# White Spots or Bubbles on Puffers



## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi Everyone

I have a tank set up with 3 1" Colomesus asellus puffers and yesterday I did the Tank Maintenance and later on in the day i noticed what looks like little tiny bubbles or white spots on all 3 fish, they are perfectly healthy normally and have had no problems. I have a breeding trap in there with some ramshorn snails that are breeding and they have been in there about 10 days and I have lots of eggs. Some have hatched today but while i was looking at them i noticed a tiny critter swimming underneath the breeding trap. smaller than a pin head and white.

The bubbles/spots on the puffers seem to come off when they swim quickly but there never seems to be any less stuck on their skin.

I have 0 Ammonia and nitrites and nitrates are in safe levels. The tank has been set up for about 9 months.

I have two internal fluval filters in the tank both positioned at the top of the tank to agitate the surface and also a bubble wall. I do have lots of little bubbles in the water but they have never stuck to the puffers before yesterday.

Does anyone have any ideas of what this could be? Have I introduced something awful into my tank from the snails?:fish9:


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

Please can anyone help me??

I have now noticed 4 strange looking things attached to the bottom on the breeding trap, about the size of a grain of sand with 4 to 6 "tentacles" on them? I've read up that they are probably Hydra but are they harmful to my puffers?

The puffers still have white spots or bubbles on them and I have now disabled the bubbles from the filter that was creating the small bubbles.

Please can anyone help me??????


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Sounds like ich to me. If your fish can handle it, increase the temp to 89 degrees and keep it there for at least three days beyond the last sign. Read up on ich and see if this is what your fish look like.


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks, I have been in touch with the store that i bought them from and they said the same thing and also to include some salt. He said 3gms per Litre of water which would of meant 180gms of salt, this seemed alot to me as the package said 3 rounded table spoons which was less than half of the amount that he told me to use. I added 3 rounded table spoons yesterday and increased temp, its currently on 85 degrees so fingers crossed......


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Keep bringing up the temp slowly until it hits 89-90. The warmer the water is the less oxygen it has in it. If you have a HOB filter, I'd recommend dropping your water level down a little so the water crashes into the tank water.

The increase in temp will speed up the ich cycle and 85 is where it is unable to re-produce and the temp higher than that starts to kill the protozoa.


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

Thanks again, I've turned the thermostat up a touch and it's now creeping up slowly. It is def Ich/White Spot, although one puffer has maybe 5-6 spots, the other two are covered in it.

It's not affected the sucker fish in there at all, although I'm not sure he's totally happy with the temp increase the puffers dont seem bothered at all and are still swimming about as normal and coming to see where their food is everytime I go look at them. I dont want to risk moving the sucker into my other tank while i treat the puffers incase he does have it tho...

Another quickie...How often do u recommend feeding these puffers? I've kinda been doing it every other day and literally feeding them from a pipette so none falls into the tank or hanging a prawn in the tank and removing it once their tummies are full...they are not so keen on mussel meat or brine shrimp but love prawn, krill and bloodworm but I have read that prawns are not so good *every *feeding time....TY again:goldfish:


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

This is a good site for puffers: The Puffer Forum • The Puffer Fish Care Community
I hope it's ok to put that link as they are only for puffers not a general aquarium forum, if not please remove my link mods.


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

I have posted on the puffer forum in the hope that someone can help.

I have lowered the water level slightly to allow the filter water to cascade into the tank to create more oxygen but tonight one puffer is sitting on the bottom of the tank and the other two are hovering at the top. I have never know these fish be still in the two months that i have had them so its worrying to see one on the bottom...plus they are all still covered in white spots.....


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## Kaosu (Nov 13, 2010)

\


> Keep bringing up the temp slowly until it hits 89-90.


they are probably not moving do to lack of oxygen. 
iv never had puffers but can they survive in that temp? 90?!..that sounds extream youll sap all the oxygen out of the water even with lowering the water level ......keep the temp just over 85 in my opinion might take a week or so to clear out the ick.

raising the temp only speeds up the life cycle of the ick so it can be killed by the salt.

did some research on temps for puffers..90 is WAAAAAYYYYYY to freaking high..just keep it around 85 with the salt.

try aquariacentral.com...lots of knowledgeable people there


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Kaosu said:


> \
> they are probably not moving do to lack of oxygen.
> iv never had puffers but can they survive in that temp? 90?!..that sounds extream youll sap all the oxygen out of the water even with lowering the water level ......keep the temp just over 85 in my opinion might take a week or so to clear out the ick.
> 
> ...


Raising the temp does speed up the cycle, but higher temps kill the protozoa. Read up on it. 

I keep mostly livebearer fish and if I read up on them and the temp they need I can see that 89-90 is also way too high for them. That temp is normal everyday temp that they should live in. Did all of mine make it through 10 days of 90 degree temps, yes. I think you'll find that many fish don't have 90 listed as the required temperature. A temp of 85 will help as it stops the reproduction, but it is not high enough to kill. If I was going to go about your method, I would just a use a medication over increasing the temp. It is scary and not recommended for long periods - high temp, but it works.

If you have a spare power head you could also add it. If you are unsure or your fish are not doing well with it, then I would lower the temp back down and use a medication. Just make sure your read about using meds and your type of fish. If puffers are scaleless, then I would recommend whatever med you use dose half the recommended amount for twice as long.


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

There is only one that doesnt seem to be doing too well but i have just discovered my nitrates have shot up over the weekend since the water change too, from less than 10 to 50 on the colour card so have performed a water changed and replaced the salt... the temp is on 84-86 and two are swimming around in the current of the big filter that i've raised well above the water level --they seem to be loving it but the other one is just sitting at the bottom of the tank and just swimming around a little bit.

They all ate really well yesterday and the spots seem to be a bit less today.

I have melafix but am very scared about using it on them having read up on the skin situation with them, how much would you add to a 60 litre tank to treat these fish?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Is melafix used for ich? I haven't looked at the label. I've used a med called quick cure on a smaller tank that kicks ich butt. Works great. There are plenty of meds out there for ich, but temp is the best way to kill it if your fish can handle it.

I just read the labels and apply as it says. Like I said, if they are scaleless fish then reduce the dose by half and if it says 5 days, make it 10.


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

D'oh no it isnt lol, just read the label, someone told me to use it, good job i didnt!!

Temp is on 30 and i think they are just about coping with that so will see how it goes and try for 31 tomorrow.....


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

This might be a silly idea but the spots are not normal markings are they? Many puffers have very small spots when you look closely, think it's something to do with retractable spines. Did you say what kind of puffers they are by the way?


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## Ladybgemini (Aug 11, 2010)

snail said:


> This might be a silly idea but the spots are not normal markings are they? Many puffers have very small spots when you look closely, think it's something to do with retractable spines. Did you say what kind of puffers they are by the way?


The are Colomesus puffers and i dont think they are markings...


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