Green Spotted Puffer Flashing

Hi,

I have a green spotted puffer for almost a week now. I think his health condition is not so stable as he sometimes very active, sometimes won't be greeting us but hiding and resting on the gravel.
Last night, I realized that he's flashing, he's scratching his body against the plants a few times. I thought he was just having fun at first but later I googled the behavior, it might indicate the parasite.
He will sometimes happily swim to us when we approach but sometimes he'll just turn away and looked ill (or I am just overthinking). He wasn't in a good appetite until these two days he started to eat quite a lot after I switch frozen krills to bloodworm. Not sure if he just doesn't like krill.

I am very worried and this is the first puffer I ever have. I know that brackish puffer is not easy to start with as I am a newbie therefore I did a lot of research before I got the fish.
Now he keeps having issues and I am just freaking out...
I did a water test every two days and here's some info for my water parameters:
37 gallon
ph 8.0-8.2
Temperature 80F
Ammonia below 0.2ppm (I have used the API AmmoLock treatment every two days with only 5ml dose, and I know puffers are sensitives)
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.0ppm
SG 1.004

I need some puffer pro to help me out with the flashing behavior, I have attached some photos of his skin. There are some little bulge dots or his spine? but it feels like when aftershave beard...
Please and I appreciate your help!!

You don't need a puffer specialist for this. Fish are the same in fresh, brackish and marine tanks. The diseases are similar and water quality/ filtration is the same.

How long has the tank been set up for?
You want ammonia and nitrite levels on 0ppm at all times. And you want nitrate below 20ppm at all times. If your ammonia or nitrite are above 0ppm, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day until the levels are 0ppm.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

If you are adding salt to the water, add salt to a bucket of water, aerate it for at least an hour (24 hours if using marine salts) so the salt can dissolve completely, then dechlorinate and aerate the water for a few more minutes before using it in the tank.

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Fish rub on objects for several reasons. They get an itch, external parasites (mainly protozoans), poor water quality (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate).

External protozoan infections are uncommon in brackish water fish but do sometimes occur. I can't see any white spots on the fish but monitor it for any small white dot on the body or fins. If it develops any white spots, you can treat it by raising the water temperature to 30C (86F) and keeping it there for 2 weeks, or at least 1 week after all the spots have disappeared from the fish.

Shine a torch on the fish when the tank lights are off and see if there is a yellow/ gold sheen over any part of the fish. This is velvet and can be treated in the same way as white spot (30C for a couple of weeks). You can use a camera with the flash on to photograph fish at night and it will show up velvet too.

If you can get some video of the fish rubbing it might offer more information.

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Puffer fish will sleep on the bottom at night and your fish might have jet lag, depending on where it came from and how long it has been in your city. Most fish need a couple of weeks to settle into their new tank and get use to the new lighting times.

Hi Colin,

Thank you for all the informative info. I will try to see if I can get the flashing video since he does it probably once with few times a day.

The tank has been set up for a week (I know with the proper cycling needs up to 6-8 weeks, however, due to some missing information I've got, the tank is not properly cycled until I got the fish. and that's the time I realize the information I got was terribly wrong. Would you suggest I still do 75% water change? or should I do 10% daily? A puffer breeder told me to add little does of Ammolock instead of water change. cuz I got different search results that puffers are sensitive, so I might do a little water change more frequently than change a lot a one time.

In a newly set up tank that hasn't got a developed/ cycled filter, you need to keep the ammonia as low as possible. The easiest way is by doing big (75-80%) daily water changes until the levels are on 0ppm. If the pH is above 7.0, then keeping the ammonia as low as possible is even more important because the ammonia is very toxic in water with a pH above 7.0. The higher the pH, the more toxic it becomes.

All fish are sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and any level of ammonia can kill fish very quickly.

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You can add Ammolock if you like, but you need to add enough to treat the tank and this can get expensive. Doing big water changes is usually cheaper, but it depends on if you live in a desert or somewhere that water is cheap and readily available. Even if you do add Ammolock, it's still a good idea to do a big water change and gravel clean the substrate at least twice a week while the tank is cycling.

Your best bet is to reduce feeding to 2-3 times per week, and do a 75% water change and gravel clean 4-8 hours after feeding. This will reduce any ammonia that is produced from the food and should help keep levels low enough for the fish to survive. Once the filter has cycled (in about 4-6 weeks), you can feed more often and do a 75% water change and gravel clean once a week.

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You can buy bottles of liquid filter bacteria. These are added to the tank and help speed the cycling process up. I recommend adding a double dose every day for one week, then pour the remaining contents into the tank. Try to add the bacteria supplement near the filter intake so it gets drawn into the filter where it belongs.

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Don't clean the filter for the first 8 weeks because you can disturb the filter bacteria and slow or stop the cycling process. However, if the filter blocks up or the flow slows down, then clean it but do it gently. After the filter has cycled, you can clean the filter at least once a month and every 2 weeks is great. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.

Don't replace filter media unless it starts to fall apart. If you have a filter that uses pads/ cartridges, you can squeeze these out in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. You can also buy sponges for different brands of filter and use a pair of scissors to cut the sponge to fit your filter. The sponges get added to the filter and after a couple of months you can throw the filter pads away and do not replace the pads. Sponges will last for years.

Ok! Thank you I will do a water change asap.

I just captured the flashing behaviour

Yes something is definitely irritating the fish. It could be the start of white spot. The safest treatment for white spot is heat (30C/ 86F for 2 weeks).

If you use heat to treat them, do a big water change and gravel clean before increasing the temperature to reduce the number of pathogens in the water.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence whenever raising the temperature or using chemicals, to maximise the oxygen level in the water.

Ok, I am changing the water at this moment, just wondering the gravel is just 1 week old, do I have to do gravel clean?
Also, I have a HOB for up to 50 gallon, and mine is 37 gallon, will that be enough oxygen or surface turbulence for the puffer?

I always prefer to have at least one airstone bubbling away when using heat or chemicals. If you don't have an air pump and airstone, don't fill the tank up as much. Have the water level an inch or two below the filter outlet so it splashes more.

The reason for doing a gravel clean now is to suck out any possible white spot organisms that might be in the gravel.

I finished my water change and I have been checking the puffers from time to time. I don't think he likes the water change as he was turning grey and swimming up and down. and he wouldn't come to us for food or geet us. Over a night, now he's doing fine he's color is back o gold green and would come to us but still swimming up and down.
Not sure if I should do another water change? I only changed 1/3 of the tank yesterday cuz I wasn't sure if the puffer can handle such a big waterchange.