Potential puffer health question...

[mandarin chick]

My porcipine puffer has a patch of grey on part of his head. His overall color is brown. I initially thought, since it appeared almost overnite, that it was caused by him sleeping in a particularly rough area of the live rock. But watching him, something doesn't seem right.

He did eat some of the frozen Marine Cuisine put in for the other fish, but he didn't attack the hand that feeds him as he usually does. Also, today was a chunk feed day - I have a bag of mixed frozen seafood (calamari, squid, clams, etc.) and while he did chase a little when I offered it to him, he didn't eat if.

Am I just overly worried here? Do puffers sometimes just not have an appetite? Is there a disease of some sort that could cause the grey patch on his head and it not be a case where he just rubbed it on something?

Any input extremely appreciated.

 

[mandarin chick]

A detail I forgot.... Ick got in a while back. Rather than potentially lose fish I let the crabs and snails go and dropped salinity to 1.010. December 8 was the first day we hit that SG (did it at the rate of 0.003 per day until we hit 1.010), and as of yesterday, I started raising it. 3 gallons yesterday had no effect on SG. Another 3g today raised it to 1.011.

I am hoping to have it back up by middle of next week, aiming for 0.001 or 0.002 per day.
(I hear a sharp drop has no negative effects, but sharp increases can)

So, I would think Brooklinella (sp?) wouldn't be an issue since extended hyposalinity is one of the treatments....

 

[Pufferpunk]

I'm sorry to say this sounds like the flesh-eating disease I've been seeing a lot lately in porcpuffs. Let's hope it's not... I see this thread is from about a month ago. How is he now?

 

[mandarin chick]

Lost him within a day of the post.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Yeah, that's a very fast-moving disease. Sorry for your loss... ;( I'd sterilize everything, before adding another.