Sick Porky Puffer?

[woodyetia]

Almost had my Puffer for a year In a couple of months. Last few days he has been acting odd. He has been staying low to the sand bed. My clown fish has been swimming above him sometIke’s touching him which I find very odd as well.

Please see a picture attached. He only eats by hand and today he wouldn’t come to the top at all. Had my LFS test water after I tested and my numbers were all great. Hey said the same about ,y water.

They suggest he is just not feeling well maybe something he ate and give him a few days. I’m just worried about him.

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
PH = 7.4
Nitrate = 10
Salinity = 1.022 (LFS says they keep there’s at 1.018)
Temp = ranges 79.3-80 As it always has.

No changes at all with tank or additions. I did change his food got some fresh calamari he ate it a few times prior to these issues. Any thought or advice? Any supplements I should be adding?

Thank you all. Also first picture was last night so that’s why it’s dark, odd behavior from clown fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Almost had my Puffer for a year In a couple of months. Last few days he has been acting odd. He has been staying low to the sand bed. My clown fish has been swimming above him sometIke’s touching him which I find very odd as well.

Please see a picture attached. He only eats by hand and today he wouldn’t come to the top at all. Had my LFS test water after I tested and my numbers were all great. Hey said the same about ,y water.

They suggest he is just not feeling well maybe something he ate and give him a few days. I’m just worried about him.

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
PH = 7.4
Nitrate = 10
Salinity = 1.022 (LFS says they keep there’s at 1.018)
Temp = ranges 79.3-80 As it always has.

No changes at all with tank or additions. I did change his food got some fresh calamari he ate it a few times prior to these issues. Any thought or advice? Any supplements I should be adding?

Thank you all. Also first picture was last night so that’s why it’s dark, odd behavior from clown fish?

Puffers normally have weird looking eyes, but these look cloudier than normal. In other images, it looks like ich spots on its body, can you confirm or rule those out?
Jay

 

[woodyetia]

I have not added anything to the tank in months to introduce ick. I can get more pics later today, not sure if its or not. Also his one eye is cloudy looking. This all started the day the clown fish was pushing him down to the sand. Not sure what else to do for the little guy he almost seems like he is going blind, and last night wouldn't eat. Might need to try different food.

He's been so healthy and good for 9 months now.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

He has white spots all over him. The ich (if that is what it is) may have been dormant and has now become active all the sudden for some reason. If I’m not mistaken puffers are highly prone to ich. I think it’s time for a QT and copper before he passes.

The clown may just be taking advantage of his weakened state to bully him. I don’t think the clown is the issue.

 

[woodyetia]

I do not have a QT as I only have 3 fish in the 65 tank. Should I do a fresh water dip? He is now just at the bottom and the clown is kicking sand over him. Its crazy this just came on all off a sudden with no changes to the tank at all. I just had my #s checked again. My LFS said do a fresh water dip.

 

[woodyetia]

Also my LFS said you can not use copper on a puffer fish.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

Your LFS is mistaken. You can use chelated copper like copper power. You can keep it just above 2 ppm to where it is therapeutic but minimizes effects on the fish.

He sounds very sick. I don’t think he will tolerate a fresh water dip.

The best advice I can give is to set up a QT immediately and start copper immediately. Perhaps someone else can chime in.

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

If you don’t have any corals or inverts you can treat the entire tank with copper. But you will not be able to add those things in the future.

 

[Lyss]

When puffers stop eating that's not a great sign b/c they will just eat and eat and eat no matter how much you offer them. Looks like ich spots all over to me, too, so better pics if you can get them would help to confirm or rule that out. You DO need to be careful w/medicating puffers b/c they're scaleless fish, but you also need to do something if the fish is lethargic and not eating. I agree with getting a QT set up as a priority and treating the puffer. There are puffer-specific forums online -- have you looked on any of those for more specific advice on treating puffers for ich?

I keep freshwater dwarf puffers, and recently had one turn up with a badly torn up tail after being bullied by a tank mate. She wouldn't eat and looked pretty bad so I kinda expected the worst, but after removing her from the bully situation and giving her some time to heal she is eating again just like normal and doing great. Whether the bullying is secondary to the illness or the cause of the illness, removing the fish from a stressful situation like that to recover can't be a bad thing.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Also my LFS said you can not use copper on a puffer fish.

Sorry, it really does look like ich. Copper is the best treatment, FW dips have little effect on the tomont cysts on the fish’s body. The clownfish has been exposed and will likely need to also be treated, but you may need a tank divider to keep it from harassing the puffer.
Jay