Ill puffer

[Sammi310186]

I have just noticed my topaz puffer is only using on gill and the side of him the gill is on is slightly swollen he has been absolutely fine it has just suddenly happened......the water was tested a week ago and was absolutely fine couyld it be gill disease and if so will i be able to save him with medication?

 

[jflowers]

This link...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=72491

says it may be a brackish fish and may grow to 11" what water and tank are you keeping it in. You say the water was fine when tested, what were the readings? I see you made the same post earlier in another thread...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=75384

The infection from the other fish could be the problem.

Jon

 

[Sammi310186]

i have spent ageeees looking around and have found this >>>>>>

http/chunkypuff.net/speciesinfo.php?cat=4&id=fluviatillis

He is a topaz puffer which is sometimes sold as a ceylon puffer but both can be kept in freshwater to full marine

http/www.pufferfish.co.uk/aquaria/specie...ypes/ceylon.htm

How can the infection my JD has be the problem? Can dropsy affect gills?

I must have been through every fish disease and no symptoms match with my puffer only using one gill!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

uh-oh, you added a brackish water fish to a pleco and a cat? not a good plan!

i splurged a few months back and bought the Aqualog book on puffers , which was written by a guy with 30+ years of experience just with puffers. (so i tend to regard him as a bit of an expert.) anyways, what Dr. Ebert has to say is:

Tetradon fluviatillis... brackish-water puffer... There is no intraspecific or general aggression. Because of the rapid growth rate, however, these puffers may come to pose a treat to tankmates, and this must be borne in mind when purchasing them... Maintenance of this species in freshwater may present a number of problems similar to those already mentioned for other brackish-water pufffers. By contrast, they can be kept for many years in brackish or marine aquaria without any problems.

so, make of the info what you will, but keep in mind that plecos and cats are very sensitive to salt content. if you just want a perky puffer, the following are listed in the book as being purely freshwater:

--Auriglobus modestus Golden Puffer (bad to fin-nip)
--Auriglobus silus Elongated Golder Puffer (bad to fin-nip)
--Carinotetradon imitator Imitating Dwarf Puffer (tiny, can be tank-bred)
--Carinotetradon irrubesco Red-tailed Redeye Puffer (will nip the cat)
--Carinotetradon lorteti Crested Puffer (pretty but ill-tempered)
--Cariontetradon travancoricus Dwarf Puffer (tiny, easy to care for)
--Colomesus asellus S. American Puffer (mine's an angel!)
--Tetradon sp. Most of the FW Tetradons are ill-tempered and will EAT your fish (except *maybe* Tetradon palembangensis, which is a rare find)
--Tetradon schoutedeni Leopard Puffer (another exception to the rule)

I personally have a C. asellus who's a little angel. My only complaint is that his teeth grow very quickly, so they have to be trimmed rather often.

Good luck with your Topaz! You might find it fun to swap that tank over to a mildly brackish one and get him some salty friends. (Baby mollies would be like potato chips...)