Help!! My green spotted puffer is having trouble with boyancy.

[PuffMasterGSP]

Hey, thanks for reading. My fish might of had some trauma with the rocks in her tank, and is now acting very odd. She floats to the top unless she keeps herself down. Has turned all black, won't eat, and is trying to regurgitate and then spasms out. She is pointing her head down and just isn't right. Any ideas?vet said it could be her swim bladder? Please help!

 

[yogurt_21]

gsp's don't have scales so I do not recomend having rocks in the tank, a sand bottom is better.

what are your water parameters and tank size?

 

[JakeH]

Rocks generally behave themselves for me... They just chill at the bottom. What did you do & how bad was it? How long has it been since the trauma? Did she puff up with air instead of water?

EDIT: PM PufferPunk. She always has good info.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

black coloration in GSP's is a sure sign of sever stress.

so check the water parameters now. Or if you are unsure do a 50-60% water change and then get a test kit. And go ahead and add some salt if it in fresh right now.

About 1 tbs per 3g of tank water. If there is no fresh water fish in there. If there all brackish 1tbs per 3g is a good start.

 

[JakeH]

I used to think the black color was strictly a stress response, but they also turn black after eating... I think the "rock" trauma is the issue, not water parameters.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

hmm interesting

I only had my 3 for 4 years but the only time they ever turned black is when i first got them and they had fin rot and ick and then at the 2 year mark one of the 3 got a parasite . And it then became blackened for about a week. until I figured the problem out and treated with prazi.


3 days later the little guy had a big white stringy poop and brighten up with in hours.


What do you feed that makes them turn black? not that its the food just worndering.

 

[JakeH]

I feed a variety of foods to them, but their staples are Mysis shrimp & bloodworm. They get Krill & gut-loaded snails on occasion too. They are perfectly white & healthy until they get full bellies, then they stay black until their meal digests.