Spiny box puffer has a bad case of swim bladder he can’t swim right stay upside down and keeps doing flips

[Reefcoloorado]

Just got this guy in by ups he looks to have a swim bladder disease he was upside down when got him and he’s upside down in the tank and can’t really contol his swimming any one know a cure
To get this spiny box puffer back to noraml
Put him in this little box so the flow doesn’t blow him away

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Update he’s starting to swim normal for a little then went back to being upside down I put him in this box with holes so the flow doesn’t blow him seems to be working

 

[Sharkbait19]

I've seen your other thread, and it seems to me like it didn't handle the shipment or acclimation well. Though swim bladder disease is possible, I wouldn't rule out stress or parasites (which many puffers and boxfish tend to have).

 

[Sharkbait19]

Update he’s starting to swim normal for a little then went back to being upside down I put him in this box with holes so the flow doesn’t blow him seems to be working

Usually when a fish gets swim bladder disease, it doesn't ever get better. So it's likely that the puffer is starting to perk up after a stressful few days, or perhaps the fish company put some sort of sedative in the bag to keep the puffer from becoming injured, and it's starting to wake up.

 

[Reefcoloorado]

He does seem to have ich on somw
Of his fins but I doubt that’s the reason he can’t swim right i have had a narrow line puffer with iCh that passed away but never seen them float upside down and not be able to swim right he does a couple crazy flips then goes back to floating . I thought it was a air bubble so I burped him and a air bubble did come out but it seems it didn’t help
Him. I don’t know I’ll just give it a day and get Back to you with a update thanks for the quick response shark bait 19

 

[Sharkbait19]

He does seem to have ich on somw
Of his fins but I doubt that’s the reason he can’t swim right i have had a narrow line puffer with iCh that passed away but never seen them float upside down and not be able to swim right he does a couple crazy flips then goes back to floating . I thought it was a air bubble so I burped him and a air bubble did come out but it seems it didn’t help
Him. I don’t know I’ll just give it a day and get Back to you with a update thanks for the quick response shark bait 19

Your welcome, it seems like you're already doing a good job keeping the fish upright and moving. Definitely keep an eye on that potential ich, though. When coupled with the stress of overnight shipping, that disease can do some nasty things to a fish.

 

[Reefcoloorado]

He’s back to normal every one thanks

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Can I use copper on him seachem cuparmine

 

[Sharkbait19]

Not on a puffer, copper is dangerous to scaleless fish. I believe copporsafe works though. @Jay Hemdal

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Can I use copper on him seachem cuparmine

As @Sharkbait19 said, Coppersafe works well on puffers and boxfish, Cupramine may cause issues. You could also consider hyposalinity. The trouble with copper isn't really sensitive fish, but rather, mixing incompatible chemicals or missing the proper dosage. I also see a LOT of people decide to add copper really slowly, or in lower doses - then the fish dies and they blame the copper, when actually, the problem was the disease wasn't being controlled.

Jay

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Okay thanks I’ll order some copper safe on Amazon right now how do I use it? I don’t think I ever used it before and should he be fine for a day or 2 I don’t think he has velvet or he wouldn’t of made it this far

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Is this enough

 

[Reefcoloorado]

4 0z bottle

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Not on a puffer, copper is dangerous to scaleless fish. I believe copporsafe works though. @Jay Hemdal

Okay is the 4 oz bottle enough I have a 13.5 qt tank I have a 75 he’s going in that I have a one lion fish In

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Okay is the 4 oz bottle enough I have a 13.5 qt tank I have a 75 he’s going in that I have a one lion fish In

Yes - that is enough coppersafe for the small tank. The number of spots on the puffer indicate that you should be o.k. if you can't dose the copper in a day or two, but it should be done as fast as you can. Trouble is, the tank has coral sand in it and that can absorb some of the copper. You'll need to get a copper test kit to tell how much copper you need to add to keep the dose up to 2.5 mg/l.

Also, the water in the tank looks a bit cloudy, be sure to check your ammonia to keep it low.


Jay

 

[Reefcoloorado]

It’s the light that makes it cloudy no ammonia this tank been running for more than a year fully sustainable he’s eating perfectly fine I have a API copper test hit and a sechem copper test hit witch should I use and I have copper safe coming today he’s eating fine today he ate like 8 big pieces of krill he’s looking for more now

 

[Sharkbait19]

Seachem is probably gonna be more accurate

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Not that cloudy but it’s the light it’s a cheap light I used to have a cheap aqua night on it but it made way to much algae but looked 10 times better with that light and I’ll take the rock out the sand going to stay

 

[Reefcoloorado]

And nice I’m
Just waiting for the copersafe to get here but he’s eating and looking pretty healthy it’s day 2 with him I didn’t think he would eat so soon since they are pretty hard to get eating and live aquaria has them listed as expert level since some people can’t get them to eat or is there a another reason there expert because every one else says there easy to keep on YouTube and other forums ps pics of my other tanks

 

[Reefcoloorado]

Another one