One of my puffers died

[missyintx_99]

and I have no idea why. He was fine earlier. He has been eating, the other two seem fine. And there is nothing else in the tank with them. His belly was white.
I just can't imagine what could have caused it.
I hope my other two babies will be ok.

 

[Alien Anna]

So sad to hear about your fish

In such a situation I always check my water parameters and do an immediate water change, just in case there is something in my water that caused it.

I also check the aeration of the tank and temperature (which is related).

I examine the body of the fish to see if I can see any obvious marks - bite marks, burn marks from the heater, signs of parasites or infection etc.

Finally, as soon as I can I would clean my gravel and move around my rocks and bogwood, just to make sure there aren't any "dead spots" (pockets of sulphur dioxide producing, anaerobic bacteria) that could have poisoned my fish.

If I can't find anything I put the tank on really close observation and check all the fish in there for signs of injury or infection.

 

[Pufferpack]

Sorry to hear about your loss

As Alien Anna says, it would be a good idea to test your water. Also check the specific gravity, I believe the GSP's do best at a salinity of 1.006 to 1.010.

 

[missyintx_99]

Thanks, I will do. What kind of test kit do I need to check the salinity?
I'll call the LFS in the am and see if he will test for that for me. Right now the only test I have is for ammonia.

 

[Pufferpack]

It's a simple gadget called a Hydrometer, sold in most lfs.

 

[missyintx_99]

Thanks pufferpack, I'll check around for one tomorrow. I went and bought 3 more since I lost the first one. One more of the first 2 died, but since then (a week now) the other 4 seem to be doing great! I'm really loving these fish, they are just so interesting to watch.
And it amazes me how they act at feeding time. One of them gets really aggressive with the other 3 and chases them away from the food rather than just eating himself. He's such a little pig! And the biggest one has dug himself out a little hole and he gets the food in there and lies on it until the other two come over and he'll share with them but not the really aggressive one.
Like I said, fascinating behaviour!

 

[killerfishluvr]

i have had several puffers and all have died. i have 5 years experience with fish and these are the only ones i cant get to live. dont know why??? does anyone?

 

[Alien Anna]

i have had several puffers and all have died. i have 5 years experience with fish and these are the only ones i cant get to live. dont know why??? does anyone?

Never kept puffers myself but maybe its time to get back to basics i.e. what are their requirements? Have you provided the right food? The right water conditions? Have you got them for a reliable supplier? Are they the sort that need a specific concentration of salt and is your hydrometer accurate?

Maybe some puffer owners could suggest questions I haven't thought of to ask. I firmly believe that fish don't die for no reason.

 

[Pufferpack]

i have had several puffers and all have died. i have 5 years experience with fish and these are the only ones i cant get to live. dont know why??? does anyone?

Thats a pretty general question that will spawn more questions than answers I'm sorry to say. A couple that come to mind other than the ones Anna mentioned are:

What species of puffer were they?
Some of the more commonly available now are Figure 8's and Green Spotted puffers, which need brackish water to be healthy, and Dwarf puffers and South American puffers are strictly fresh water.

What size tank were they in?
Puffers are very territorial and will defend against intruders vigorously. You can cut down on the size of the territory they defend with strategic decorating to cut down the lines of sight. Also no-one mentioned the 1 inch of fish per gallon of water rule to the puffers, they are usually very messy eaters and tend to leave lots of food on the bottom of the tank, so extra attention and frequent water changes are necessary if there are no bottom feeders in with them (and it's hard to find tankmates that don't get chewed up)

How long did the lfs have them in stock before selling them?
Most puffers are wild caught and are susceptable to internal parasites, most lfs in this area will Qt their puffers for min. 2 weeks before offering them for sale. Unfortunately most lfs are quite ignorant on the proper care and feeding of puffers so frequently give bad advise to new puffer owners.

What were you feeding your puffers?
Most puffers will only eat live or frozen foods and MUST be provided with something hard (snails, muscles, cockles etc) to keep their constantly growing teeth ground down

Was the tank cycled before adding the puffers?
Puffers, while adaptable to a wide variety of water parameters (Ph, Gh, Kh etc), are very sensative to water conditions and will usually not survive the chemical spikes associated with cycling.

HTH