puffer sick?

[freewilly2]

there are these white blotches on his body. it started on the base of his tail then moved forward toward the gills and now it is right below the head. it isnt ich. i have pictures in my gallary. i cant figure out how to put the directly into the thread.

 

[fingersdlp]

Can you give a better description such as: Are they raised? Are they fuzzy? Is it just a change in skin pigment?

It might not be a disease at all, maybe environmental. How long has the tank been setup. What are its water parameters? What is the ph?

How is the fish acting / eating?

Ok enough questions, my guess is lymphocystis but hard to tell from the pictures (hence all the questions).

 

[freewilly2]

ok
not raised not fuzzy it looks like it is on the skin. the ph is 8.3
all the other parm. are nitrit 0 nitrate 0 salinity is 1.021.
he is eating normally and swims normally.
how would i treat it

 

[fingersdlp]

Ok, your description does not really sound like lymphocystis. But if it is all you can do is keep good water quality. Lymphocystis is kind of like warts on a fish and there is no really good way to treat. It can go away if you keep the fish stress free in good water. But I don't think you have it based on your description.

Since a freshwater dip did not seem to help it does not sound like a parasite. Since it is not raised or fuzzy it does not sound like fungus. That leaves bacterial or stress/environment related. As long as he is eating and acting normal I would probably do nothing but keep the water quality high. Since it is probably not lymph I am not sure what it is now. Any chance he is just rubbing his skin from scratching on rocks?

If other symptoms appear and he is getting worse I would probably try an antibiotic in a hospital tank as my best guess.

Sorry, hopefully someone else will have some better idea.