Porcupine Puffer needs help!

[OliMunnery]

I’ve had a baby porcupine puffer for a couple months now and he’s been very happy. But recently in the past few days I’ve noticed lots of erosion of his fins indicating some bullying by his other tank mates which i thought was strange as he’s been fine the entire time i’ve had him in my tank.

However in the last 24hrs he hasn’t eaten a single thing and is always sitting at the bottom of the tank. I don’t know how to get around this and I’m pretty worried about him at the moment. My family think it could be lockjaw but i’m not sure because we haven’t had him for very long, I’ve tried feeding some whole shell cockles but he doesn’t like them and his tank mates just tend to take it from him. Has anyone got any ideas as I really don’t want to lose him?

His tank mates are:
Powder blue tang
indo sailfin tang
2x Clownfish
green chromis
coral beauty angelfish
silverbelly wrasse

 

[Jay Hemdal]

OliMunnery Welcome to the Fish Disease Treatment and Diagnosis Forum!

The #fishmedic team and other knowledgeable members of our community will do our best to help you resolve your questions. Please provide as much of the following as you are able:

• Brief description of the issue you are observing and answers to the following questions:
  • How long have you had the fish with the condition?
  • Did you quarantine with medication when you first acquired the fish? (If Yes, which medication?)
• Current water quality measurements
• Clear photos of the issue taken using WHITE light and/or a short video of any behaviors (post in your response or on YouTube).

If you can help us by providing as much of the above info as possible, it will make diagnosing and providing recommendations for treatment MUCH easier! The Fish Medic team will get back to you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, other members of our community may also share their experience with similar situations and advice that they may have regarding your situation.

You may also feel free to provide a more detailed description of the condition if you wish to share more info than the above list.

Additionally, these links may be useful while you await a response:

• CURRENT QT PROTOCOL LINK
• HOW TO ASK FOR DISEASE DIAGNOSIS HELP LINK

 

[vetteguy53081]

I’ve had a baby porcupine puffer for a couple months now and he’s been very happy. But recently in the past few days I’ve noticed lots of erosion of his fins indicating some bullying by his other tank mates which i thought was strange as he’s been fine the entire time i’ve had him in my tank.

However in the last 24hrs he hasn’t eaten a single thing and is always sitting at the bottom of the tank. I don’t know how to get around this and I’m pretty worried about him at the moment. My family think it could be lockjaw but i’m not sure because we haven’t had him for very long, I’ve tried feeding some whole shell cockles but he doesn’t like them and his tank mates just tend to take it from him. Has anyone got any ideas as I really don’t want to lose him?

His tank mates are:
Powder blue tang
indo sailfin tang
2x Clownfish
green chromis
coral beauty angelfish
silverbelly wrasse

Powder blue and clowns would be my prime suspects but please post a pic or two under bright white intensity to assure its aggression and not something else

 

[AydenLincoln]

Yes please post photos and for food try live foods like live ghost and small crabs but if he is sick he may not eat anything you offer him.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I’ve had a baby porcupine puffer for a couple months now and he’s been very happy. But recently in the past few days I’ve noticed lots of erosion of his fins indicating some bullying by his other tank mates which i thought was strange as he’s been fine the entire time i’ve had him in my tank.

However in the last 24hrs he hasn’t eaten a single thing and is always sitting at the bottom of the tank. I don’t know how to get around this and I’m pretty worried about him at the moment. My family think it could be lockjaw but i’m not sure because we haven’t had him for very long, I’ve tried feeding some whole shell cockles but he doesn’t like them and his tank mates just tend to take it from him. Has anyone got any ideas as I really don’t want to lose him?

His tank mates are:
Powder blue tang
indo sailfin tang
2x Clownfish
green chromis
coral beauty angelfish
silverbelly wrasse

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

As mentioned, a clear video take under white light is needed.

Fin erosion is not always from tankmate aggression, but it often is. That fish are stealing food from it is a sign of possible issues. In those cases, adding a tank divider can help, but your tank may be too large to do that easily. I don't like segregating fish into small acclimation chambers as it adds to their stress.

