Is my Porcupine Puffer okay?

FishFinatic ;) · May 8, 2019

So, just now I was checking on my little porcupine puffer fish and he was under one of the rocks in my tank. I was scared he might have been stuck, so I lifted the rock up and he swam away... meanwhile, another rock in close proximity to him tumbled over. Perfect storm, huh? Well it didn’t end up crushing him, but it definitely frightened him and caused him to puff up a little bit, but he soon went back to normal. He still seems a little shaken from the whole thing, but he seems to be okay. Sounds fine, right? Well, when I went to go check on him a little later, the bottom of his body and his spikes seemed a little mangled. Not too bad, but I hope I didn’t hurt him. They seem to be hanging down a little bit and he seems to be alright but I’m worried I may have damaged him in some way, or hurt him. He swam a little faster, almost in jerky kind of motions shortly after the “accident,” if you will. I’ll attach some pictures, sorry for the quality of the pictures, but maybe can someone tell me if he’s alright or if he got cut or something? Ahhhhhh I might be overreacting but I want my little guy to be okay [emoji21]

AlexG · May 8, 2019

Its hard to tell from the pictures. I would let it be and observe for now before taking any actions. If the fish is behaving normally then it will likely correct itself in time. If you are seeing significant changes in behavior for more than a few days after the incident then more detail on what is being observed might help determine the best course of action. My porcupine has been bitten by my dogface before puncturing the skin and it healed up within a couple of weeks with no intervention. (this really had me shaken up so that feeling of overreacting is completely normal when you see a fish injury) If some spines are out of place I would not be too concerned. These fish are meant to survive being eating and spit out once they puff up.

FishFinatic ;) · May 14, 2019

AlexG said:
Its hard to tell from the pictures. I would let it be and observe for now before taking any actions. If the fish is behaving normally then it will likely correct itself in time. If you are seeing significant changes in behavior for more than a few days after the incident then more detail on what is being observed might help determine the best course of action. My porcupine has been bitten by my dogface before puncturing the skin and it healed up within a couple of weeks with no intervention. (this really had me shaken up so that feeling of overreacting is completely normal when you see a fish injury) If some spines are out of place I would not be too concerned. These fish are meant to survive being eating and spit out once they puff up.

Thank you, I appreciate it. I’m always so worried about the little guy, he’s the best! [emoji4] But he seems to be acting normally and he seems to still enjoy his food... although his back seems a little arched and I’m still kinda new to this whole saltwater fish thing so I’m still learning a lot... but I’m not sure if that will go away as well or what that even is... but again I still feel like I’m overreacting with this lol but I’m sure that too will correct itself.... just thinking out loud at this point (why not, right?)

But again thanks for your help I appreciate all the support I can get through this crazy saltwater-ness haha