GSP Puffer Problem!!

[JNevaril]

I've got a green spotted puffer that is about 1 1/2-2 inches long....

He usually eats REALLY well, but i noticed today and yesterday, that he won't eat. He has dark freckles covering his belly almost all the way, and he
swims around with his mouth open....


water paramaters are perfect, and they just got a water change today.....their tank is being double filtered...so i highly doubt a water quality issue.

he is the smallest of the three, but his fins are not ragged, so i don't think he is being picked on by the other two.

They've been getting pima-fix for the past week to treat a bit of fungus that was on one of their fins...and all of this happened AFTER the treatment was done with.

Does anybody have any ideas?

Thanks

 

[matthew]

Are his teeth not needing to be trimmed? I know GSP's do need to eat snails etc to crunch on to keep their teeth (beaks) trimmed.

I know this is a common problem with GSP. Is he in proper brakish water? i.e proper MARINE salt, not aquarium salt? What's the SG of your tank?

Some LFS keep them in fresh water but this is incredible unsuitable for a GSP as it requires full brakish conditions up to marine conditions when adult! Also they grow to 30cm (+-8inches) so need appx 30 gallons of water per fish.

 

[JNevaril]

they've been eating snails, so it's not a tooth problem.....

he is in brakish water, as of the SG, i have to go pick up my hydrometer from a friend's to check that..... (I know, bad fish owner)

It's just this one guy though.....the other two eat like pigs, and are just fine...

he's getting really skinny, and now his eyes are dark.



Internal parasites maybe?

 

[f8fan]

Many puffers have internal parasites from being caught wild, and then this manifests in them with the travel stress from their native homeland to the LFS. Have you tried treating for parasites? I don't know about you, but if I were a betting woman, I would bet that 75% of the puffers sold in stores have internal parasites. Do you ever notice how they rarely look healthy in the stores? They are gaunt, skinny, and look unwell. I treated mine with jungle parasite fizz thingies when I got them as a preventative measure, & they are all doing well now and fat, happy and healthy.
Get thee to the store and buy a hydrometer, girl!