Jay

 

[OliMunnery]

Powder blue and clowns would be my prime suspects but please post a pic or two under bright white intensity to assure its aggression and not something else

thank you I will get back to you tomorrow with the pictures as he is just resting behind some rocks and my lights are in the ‘night phase’. I’m in the UK so my lights are almost turning off soon. I’ll send the pictures tomorrow

 

[OliMunnery]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

As mentioned, a clear video take under white light is needed.

Fin erosion is not always from tankmate aggression, but it often is. That fish are stealing food from it is a sign of possible issues. In those cases, adding a tank divider can help, but your tank may be too large to do that easily. I don't like segregating fish into small acclimation chambers as it adds to their stress.

Jay

Hi guys I’ve taken some pictures trying my best to capture what’s really wrong with him that i’ll attach below. There’s a few picture and a video. Photo 1 is showing just where he is and his body, Photo 2 is highlighting his back fin that is torn by suspected bullying, Photo 3 is trying my best to see his left gill as it seems very red (we think this is from when he got trapped in the power head but can’t be too sure). I’ve also attached a short youtube video of him.


As well as this i’ve tested my parameters just this morning to see any unpredicted spiked and haven’t seen anything, accept the tiny amounts of nitrite that i’ve never been able to kick but haven’t made any problems.

Ammonia- 0
nitrite - 0.2
alk- 9.6
phosphate- 0.09
ph - 8.2
sg- 1.024

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hi guys I’ve taken some pictures trying my best to capture what’s really wrong with him that i’ll attach below. There’s a few picture and a video. Photo 1 is showing just where he is and his body, Photo 2 is highlighting his back fin that is torn by suspected bullying, Photo 3 is trying my best to see his left gill as it seems very red (we think this is from when he got trapped in the power head but can’t be too sure). I’ve also attached a short youtube video of him.


As well as this i’ve tested my parameters just this morning to see any unpredicted spiked and haven’t seen anything, accept the tiny amounts of nitrite that i’ve never been able to kick but haven’t made any problems.

Ammonia- 0
nitrite - 0.2
alk- 9.6
phosphate- 0.09
ph - 8.2
sg- 1.024

I don't think the issue is aggression - reason being, if another fish was being dominant to it, that behavior would increase once the fish has become lethargic and laying on the bottom like this.

The open mouth is not lockjaw, but is due to rapid breathing (think of a dog panting). Trouble is, I can't tell you why it is doing that. If it were a water quality or oxygen issue, the other fish would be showing symptoms. Many diseases are contagious, so if that were the cause, again, you'd likely see other fish starting to show at least some symptoms.

One thing we see is a fish that has gotten a rock stuck in its mouth. That causes an open mouth and not eating. Another cause is some systemic disease that is not highly contagious to other fish.

Jay

 

[OliMunnery]

I don't think the issue is aggression - reason being, if another fish was being dominant to it, that behavior would increase once the fish has become lethargic and laying on the bottom like this.

The open mouth is not lockjaw, but is due to rapid breathing (think of a dog panting). Trouble is, I can't tell you why it is doing that. If it were a water quality or oxygen issue, the other fish would be showing symptoms. Many diseases are contagious, so if that were the cause, again, you'd likely see other fish starting to show at least some symptoms.

One thing we see is a fish that has gotten a rock stuck in its mouth. That causes an open mouth and not eating. Another cause is some systemic disease that is not highly contagious to other fish.

Jay

thanks Jay that’s a nice relief to not have to think about re-homing fish. Is there anyway of knowing what this disease might be so i can begin to treat him. Thanks, Oli

 

[Jay Hemdal]

thanks Jay that’s a nice relief to not have to think about re-homing fish. Is there anyway of knowing what this disease might be so i can begin to treat him. Thanks, Oli

Sorry - the trouble is, aside from a mechanical blockage, this isn’t really a symptom of a treatable disease.

 

[OliMunnery]

Sorry - the trouble is, aside from a mechanical blockage, this isn’t really a symptom of a treatable disease.

is there anything i could do about the blockage ? I tried handling him and seeing inside his mouth but i couldn’t see anything really

 

[Jay Hemdal]

is there anything i could do about the blockage ? I tried handling him and seeing inside his mouth but i couldn’t see anything really

If you can see a blockage, it can sometimes be removed with a probe, but if you can't see anything, then it isn't a blockage, or it is too deep to remove....sorry.