# Marine Green Spotted Puffer, please take a look?



## GotterdammerunG (Jan 3, 2014)

*BEFORE*
I have a Green Spotted Puffer whose been acclimated to 1.022 salinity. He had been doing better than ever since I slowly acclimatized him about 3 weeks ago. His energy increased dramatically and he became much less skittish - often dancing around to get my attention and even eating from my hands. He actually developed an insatiable appetite, similar to what I'd heard from other GSP owners. In general he seemed much happier than in his freshwater tank. 

*AFTER*
Last night I finished setting up the sump. I added some hydroton clay pellets (used mostly in hydro/aquaponics) to try and create a fluidised bed. This morning I noticed the water had become cloudy and my puffer's belly was dark grey, had cloudy eyes, was becoming lethargic, and had clear/white excrement. He has clamped fins and absolutely no interest in food.

*CURRENT SITUATION*
- in a 3g bucket
- 10g rated hang on back filter /w fresh filter floss (gentle water movement)
- water heated to 81F
- Salinity at 1.022 - the same his tank has been for these last three weeks

*SYMPTOMS*
- cloudy eyes
- clamped fins
- clear excrement
- dark belly (persisting all day)
- lethargic (improved slightly since moving to bucket)
- no appetite

*WHAT I DID*
I removed the clay pellets, but he seemed to be getting worse. I set up a 3 gallon bucket with a heater, new salt water, and a hang on the back filter with fresh media. He seems stable, but I'm wondering what else I can do for him tomorrow when the LFS open. Google seems to suggests it's an internal parasite, but all of the symptoms developed overnight. That's too quick for a parasite, right?

I should mention that the clay pellets had been used in an aquaponics (fresh water) setup about 6 months ago, had been stored dry, and were thoroughly rinsed before I put them into the sump. I assumed that there would be no threat of contamination, but I certainly do not know that for sure.

*WHAT I HAVE FOR TREATMENT TONIGHT*
On hand I have Praziquantel, and Tetra Parasite Guard - which says it's for freshwater. Is there anything I can do tonight? Should I raise the temperature? What should I look for tomorrow morning? I initially thought the clay pellets had rubbed against each other, released some clay powder, and caused him irritation. Since his condition hasn't improved since moving him to the hospital tank, I'm not so sure. 

*Please Reply With Your Thoughts*
I'll be up for the next few hours, so if you have a question, I should be able to reply promptly. If you have any ideas about what I could do either tonight, or tomorrow morning, I would really appreciate it. Even a thought or idea that I might follow up on tomorrow at the LFS, I don't know what else to do at this point.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

I have no good ideas but wonder how your puffer is doing?


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## GotterdammerunG (Jan 3, 2014)

That's kind of you to ask. 

Pixel has definitely seen better days. Then again, I have the sneaking suspicion that he can't actually see a thing. His eyes have completely clouded over, and one looks ragged, or cottony.

He's still in the 3g emergency bucket, but I took out the live rock because I was afraid he was bumping into it accidentally and harming himself. The symptoms now point to fungal, so I'm treating with "pimafix". 

He's still not eating, but on the bright side, his belly returned to it's bright white color yesterday. The redness around his pectoral fins seems to have come down a bit, and no symptoms seem to be worsening.

I dumped out all of the water in the tank and sump, and refilled with fresh saltwater. Nothing in there yet, but I might acclimate some black mollies to begin cycling the tank again. I'm not sure if they acclimate as well as the larger sailfin mollies, but they were cheap and I'm in no rush to have them move in.

I don't plan to put Pixel back in at least until he's eating and looking much better. I'm not sure if he'll actually pull through, I have a hard time imagining how his eyes could recover from their current state. In the meantime though, he's hanging in there.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Sounds like Ammonia poisoning to me. Whats the current water parameters?


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## GotterdammerunG (Jan 3, 2014)

I don't think it was ammonia poisoning. Although I didn't test the water after his symptoms, there was a pretty small bio-load on a freshly cycled tank. He didn't end up making it. Cleaned everything out and started from scratch with some black mollies.


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