Puffy has skin problems...

[frazin78]

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I think my puffer is coming down with something. He has a few spots on his skin that I can't quite make out. In the picture I circled the problem areas. There seems to be somethinig eating away at his skin but I am not too sure. Another thing I have noticed is that he has a few of his spikes seem soft and they are not tight against his body and they are floating around like hair more then like spikes and they are jsut as thick as another one of his spikes. My water is normal, no one is picking on him.

Ammonia 0
Nitirites 0
Nitrates 15 ppm
PH 8.2
Temp 79
Salinity 1.024 I know it's a little high but I just dropped it back to 1.023 with a 5% water change.

Does anyone know what he has. He has been only eating frozen Krill. He doesn't touch anything else and I have tried. Anyone have any ideas

[OrionGirl]

Looks like it may be a bacterial infection. If the puffer scraped on something, bacteria can colonize the wounds. I would remove the fish to a hospital tank and treat with an antibiotic.

Puffers have some soft spikes in addition to the hard ones--these are usually located around the mouth,a long the tummy, and around some fins. They can stiffen with water, and are not anything abnormal.

The sg is fine at 1.025. That's about where I prefer mine, especially in the reef tank. It's certainly not a problem for the fish.

It is vital for the long term health of your puffer that you get him eating something with a tougher shell than krill. Buy some cockles or mussels at the grocery store--they are sold live, and will live in your tank for 2-3 days. Without adequate crunch, puffer teeth overgrow to the point the fish can't eat.

[frazin78]

Is there anything i need to do to prepare the mussles or crokles before putting them into the tank?

I never fed my puffer this kind of food and any tips on how to feed this food and what his reaction should be to the introduction of this food would be appreciated.

Thank you

[OrionGirl]

No preparation needed, just toss them in. The puffer should start checking them out pretty quickly, and nipping at the shell to get at the mussel. Get the smallest ones you can.

[frazin78]

Thx OrionGirl