ill balloonfish

[tortoisemom12]

We have a 200 gal. tank with a couple of damsels, 6 urchins, a few hermit crabs and brittlestars. The only large fish in the tank is a balloon fish or porcupine puffer fish, that was bought 5 years ago when it was 2 or 3 in. long and now it is 10-12". For the last 2-3 weeks he has been listless, often sitting on the bottom of the tank and his breathing is labored. Occasionally he swims slowly about the tank. His mouth is usually open and his tongue movement seems exaggerated. He shows no interest in eating (shrimp) which he used to do with vigor. The damsels and the invertebrates don't seem to show any sign of stress. We have changed water regularly.
The tank seems normal except for this fish, which is our favorite. We live in central Tucson and would appreciate any suggestions or advice you might have, including store owners that might give us insight.
Thank you,
Mort

 

[Crepusculum]

Have you looked into the lifespan for that particular fish? You have had him for a number of years, maybe he is getting old?

Just a thought, I personally don't know

 

[SWSaltwater]

Sounds like a parasite or bacterial thing. Spiny puffers get quite big in the wild so I am not sure its simply age. Is his eyes cloudy? Was his poop stringy last you saw? Might need to take him out and place him in a 20 gallon or a bucket for medical treatment with air stone. Not sure what the best med would be as I am learning the art of medication from Olin still. There are ton of antibiodics available I never heard of before he told me about them. Maybe posting a pic would help him if he reads the post, so many diseases, so many treatments..........If it turns out it needs tetracycline or cyproflaxin I have some at the shop I picked up in mexico. At the very least it sounds like time to move him away from your other fish.

Rob

 

[Tangman1218]

Hello Tortoise,

Sorry to hear about your Puffer. They are neat creatures to have.
First off, there are some questions that are not answered yet. SWsaltwater made some very valid points on medication, however, there were things he did leave out.

Since the Puffer has been sick, have you added anything new to the tank or even changed anything? New lighting, for example, can even make a difference as Porc Puffers are nocturnal SW fish. Anything you can add to the thread about this would be helpful.

Do you feed him only shrimp? Porcupine Puffers are natural omnivores and in the wild, eat herbivorous foods as well. If you arent already feeding him other foods, try different meat foods and herbivore prepared foods. From experience, I've learned Puffers dont like the same food for a long time. The will go into a state of not eating if they dont get something different. The fact that he moves slowly throughout the tank could mean that he may be sick, but it could also be that his body is conserving energy from not eating. If he has been sick for three weeks and has not gotten worse to the point of being nearly dead, he may not be sick at all. Except sick of shrimp. As SWsaltwater said, check the eyes for cloudiness. Check for signs of Ick on the body also.

He may need to be dewormed. Funny as this sounds, it is true. I'll send some more info to you about this as I can find it. It's never been a problem for me, but I have a friend who had to do this to his puffer.

He could also have been poked by an Urchin. Could have even blown himself up and still has a small airpocket (like gas) trapped inside. That could certainly not want to make him eat. Check out WetWebMedia and do a search on Porcupine puffer and ailments of the species. Keep an eye on him and if you can send pics, that may help, but I doubt it. Dont think he may need to be medicated unless you are almost 100% sure. Dosing him med's he doesnt need could finish him off.

Finally, I have to congratulate you on keeping Inverts with the Puffer. Any type of shrimp and Hermits are usually the first to go.
My hats off to you on that.

Tang