Another Hewbie Update!

[AydenLincoln]

In the event anyone was wondering about Hewbie. He is my porcupine pufferfish who I posted a few months back who got sick and went to the vet and was treated for an internal infection. He is eating and his energy is up which are both good things. But…he is still skinny which is super unhealthy for his size. I have over the past few months since the beginning of August tried to fatten him up. Feeding him multiple times a day did not seem to help appease his appetite and led to a decline in water quality. And if I overfed him he just sulks in the corner in a food coma and gets super unhappy. Like when you are stuff on Thanksgiving Day. The vet really wants me to weigh him once a day for a week. I have not done this…yet because I think it would be too stressful for him to take him out of his tank daily especially being a pufferfish. I am still on the fence about whether or not if or when I do this because it would be a better comparison rather than me just looking at him and comparing photos. That being said…I am doing an experimental test of probiotics meant for fish. It is my opinion/evidence supported in aquacultured fishies that prolonged sickness and antibiotic treatment can lead to malnutrition/malabsorption. And it could have killed the good bacteria in his gut similar to what happens with humans. Even though it cured or seemed to have cured/fixed the issue that caused him to go upside down which I/his vet team will never know the exact cause. My biggest fear is he is actively dying or in a deficit or has some other unknown disease or factor then all of this would be for nothing and he could just end up dying anyway. I hope not! He is a fairly young puffer only guesstimated to be around 6ish…3 and a half of which I have had him for the rest of his time was in the big blue sea. My plan is to continue to use these probiotics it has only been a few days. I also will be sending his water out for sequencing to get a better idea of the microbiome and what is living in it as a whole. A better picture than what an ICP-OES or standard aquarium testing can reveal which was insignificant. I may send his DNA sample out too simply for my own curiosity. Thank you for all those who are invested in and adore this fish. He truly is the best little guy!

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

He looks so much better than he did. Keep up the great care!

 

[LavenderTi]

Happy to get the update! Have you been able to feed him any live marine foods? I wonder if that would help build up their gut biome.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Happy to get the update! Have you been able to feed him any live marine foods? I wonder if that would help build up their gut biome.

I have. He has been eating live emerald crabs and he ate the shrimp I added.i just added 20 of them and he ate them so fast. There are still a few in the tank he can hunt if he gets to them/finds them. Although because there is so much rock they don’t make it easy and only get smarter lol.

 

[AydenLincoln]

Early this week I started the probiotics. Hewbie’s mood and activity level is up and he no longer seems to be in as big a deficit. May I also mention his slightly frayed fins and ripped fin seems to be healing a lot better now! Look at how happy little buddy looks/is!

 

[Baldyreef]

Early this week I started the probiotics. Hewbie’s mood and activity level is up and he no longer seems to be in as big a deficit. May I also mention his slightly frayed fins and ripped fin seems to be healing a lot better now! Look at how happy little buddy looks/is!

its really really awesome to see hewbie recovering! he's in great care

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

In the event anyone was wondering about Hewbie. He is my porcupine pufferfish who I posted a few months back who got sick and went to the vet and was treated for an internal infection. He is eating and his energy is up which are both good things. But…he is still skinny which is super unhealthy for his size. I have over the past few months since the beginning of August tried to fatten him up. Feeding him multiple times a day did not seem to help appease his appetite and led to a decline in water quality. And if I overfed him he just sulks in the corner in a food coma and gets super unhappy. Like when you are stuff on Thanksgiving Day. The vet really wants me to weigh him once a day for a week. I have not done this…yet because I think it would be too stressful for him to take him out of his tank daily especially being a pufferfish. I am still on the fence about whether or not if or when I do this because it would be a better comparison rather than me just looking at him and comparing photos. That being said…I am doing an experimental test of probiotics meant for fish. It is my opinion/evidence supported in aquacultured fishies that prolonged sickness and antibiotic treatment can lead to malnutrition/malabsorption. And it could have killed the good bacteria in his gut similar to what happens with humans. Even though it cured or seemed to have cured/fixed the issue that caused him to go upside down which I/his vet team will never know the exact cause. My biggest fear is he is actively dying or in a deficit or has some other unknown disease or factor then all of this would be for nothing and he could just end up dying anyway. I hope not! He is a fairly young puffer only guesstimated to be around 6ish…3 and a half of which I have had him for the rest of his time was in the big blue sea. My plan is to continue to use these probiotics it has only been a few days. I also will be sending his water out for sequencing to get a better idea of the microbiome and what is living in it as a whole. A better picture than what an ICP-OES or standard aquarium testing can reveal which was insignificant. I may send his DNA sample out too simply for my own curiosity. Thank you for all those who are invested in and adore this fish. He truly is the best little guy!

