Small Wierd Spots on Puffer

Adam S

New member
So i have noticed that my dogface puffer seems to have these little black bumps almost all over his body. They kind of look like little bumps on your arm where hair is about to come in or something. Also on his fins i notice white spots but im not really sure if it ick or just from the sand. I notice in the mornings he rubs a couple times in the sand and then doesnt do it anymore throughout the day. Other than that he is still acting normal as in swimming around and eating like a pig. Should i be concerned? Any ideas what this could be?
 
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I think that it is probably ich but if it is black its probably a type of metazoan parasites called tubellarian worms (black ich). I would try to feed food with garlic in it and see if it fights it off naturally.
 
Ok thanks ill be going to the fish store tomorrow i guess to pick some up. Hes still eating normally so im confident he should pull through..i just wanted to make sure that there wasnt going to be a huge problem.
 
The cloudy eyes are worrisome. The parasites may very well be reaching the point where they are weakening the fish's immune response and it may very well be developing a bacterial infection........cloudy eyes are what lead me to be concerned. I would further recommend that you acquire some beta glucan and add that to the food. Of course, all this will help this one fish. Do you have other fish in with this one? Know that if you add other fish, they may not fight the parasites as well and succumb to them. Not trying to be a Debbie Downer, just want you to make sure you get up to speed with how crypt (aka ich) can affect things. I would highly recommend reading up on crypt, its lifecycle, and treatments before you add anything else to the tank and have a disaster on your hands.
 
Dont worry your not being a debbie downer lol. The only other fish i have with him right now if a one spot foxface and he seems fine. I just noticed the little bit of cloudy eye today on the top part of one of his eyes. What else can i do that would help him or should i just use the garlic and the beta glucan and go from there?
 
Salinity 1.022
Ph 8.1-8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite .1
Hes in a 5 foot 120g with a 55g sump. He was doing fine for a couple of weeks and now he seems to be scartching and part of his eye is a bit cloudy but just on one side.
 
Nitrate? Water change schedule? How much LR in there? Sump? Skimmer? Tank mates?

Cloudy eye is usually a result of poor water quality.

If what you have is actually black ich, it is fairly easy to get rid of and can, although not recommended, be treated for in the display tank. Black ich, unlike cryptocaryon, is actually a worm and therefore is best treated with praziquantel for which most hobbyists use the retail product praziopro. Praziopro is probably the most gentile of the medicines we use, and fish tolerate it well.

You have two options. You can remove all fish and treat them with prazipro in a hospital tank(s) and leave the display fallow for at least 8 weeks. Alternatively, you can treat the display with prazipro, and virtually all inverts and most corals will tolerate the treatment, but some corals and inverts particularlly sensitive could be at risk, although most report no problems. The medicine will not be absorbed in calcerous substances, like rock or sand, and is easilty removed. Whichever approach you adopt, I would treat in the prescibed amount except break up dosing into two successive 1/2 doses spaced one day apart instead of one dose in single day and treat for 5 days after second dose. I would then do a large water change and treat again if also treating in the display. Otherwise, second treatment is optional in hospital tank.

When treating a system, no skimmng or carbon. Also, limit the light (duration and intensity) the best you can for the first 24 hours after dosing because medicine is photosensitive and breaks down in strong light. When you want to remove the medicine from the display, use the combination of a large water change, skimming, and activated carbon.
 
Im unsure of nitrate as i dont have the kit for it, Water changes are about 25% every 2 weeks, 120lbs of rock, SRO 2000int Protein Skimmer and right now hes only in with a foxface. So it seems i have black ick so i guess il start dosing praziopro and see what happens. Ill update about any changes. Thanks
 
Ok the prazipro is in now. I put in 1oz as it said on the bottle. Now, just to make sure...thats all i put in for a week? Then how much water should i change after the 1st treatment is done? It also seems it is recomended to treat again so i will probably be doing that as well.
 
Basically im wondering how often i should be adding the prazipro. Im a little confused as to how often to add the prazi. It says a single treatment lasting 5-7 days. That means i only put in the 1 once over the 5-7 days or do i need to add some every day or what. Also is it ok that i still have my filter socks in? I assum its ok because prazi is a liquid.
 
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*hits head* nope i was one track mind just to get the prazi and go cause i was in a hurry and it slipped my mind. Ill be sure to get one soon. The reason why i ask about the prazi is because the directions are somewhat unclear to me. just trying to get reassurement
 
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Ok i read it over... to be honest i forgot it was there. To be clear im only adding the prazi for a day and then waiting 5 days without adding any more prazi or am i adding the same amount of liquid each day?

Ps: the nitrite is at 0 now
 
I would treat in the prescibed amount except break up dosing into two successive 1/2 doses spaced one day apart instead of one dose in single day and treat for 5 days after second dose. I would then do a large water change and treat again if also treating in the display.
1/2 doses for 1st 2 days & full doses for another 5.
 
Ok ill be adding full doses each day then for 5 days. How big of a water change would you suggest at the end of the treatment? Thanks for all the info pufferpunk. Really appreciate it.
 
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