Puffer got caught in powerful powerhead! Oh no!

[ralphie16]

My porcupine puffer got sucked into the output side of my 2400 gph powerhead when it reversed direction (for some reason the stopper did not cause it to switch back again). He puffed up real fast so he got too big to get sucked in totally but it looks like one of his fins got torn pretty bad.

The fin is torn in half and some of it is missing. This was about a week ago and while it looks like the fin is doing better I cannot help but be nervous about a possible opportunistic infection. It looks better but there is a faint white outline where the fin got torn.

Besides keeping high water quality and feeding vitamin soaked foods, is there anything I should do at this point?

 

[andrewsmart]

i lost a dog face to something similar poor guy got in but could not get out.

 

[Hattie B]

Ralphie,

Keep a close eye on it for the possibility of infection like you mentioned.

But furthermore, what are you feeding in general? did you notice anything in particular before he got sucked in.

Getting sucked in by a powerhead leaves me to believe that he was not at optimal health to begin with; maybe weakend by something to start with.