green puffer with red spots/rings on belly

[thefishman]

we have a small green puffer, freshwater, that we have quaranteened due to this rash. these don't appear to be sores or ulcers...almost looks like ringworm on a person. he is also not very active, and not eating much. We've done salt bath, bacterial treatment of tank. any ideas what this is, or other treatment recommendations? Any help would be appreciated! thanks!

thefishman

 

[MissFishy]

Can you give some more background? What kind of tank is he in, what kind of puffer exactly, how big the tank is, tankmates, how long you've had him, water temp, water parameters, etc?

 

[thefishman]

sick green puffer

He was in a 29g tank with his 3 puffer buddies, 2 leaf cichlids, a handful of feeder minnows (for our oscar tank), and 2 recently added knifefish. He was already acting a little sluggish when we added the knifefish saturday, and I noticed the red rings on his belly while waching to make sure the new additions got along ok. Tank temp stays in the 78-80 degree range, all other water conditions were good...ammonia .25, nitrites 0, ph about 7.2 I think. This tank was set up & cycled a couple of weeks ago, after we moved oscars to a larger tank. At this point, I'd really like to know if I'm prolonging his suffering, or if he has something he can recover from with time, love, & care. We've grown rather attached to him, but he just looks so sad & miserable (maybe just lonely in the hospital tank? He's very sociable!). We'd appreciate any insight. My hubbie says he doesn't look as red this am, but he's still just sitting on the bottom of the tank. Thanks for responding!

 

[MissFishy]

.25 of ammonia isn't "good" it's BAD. Ammonia is deadly for fish. Your tank is overstocked with many fish that aren't compatible. A 29 gallon tank is too small for 3 puffers, let alone all those other fish you have packed in there. I'm guessing the marks are from a combination of overcrowding aggression and bad water quality. You really need to read up on puffer care and get them their own tank. They aren't community fish. In the meantime, do a ton of water changes to get the water quality on track. Make sure the puffers have a healthy diet of snails, shrimp, etc. And work on getting them their own 29g tank, or returning all of your other fish.

 

[zombiefetus]

I assume you're talking about Green Spotted Puffers (http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/)

They are a large Brackish water fish- not freshwater. They also need 30gallons of space per fish. So you'd a 90gallon tank just for the three puffers. I'd highly suggest taking them back to the store if you're not prepared to take care of them. They are a ton of work and very expensive. They should be fed a diet of small snails, small crickets, clams, crabs, oysters, scallops, black worms, and earth worms. The diet needs to be varied (they can't eat the same thing everyday). Definitely not a beginner's fish.

The puffers are not compatible with any of the fish you listed- they are actually not compatible with anything period, they are extremely aggressive and should be in a species only tank.

When full grown these fish should be in a full marine tank. If you're not prepared for a 90gallon saltwater tank with just three fish in it- take them back to the LFS.

 

[thefishman]

hay guys , they are green puffers. not green spotted puffers. they are fresh water. This puffer was only 1" at the time of question. He has passed. We are making a special tank or you could call it our own water haven. I have a 32' x 28' garage. My office is in there and we are making at jungle type setting. I'm a contractor landscaping and home improvements. The fish came from walmart. with the problem already. I raise fish out side. we have a thousand gallon pond.
this illness was unusual. thats why I asked. We also have 4- 30gal, 2 55gal ,1 40gal breader. 2 10 gal sick tanks. just a little info.