Mbu Puffer bloated

[Bafutbeagle]

Got up 5 days ago to find my 12" Mbu Puffer sat on the bottom of the tank looking bloated with a buge underneath near his anus. Really worried he didn't eat anything for 4 days and finally ate a couple of mussels last night.

He has problems moving around the tank and drifts around before settling on the bottom.

I have checked my water and it is fine, no ammonia and nitrites with a tiny amount of nitrates, I do 50% water changes each week and he lives in a 220 UK gallon tank happily with my RTGG.

Any ideas as I am really worried.

 

[T]

i dont think u shoudl worry my small mbu would always look like that after he had a full meal. he prolly ate something huge. it kinda looked like a bird perched on the ground..

 

[Bafutbeagle]

Unfortunately this is not him being full he is quite sick and I think that he has puffed himself up at night and got some air trapped or he has developed a swin bladder problem.

 

[andregurov]

It would be extremely unlikely that a large Mbu would be unable to deflate himself if he was engorged with water. Even if he swallowed air, he would get it out with time. Swim bladder problems are a possibility, but again unlikely if your water quality and parameters are in order. If there are no signs of physical damage I would rule this out as well.

Internal infection is another possibility, caused by undigested material, overeating, or damage to the digestive tract. Mbus are well known to overeat - what have you been feeding him? Chitin (the hard substance most aquatic invertebrates have as their exoskeleton) is VERY hard and often passes through digestion undissolved, especially after a big meal. Has his diet been varied? If so, it would be unlikely that he would be suffering from a mineral/vitamin deficiency, or that he would have fatty deposits on the liver hindering his immune system and enzymatic production/elimination.

Bloat is a catchall term for internal disease. If his anus is inflamed or distended, I would believe it to be a problem with passing a large stool, and not bloat. The best recommendation would be to quarantine him in a fully-cycled tank with supplemental oxygen, heat, and salt to ease osmotic stress. You could also use Epsom salts instead (magnesium chloride) which can be helpful as a mild laxative. I would quit feeding him in the interim, however. If you do feed him, using metronidazole-treated feed may help cover your bases in case of internal difficulty. Good luck, I know how crappy it is to lose a big Mbu.

J

 

[Bafutbeagle]

Thanks for the advice, I don't have a hospital tank, but he actually ate a mussel last night so hopefully this is a good sign, but still he is swollen and sitting on the bottom of the tank.

This is really quite upsetting as he was just like a dog and would follow me around the room.

 

[RobD23]

my fahaka was acting strange lately and i was worried about him as well, then i slightly reduced feeding and i did a 45% water change...he seems to be acting much better alot more active today in comparison to that last 5 to 6 days...Larger water changes is the solution for these puffers due to the fact that they are quite sensitive fish , and as they get bigger so does their waste production...We might have very very different problems, but it never hurts to do a large water change to make sure that there are no toxic waste materials in the water...

ps...you might want to turn up the tempurature slightly due to the fact that higher tempuratures help fish to digest better