Sick porcupine puffer

[kirbyfish]

I did a search, and I couldn't find any topics similar to this one, so I appologize if this has been asked about before.

Kirby, my porcupine puffer of 6 years is sick. When I went away to college, I left him in the care of my parents, which seemed to be working out pretty well. Yesterday when I visited I planned on doing a water change. When I walked into my old room my puffer didn't acknowledge me at all, and I noticed he was gaunt and swimming oddly. When I asked my mom whether she had been feeding him she got incredibly defensive, claiming that she had just fed him the night before, and all was fine. I haven't seen him this skinny since I first bought him, and he seems to be bending his tail down giving him an even skinnier look. He is breathing and pumping his fins heavily, but doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Before changing the water I tried feeding him a clam, figuring my mother just hadn't fed him for a week, but I couldn't get him to come anywhere near the clam. I then tried krill. Again, no response.
Perhaps to the peril of my friend I decided to do a water change just in case it was a problem with nitrates. Usually water changes stress Kirby out, but he really didn't seem to care much.
After the water change I turned off the lights, which seemed to make him settle down. I came back later that night, acclimating him to a little bit of light at a time so as not to stress him more and I offered him some food. Again, he wouldn't eat, and completely ignored the food. His swimming is still really irregular, and his breathing has gotten more strained. Does this sound like fatty liver disease to anyone? I just read about this disease for the first time yesterday, and I really wish I had known about it sooner. The site at which I read about this disease (porcupinepuffers.com) says to euthanize the fish. I don't know how to do this, and I really don't want to. I can't find any contact information on this site either, so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jerry W]

Tough to tell. Anyway to post a picture. Also, please post your water parameters; nitrate, pH, salinity (assuming there is no detectable ammonia or nitrite). Are there other fish in the tank? When was the last time you saw the fish yourself prio to this visit home? Sounds as though he is malnourished, and your mom's reaction sounds a bit odd. Do you notice any excess mucus, redness around the gills, stringy substance hanging off the fish?
What all had your mom been feeding while you were gone?

 

[TerryB]

What has the fish been eating since you have had it? A common problem occurs when they eat krill almost exclusively.

Terry B

 

[kirbyfish]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792661#post9792661 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerry W
Tough to tell. Anyway to post a picture. Also, please post your water parameters; nitrate, pH, salinity (assuming there is no detectable ammonia or nitrite).

I have no way of posting a picture, but I know that the salinity, pH and nitrates were normal after the water change. Before I changed the water, the salinity was a tad above normal.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9792661#post9792661 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Jerry W
Are there other fish in the tank? When was the last time you saw the fish yourself prio to this visit home? Sounds as though he is malnourished, and your mom's reaction sounds a bit odd. Do you notice any excess mucus, redness around the gills, stringy substance hanging off the fish?
What all had your mom been feeding while you were gone?

No other fish in the tank. Kirby has eaten all of his companions. I hadn't seen Kirby in about 3 weeks before this, and his last water change was about a month ago. No mucus, redness or stringyness. My mom has been feeding silver sides, krill, clam, mussel, and occassional octopus.

 

[kirbyfish]

Thanks for any help people tried to give me, but Kirby passed on tonight.