured nori quicker than my yellow tang. They ate mysis shrimp like pigs. Both were definite eye catchers.

Last week the female starting acting weird and I noticed hey body was covered in black and white splotches. She started loosing strength and eventually was unable to swim. She was pulled to the intake of the powerhead and that was too much to handle. 10 minutes later she was dead. 2 days later: Male shows same disease. Dead within 24 hours.

My suspicion: The puffers both loved the silversides I feed the GBTA. I suspect they attempted to steal the silversides from the anemone, and the anemone fought back.

Could the black and white splotches be stings from the anemone? I appreciate your time, I hope you can help me work out my loss and prevent it any further.

 

[treylane]

It's fairly unlikely that a BTA did that kind of damage - they're not so sticky that a puffer would have a problem escaping, and most fish learn pretty quickly to avoid those tentacles if they're painful to touch.

How long had you had the fish before noticing problems? Did they go through any QT/meds?

IMO - it sounds like a water quality problem may have exacerbated an existing infection... check everything - sg, ca/alk/mag, trites/trates, etc. Also check for electrical problems - the "typical" way we find out about cracked pumps or heaters is by standing on the floor in bare feet and sticking a finger in the tank, but hopefully the licensed electricians on this board have a better suggestion.