My Pufferfish has a hole on its back

[Fishguy89]

My narrow lined Pufferfish has a hole on its back. I got it two weeks ago. He's been eating fine but Im a bit worried about it. Do you know what it is?

 

[fishguy242]

Welcome to the reef Fishguy...
looks like damage ?? let's get you some expert help on treating.
best wishes.
#fishmedic

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

My narrow lined Pufferfish has a hole on its back. I got it two weeks ago. He's been eating fine but Im a bit worried about it. Do you know what it is?

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

It looks like something peeled the puffers skin back, what other fish do you have in with it?
Also, I think I can see some cloudy fins, looks like it might have a severe case of ich, can you get a better photo for us?

If it is ich (and the more I look at it, the more I think that it is ich) you will need to treat it, and all of the fish in with it, with copper or hyposalinity. The trouble is, you cannot use those two treatment with any invertebrates present, and I think that is a snail in the picture.

If it is ich, you'll need to move quickly on this.....

Jay

 

[Fishguy89]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

It looks like something peeled the puffers skin back, what other fish do you have in with it?
Also, I think I can see some cloudy fins, looks like it might have a severe case of ich, can you get a better photo for us?

If it is ich (and the more I look at it, the more I think that it is ich) you will need to treat it, and all of the fish in with it, with copper or hyposalinity. The trouble is, you cannot use those two treatment with any invertebrates present, and I think that is a snail in the picture.

If it is ich, you'll need to move quickly on this.....

Jay

I think it might be inch because it has spots on it, I introduced some fish around the same time and they possibly had ich. Here's some more pictures.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I think it might be inch because it has spots on it, I introduced some fish around the same time and they possibly had ich. Here's some more pictures.

Yes - it seems to have ich. Also, there seems to be a circular spot below the torn area - looks like a second bite mark.

To be honest - this is going to be tough to deal with! You will need to separate the puffer from whichever fish is biting it, and you will need to treat the whole group of fish for ich. If you don't start a treatment today, you will likely lose the puffer....most ich treatments take up to three days to start working, and by then, the puffer is going to be very sick.

Do any other fish in the tank have spots?
What other fish are in the tank? I saw a green chromis at a YT blue damsel....


Jay

 

[Fishguy89]

Yes - it seems to have ich. Also, there seems to be a circular spot below the torn area - looks like a second bite mark.

To be honest - this is going to be tough to deal with! You will need to separate the puffer from whichever fish is biting it, and you will need to treat the whole group of fish for ich. If you don't start a treatment today, you will likely lose the puffer....most ich treatments take up to three days to start working, and by then, the puffer is going to be very sick.

Do any other fish in the tank have spots?
What other fish are in the tank? I saw a green chromis at a YT blue damsel....


Jay

I have a scopus tang in there and it's been fine but it is hard to tell if it has spots. I had a angelfish in there that was really aggressive and it died a couple of days ago, I'm not sure if it bit the puffer and died.

 

[Fishguy89]

Here's another picture of the puffer.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Here's another picture of the puffer.

This puffer is flooded with dots. . . Velvet or ich most certain.
You are working with Jay on this and in this manner, I tend to stand back and have you work with him.

In the mean time, if velvet, you will be seeing :
- Scratching body against hard objects
- Fish is lethargic
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Rapid, labored breathing
- Fins clamped against the body
- rapid breathing and mucus around the gills

Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium.

With ich:
Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as trophonts, mucus, and inflamed tissue clog the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches.

 

[Fishguy89]

This puffer is flooded with dots. . . Velvet or ich most certain.
You are working with Jay on this and in this manner, I tend to stand back and have you work with him.

In the mean time, if velvet, you will be seeing :
- Scratching body against hard objects
- Fish is lethargic
- Loss of appetite and weight loss
- Rapid, labored breathing
- Fins clamped against the body
- rapid breathing and mucus around the gills

Fish with velvet will typically stay at the surface of the water, or remain in a position where a steady flow of water is present in the aquarium.

With ich:
Aside from the appearance of the white spots, fish will scratch against objects in an attempt to dislodge the parasites, and rapid respiration develops as trophonts, mucus, and inflamed tissue clog the gills. Fish become listless, refuse to eat, loss of color occurs in patches or blotches.

It's weird because he's not showing any of those symptoms.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Here's another picture of the puffer.

Oh my, the fish looks even worse in this photo! The spirobolid worms and spots on the glass make it tough to see what's going on. It isn't velvet, the fish wouldn't still be feeding.

I can't see - does it have spots on its fins, or just the body? If it has spots on the fins and the body, then this is ich. If it just have spots/marks on its body and the fins are clear, then it could be flukes.

I think you need to start a hypo treatment on this fish tonight. That will handle flukes or ich (copper will just handle ich).

Here is some information about hyposalinity:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

 

[Fishguy89]

Oh my, the fish looks even worse in this photo! The spirobolid worms and spots on the glass make it tough to see what's going on. It isn't velvet, the fish wouldn't still be feeding.

I can't see - does it have spots on its fins, or just the body? If it has spots on the fins and the body, then this is ich. If it just have spots/marks on its body and the fins are clear, then it could be flukes.

I think you need to start a hypo treatment on this fish tonight. That will handle flukes or ich (copper will just handle ich).

Here is some information about hyposalinity:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

Okay I can try it tonight

 

[Fishguy89]

Oh my, the fish looks even worse in this photo! The spirobolid worms and spots on the glass make it tough to see what's going on. It isn't velvet, the fish wouldn't still be feeding.

I can't see - does it have spots on its fins, or just the body? If it has spots on the fins and the body, then this is ich. If it just have spots/marks on its body and the fins are clear, then it could be flukes.

I think you need to start a hypo treatment on this fish tonight. That will handle flukes or ich (copper will just handle ich).

Here is some information about hyposalinity:

Hyposalinity

Hyposalinity Jay Hemdal 2024 This term refers to a long-term bath treatment for marine fishes in which the salt content of the water is lowered and held below the point that certain parasites can survive. The salt level reached, and the time of the treatment are the two variables...

www.reef2reef.com

Jay

So I looked at him today but the spots where not there. The fish are all acting normal. I'll take some pictures and put them here.