The best thing you can do is feed him foods that mimic his natural diet. If you believe his internal microbiome has been disrupted by the treatment (which is very possible), testing the tank water isn't going to reveal anything. The internal microbiome of a fish is FAR different than that of the water. The bacteria, viruses, and other microbes in the water are far different from those on surfaces in the aquarium and even more different from those within any organism.

 

[AydenLincoln]

The best thing you can do is feed him foods that mimic his natural diet. If you believe his internal microbiome has been disrupted by the treatment (which is very possible), testing the tank water isn't going to reveal anything. The internal microbiome of a fish is FAR different than that of the water. The bacteria, viruses, and other microbes in the water are far different from those on surfaces in the aquarium and even more different from those within any organism.

I am aware but it will still tell me everything in his microbiome as a whole. His feces was tested for parasites and negative. I may get it tested for bacteria but I need him to poop in front of me and I am not always that lucky. His diet is even better than that in the wild and mimics it with his variety and vitamins he gets. In fact, I added like 2 dozen live crabs into his tank the other day. My question remains of how long will it take him to regain the weight back. Please keep in mind everything that I am doing is by the advice and guidance of an aquatic/exotic veterinarian and supported heavily by research and science. I’m also being nerdy about this and want an answer to it all but I will probably never get all the answers or the what caused him to get sick and why. I also wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t need him to go back to his previous not sick self. He was most likely in a deficit/sick for much longer than when symptoms started. While the main infection cleared my goal is to get him back to before it happened and that is going to take time and more than his normal food/amount of food.

 

[LovinlifeinGuam]

I am aware but it will still tell me everything in his microbiome as a whole. His feces was tested for parasites and negative. I may get it tested for bacteria but I need him to poop in front of me and I am not always that lucky. His diet is even better than that in the wild and mimics it with his variety and vitamins he gets. In fact, I added like 2 dozen live crabs into his tank the other day. My question remains of how long will it take him to regain the weight back. Please keep in mind everything that I am doing is by the advice and guidance of an aquatic/exotic veterinarian and supported heavily by research and science. I’m also being nerdy about this and want an answer to it all but I will probably never get all the answers or the what caused him to get sick and why. I also wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t need him to go back to his previous not sick self. He was most likely in a deficit/sick for much longer than when symptoms started. While the main infection cleared my goal is to get him back to before it happened and that is going to take time and more than his normal food/amount of food.

If you're ensuring that his diet is as natural as possible then you're doing everything you can. It just takes time. Just because he doesn't weigh as much as he did beforehand doesn't mean he's unhealthy. If you already had his feces tested for parasites, then that's more than you needed to do already. What research are you referring to that testing fish feces would satisfy, and what would the results actually tell you?
Honestly, just continue feeding him a healthy diet. As long as there aren't any parasitic or bacterial infections, that's all you can (and should) do.

 

[AydenLincoln]

If you're ensuring that his diet is as natural as possible then you're doing everything you can. It just takes time. Just because he doesn't weigh as much as he did beforehand doesn't mean he's unhealthy. If you already had his feces tested for parasites, then that's more than you needed to do already. What research are you referring to that testing fish feces would satisfy, and what would the results actually tell you?
Honestly, just continue feeding him a healthy diet. As long as there aren't any parasitic or bacterial infections, that's all you can (and should) do.

I never got his feces tested for bacteria. I was talking about this being the next step. There are multiple articles about the products/bacteria strains aiding in the recovery and helping fish gain weight. There is a ton of research on bacillus strains and strains of purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB)
aiding and improving fish gut microbiomes and other organisms. They do not stay in the gut flora but rather similar to a probiotic in a human they support and aid in recovery and maintaining positive bacteria colonies and overall aid in disease/healing. Similar to humans or mammals antibiotics will always have a risk of killing good and bad. I have attached the below articles. Studies in saltwater fish kept in the trade are more limited/non-existent but there are studies in some saltwater fish but a large majority of it being focusing on freshwater aquacultured/farmed fish. What I can tell you for positive is that in speaking with a lot of professionals over the past few months in microbiology, aquatic veterinarians, and animal genetics is that these bacteria strains/probiotics I am giving him will not harm him. Although the further testing I may do will probably reveal way more info than needed I would rather have the most possible information than less and that me using it for Hewbie is obviously going to be a trial but will not harm him negatively in any way.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39707555/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13179295/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37110265/
A link to the brochure of one of the products I’m using:
https://static1.squarespace.com/sta...d1e6e/1716309596633/BD55-feedtreat-ss-web.pdf
The other is PNSProBio!