Pufferfish sudden scratching HELP

PuffyPufferfish333 · Aug 15, 2020

HI. I am new to this site. 1st post.. So, please excuse me if I am posting in the wrong forum.

I purchased my blue spotted puffer a month ago. Puffer is quite tiny.NO other fish in my 55 gallon live rock reef tank. No corals Every once in a while I see the puffer glide smoothly against a rock in the tank.

Puffer mostly stays low in the tank. Sleeps under rock.

Today, I can see a scratch on the top of its body. I have attached a photo for your review.

My question is.... is it normal for a fish to scratch? And... is there something I should add to tank to help puffer's scratch heal?

55 gallon cube tank.
Temp 74
Ammonia is 0.1
Ph is all the way up

Jay Hemdal · Aug 15, 2020

Hi - welcome to the site, you posted in the correct area! The old adage is; "mammals scratch because they have an itch, fish scratch because they have a disease" - this usually holds true. I see the lesion you are talking about, but it doesn't show to me as being from any specific disease. Are there other fish in the tank? How do they look? I can talk you through trying a freshwater dip if you want; that sometimes provides temporary relief, and can be used as a diagnostic tool for identifying the root cause of the issue.

Jay Hemdal

PuffyPufferfish333 · Aug 15, 2020

Jay Hemdal said:
Hi - welcome to the site, you posted in the correct area! The old adage is; "mammals scratch because they have an itch, fish scratch because they have a disease" - this usually holds true. I see the lesion you are talking about, but it doesn't show to me as being from any specific disease. Are there other fish in the tank? How do they look? I can talk you through trying a freshwater dip if you want; that sometimes provides temporary relief, and can be used as a diagnostic tool for identifying the root cause of the issue.

Jay Hemdal

Hi Jay. Thank you for your quick response.
I feel like a beginner but I have had my tank going for 25 years. I recently lost my only 2 fish. Both were over 15 years old.
I waited a few weeks then purchased a dogface puffer for 5 months and an angelfish. There was a major storm where our power went out for a few days. Lost both of those fish.

We did water changes every 2 weeks for 2 months with no fish.

Then, we purchased this fish. There are no other fish or corals in the tank. We only have 4 turbo snails in the tank. Should we medicate the tank?

Jay Hemdal · Aug 15, 2020

PuffyPufferfish333 said:
Hi Jay. Thank you for your quick response.
I feel like a beginner but I have had my tank going for 25 years. I recently lost my only 2 fish. Both were over 15 years old.
I waited a few weeks then purchased a dogface puffer for 5 months and an angelfish. There was a major storm where our power went out for a few days. Lost both of those fish.

We did water changes every 2 weeks for 2 months with no fish.

Then, we purchased this fish. There are no other fish or corals in the tank. We only have 4 turbo snails in the tank. Should we medicate the tank?

If you can catch the puffer, you might try a FW dip first. “Freshwater dips” are commonly used to dislodge parasites from the skin of marine fishes. To perform these dips, the fish is placed in a dimly lit container of freshwater the same temperature as the exhibit for 5 to 7 minutes, observing it closely for overt signs of stress (cover, so they don't jump out). The idea is to dislodge any parasites, without unduly harming the fish. Many aquarists opt to use reverse osmosis water, and adjust the pH to match the aquarium, but this is simply not necessary. Once the dip is done, return the fish to the tank and let the dip water settle. Look closely at the bottom of the container for anything that could be a dislodged parasite. A microscope helps, but you may be able to see things with just your eye. If the fish improves after the dip, that tells you there is a parasite problem. The dip won't cure that, but it helps point you in the right direction. If no improvement is seen, then it could be a bacterial infection, or just an injury. That would require a different course of action....

Jay