Puffed Frogfish

[Pufferpunk]

Package arrived about 11:30 this morning. I appreciate everything done to keep it nice & warm but I'd like to offer some constructive critisizm on packing fish...

1st of all, everything arrived alive!

It is my impression that heatpacks need air to work & the shipper it wrapped in bubblewrap. The pack was hot but not the outside of the plastic wrap. When you put foil over the frags, it prevents the the pack from keeping them warm--they frags were cold but are all open now, no biggie.

My biggest conccern was the frogfish. The bag was collapsed inside the thermos. There was barely any air in it & the poor gal was totally puffed up like a pufferfish! Her mouth was hanging open & she was really in distress. I put the bag in the tank & opened it right away & started splashing a little fresh tank water in it to airate the water she was in. I didn't want to shock her further by immediately adding her to the tank but after doing that for about 10 minutes, I scooped her out (I figured since she was already puffed, exposing her to air at this point would matter much). I tried burping her a little & some air came out. It took about 5 minutes for her to expel the air/water in her. I took lots of pics (puffed & unpuffed).

Good friends already!

 

[ecotoxlady]

Is she alright now? I hope so because she is a beautiful fish! That is awful that she went through that. How did you get her to expel the air from her system?

 

[rarelyseriousb]

hey puffer do you have a tank thread here. Id like to see more of your tanks.

 

[Pufferpunk]

I burped her like I would a puffer, by gently pushing on her abdomen. She did expel a little burp of air & I let her release the water on her own.

 

[Pufferpunk]

hey puffer do you have a tank thread here. Id like to see more of your tanks.

No but thanks, I will start one!

Here is the tank she is living in now:

I'm trying to get rid of those leathers though, before they get any bigger.

 

[rarelyseriousb]

I like that tank. I asume that you cant have shrimp and such in with him right? What about snails?

 

[Doctor Faust]

My frogfish started puffing up. Slight at first. Then I tried to move him to another tank with a separation box, and he got puffed even more. Then I tried to “burp” as I read on this thread, and that caused more stress and even more puffing. I had never seen that happen, although ive had many frogfish before - I always assumed they ate a big meal lol

Anyone else seen this, or know the cause and more importantly a fix (if its needed)?
Thank you!

 

[Doctor Faust]

Here’s some visual.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Here’s some visual.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Here’s some visual.

 

[lion king]

They can puff for 2 reasons, in your case it's likely swallowing air. You did all you could do by burping her. Frogfish are not to be exposed to air, and in the bag collaspe she probably gurped some. The 2nd reason comes after they are in a rank, and thats from over feeding, usually feeding too often. Because of their metabolism they digest food slowly, and if overfed the gases build up in their guts. In this case you would stop feeding for a while and get into a proper feeding cycle of gorge and fast. You can also try to burp in this case.

 

[Doctor Faust]

Thanks guys. Turned out too late. He was the best I had seen in these colors
initially the bulge was water. I used a pipette and got most of the water out, and then air got in and it started floating. Then I used a different pipette and got the air out, but he was too stressed and possibly suffered internal damage. Didnt last long afterwards despite futile attempts at resuscitating.