I thought Hewbie died!

AydenLincoln · 2026-08-05T17:45:58-0400

I thought Hewbie died! He got so much better and I wanted to feed him today and then I came home to this. Hewbie did not die but how long he has been upside down for I don’t know.

AydenLincoln · 2026-08-05T17:49:21-0400

So what is my solution? Just talked to the vet. The antibiotics will be extended and I am doing a water change in quarantine.

BryanM · 2026-08-05T17:49:51-0400

Dang, that would freak me out too :(

AlyciaMarie · 2026-08-05T17:51:05-0400

#fishmedics

Hope he's okay. :(

AydenLincoln · 2026-08-05T17:53:04-0400

AlyciaMarie said:
#fishmedics

Hope he's okay. :(

The vet said to extend the antibiotics and to monitor him even more.

AydenLincoln · 2026-08-05T18:19:21-0400

I thought Hewbie died. I came home to this and spoke to his vet team immediately. His antibiotics and quarantine time will be extended. My best conclusion is that Hewbie had been gasping at the surface and breathing heavier from stress and then he went upside down but this afternoon because he was sleeping in the corner just fine today. My heart broke again when I saw this.

After I pushed what I believe was air out of him and gave him his meds he went back to normal nearly immediately. At least this is my best conclusion after looking at him and his behavior pre and post meds and pressing on him/burping him. The water quality in the tank isn’t great. Burping for me means holding him down and gently pressing on his stomach (which in that moment is what made sense). I saw some immediate improvement. Also he is a known offender for spitting water at the surface and I just saw it after I burped him as well as the behavior of a fish gasping/wanting to get out of his environment and ready to jump. Although pufferfish are not known jumpers they are smarter than that. I did a water change as well after and he smiled at me like nothing happened and swam around. Ugh. I hate this. I will continue to update everyone.