Dog face puffer questions.

[rlf_racing]

I just picked up a small dog face puffer today and has me a little worried. He puffed up while at the lfs but went back to normal within minute. So when I got him home I acclimated him like I do all my fish. He puffed up like I expected but I forgot to turn off my powerheads. So here is my problem. He swallowed some air while getting pushed around. He has deflated but still has an air pocket he can't seem to release. So what should I do? I don't want to lose him. Right now he wedged himself between a couple rocks so he won't float around the top. So please help.

 

[rlf_racing]

Can anyone help me in this situation???

 

[2dawghouse]

That suxs, I feel for you and your puffer, I hope he passes it on his own.

Now i have heard of a procedure as a last ditch effort, and I mean LAST means of escape. You hold the puffer by the tail, let the air in the fish provide bouyancy (fish is facing toward the surface) and massage the air through the mouth. But I also heard that this is extremely stressful to the fish and can be just as fatal as the possiblitiy of digestive problems from the trapped air.

 

[rlf_racing]

Well right now he has wedged himself between the back glass and a rock. Should I leave him be or try to coax him out without trying to get him to puff up again. I feel bad for him. I have never had a problem acclimating a fish in the past. But this is my first puffer. So what should I do for the time being??

Currently I have the lights off in the tank to see if that might help him. Do puffers find tight spots to sleep at night or when they are stressed??

 

[2dawghouse]

Mine would wedge himself in at night. I would leave him alone and watch him through the night. Come morning observe him and how he behaves (which will be alittle hard considering he is still acclimating). Try to see if he will eat NOTHING that floats of coarse.

What other fish are in your tank?

 

[rlf_racing]

Look at my tank stats for fish in the tank. Along with a couple of target fish. I will try feeding him tomorrow when I get up. I will make sure nothing will be eaten if they are floating. So hopefully all goes well thru the night.

 

[2dawghouse]

Good luck, and if he looks pretty stressed tomorrow, I would leave the lights off. I have done some more research and there is a good possiblity he will pass this on his own provided he doesnt get stressed.

 

[rlf_racing]

Tried doing a search here on rc but the search engine only works for me once in a while. Are you getting your info here on rc or is there another site?

 

[2dawghouse]

off of google. But some good news on a different note, blazing saddle's is on. What a classic.

 

[rlf_racing]

Blazing saddles doesn't ring a bell. Sorry

 

[2dawghouse]

With gene wilder. It was one of Mel Brooks first movie.

 

[rlf_racing]

I would have to see it to remember it. Mel Brooks movies are the sh!^.

 

[2dawghouse]

Yeah this one is a classic, not even close to PC.

 

[devils_rejects]

the best thing you can do is let your puffer be or the night . Most times when they ingest air they will pass it by them self . Other than manually massaging the air out theres not much you can do . It's more likely to cause stress to the puffer if you try to do anything with it .

Just out of curioscity how did it ingest the air ? Was it durring transfer to the display tank ?

 

[rlf_racing]

He ingested air when I put him in the tank while the powerheads were on while he was puffed up. I used a net to transfer him from the bag to the tank after acclimating him. When I put the net in the bag hepuffed up and I didn't bring him out of the bag until he was completely puffed. I did that so he wouldn't ingest air. While he was puffed up in the tank and the powerheads being on, he couldn't control were he could go and sucked in some air in that time. I didn't realize the problem of the powerheads and him being puffed would be a problem until it was to late.

 

[devils_rejects]

Gotcha . . .


Just for a future idea . Instead of a net use a cup or a plastic container . that works really good with puffers . It honestly works good with any fish but it keeps puffers from ingesting air .

 

[rlf_racing]

I know that now. I thought about dumping him out straight out of the bag. But I didn't want to transfer the lfs tank water into my tank. You just never know what could be in it. Next payday I will invest into a clear critter container. I didn't even think of using a cup, even though I don't have a cup big enough to use after he puffed up. Hopefully all is well in the morning with him. I am not use to these kind of issues with a fish.

 

[devils_rejects]

If your slick enough it won't puff up .

when a puffer of any kind puffs it is bad for their system .

 

[rlf_racing]

How could I have done it without it puffing up?

 

[agreeive?fish]

I personally think it all depends on the individal puffer and how he is with handling..my spoted dalmation dogface and my stars and stripes both would allow me to "pet" them and i could pick both up and out of the tank by hand if needed so i really think as said before moving them all depends up on the particular puffer. my porcupine puffed up in a net(in the water) that was way to small for him...that was the last time he puffed up when i had to net him althouh he would attack the net any time after that when it went into the tank