puffer swimming upside down

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brownkm

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May 15, 2003
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I have a pair of spotted puffers. I inherited them from one of our children about five years ago. One of the puffers spends most of his time upside down or with his nose down on the floor of the tank. The other one doesn't do this at all. At first I thought he was sick, but he doesn't seem to be. He eats quite well - he rights himself and eats and stays right for a few seconds, but then goes upside down again. He acts as though it is too much effort to be "right". Heor she has been doing this for a few weeks. Does anyone know what this behavior means? Is there a way to correct it. We LOVE our puffers!
Kathy Brown
 
Is the fish able to stay at the bottom of the tank without effort? It could be a bubble--puffers can get internal bubbles if they inflate out of the water, or if they eat too much at one time, and the matter begins decomposing rather than being digested. Treatment will vary depending on why the fish is having problems.
 
The puffer can stay on the bottom comfortably. He or she is about 4 inches long. Can we burp the puffer without him swallowing more air?
As far as eating too much - yes I think we overfeed them - they are such fun to feed. Should we cut back on the food? They like pieces of worms and meat of any kind. They also eat dried shrimp.
We feed them once daily.
Kathy
 
RTR can offer better advice on burping--I've never done it successfully.

For feeding--I would cut back to feeding every 2-3 days, or feed smaller amounts. You want them to be chubby, no sunken tummies, but they won't regulate their own eating. Every puffer I've ever had would always eat--even after a big meal. You might want to get them some crunchy food--mussels, clams, snails ect--since they need hard foods to keep their beaks from growing too long. This will also slow down their eating.
 
Try hanging it vertically, head up, tail down, under water & shake. I did that to mine after it puffed w/air. Mine burped & swam away. You can also try pressing on the chest to "burp" the fish.
 
I haven't had it happen to any of my fish since Dr. Ebert's book came out, but his technique sounds much more appealing to me - Hold the puffer gently in you hand, not squeezing tightly and with the fish aimed upward as PP stated. Making a sort of circle with your thumb and first finger to sort of necklace the mouth and eyes helps avoid being bitten. Then gently rub the belly with any available finger, or with the other hand, stroking the belly very gently.

My old technique was just to hold the fish head-up - they seem to struggle briefly then relax. Sometimes they do repuff. But when they vent the water the air comes out with it or more often first.

Obviously the fish needs to be completely submerged during all of this. Puffers were not designed for air.

And please do wash your hands very well afterward - just in case.
 
puffer doing much better

Thanks all of you - the puffer is much better. He swimming straight now. The burbing worked! I'll buy him some snails today for more "bulk" and we'll feed him less often.
Thanks again
Kathy Brown:)
 
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