Bizzare Experience with Puffer

[Firsttanks]

I have copied this post from another forum because I have never heard of something like this. As I find this is the best forum for experience with Puffers I thought I would check to see if anyone has had a similar experience.

1st Post:
Hey all... So Im here on the comp talking to a friend and my puffer (the sick one) is in his hospital tank next to me and Im kinda lookin at him and then talkin some more and I had just gotten done telling my friend: Swat Monkey27: hes still sick and still alive! he hasnt eaten in days an he has been swimming full speed into the sides of the tank head first! i am amazed..
and as soon as I finish typing that I look over and my puffer is all pale and not moving/breathing and laying dead on the floor of the tank.
So i go to my friend: Swat Monkey27: know how i JUST told you the fish was still alive and i was amazed???? Swat Monkey27: just looked at him after 2 secs and hes dead friend: awww poor fish friend: I'm sorry about yer fish
Swat Monkey27: i kno least hes not suffering anymore
THEN After that this happens:
Swat Monkey27: dammit now hes bobbing around, its makin me sick i gotta go flush him and clean up the tank or i'll be ....... Swat Monkey27: WTF friend: ?
friend: what ... what is it?
Swat Monkey27: hes moving again, but its all uncontrolled ..... friend: ... freaky
Swat Monkey27: wasnt breathing... now hes breathing...
friend: dude that's bizarre

Honest to goodness this just happened! What the heck is going on??? Is this a normal thing for sickly/dying fish to do or is my puffer a freak??? I swear he was even Stiff and doing that "dead fish bob"! His color was all gone, and when he "woke back up" it was still gone for a min then came back. Anyone know what the heck just happened????? Should I just suck it up and decapitate him?? ** Or should I take pitty on the fish that wont die???!!!

2nd post:
Just wanted to add some more to this enigma...
He did it again 20 mins later...he swam around really fast, then a TON of poop came out and then he "died". Stayed "dead" for 1-2 mins, then started breathing and swimming again. What is going on? What should I do? I think he must be having sezures (sp?) or something. He also gets stuck and swims in a circcle for a min. then goes back to swiming semi-normal. He is gasping for breath... I cant bring myself to euthanize! Should I?? I dont know whats worse, the thought of killing him or watching him die...

3rd Post:
Just "died" and resurected himself for the 3rd time.....

4th Post:
Hi guys Well, my puffer went on to do the "death" thing at least four more times that I saw that night. He was still alive when I woke in the morning. Changed his water and gave him his meds again. His condition was odd cause he had "normal" puffer color, but that little red dot, and he was really really skinny. He was also swimming in constant circles and occasionally would flip upside down and swim. It was sporadic but not cause he never once bumped into the wall.
I left for spring break after school that day leaving my fish in my boyfriends care. When I called him that night he said the puffer was dead. (For real this time)
Think he could have actually died and was brain dead or something and just swimming around trying to die like a vegetable? Seizures?? I really want to know if there is ANY occurance of this before me!
At least I didnt have to kill him myself. Should have, I think, but I didnt.

Has anyone seen this type of behavior before?

 

[flnsx]

Bump anyone know?

 

[flyfly]

red dot is possible bacteria, but I really dont have any experience with puffers to know about behaviour. Is this happening to your puffer too, flnsx?

 

[Liz]

Where was this red dot and what did it look like?

This scares me because my gsp has a red spot on his side of his belly and he gets spooked really easy... if anyone goes near the tank sometimes he goes berzerk and you can hear him splash out of the water.

 

[RTR]

Erratic swimming and intermittant hyperactivity in puffers is more often than not, especially for novices, ammonia &/or nitrite in the water. They are trying to reach unpoisoned water, but in a tank they obviously cannot. Puffers cannot withstand un-oxidized metabolites in the water well at all.

Red dot? Was it a target puffer? Bite mark?

 

[flnsx]

Yep it was happening for three days. He was dead this morning

Dones will be missed and remembered.

Four days before he died we put in some Algae fix. Do you think that could have killed him? We have put it on many times before with no ill effect.

Once we found out Algae fix could be the culprit we did a 50% water change and added an air stone.

I checked the ammonia and nitrite levels with an all in one stick and they were normal.

Any help?

P.S. should we get a freshwater puffer now or a brackish one?

 

[Pufferpunk]

Might I suggest a lot more research on puffers & their care, before gettting another one? The Puffer Forum & The Puffer List are good places to start.

 

[Oddball~]

At first I thought it was some type of crazy hunting habit... Silly me.

Sorry to hear of your losses!