my puffer has a legion

[greggnyce]

My green spotted puffer constantly swims up and down the glass rubbing his mouth on the glass. This behavior has created a legion below his mouth. Is this a disease or another issue? If so has anyone else experienced this problem?

[bkv1997]

Does he do the same thing when your not in front of the tank and/or when the lights are out?

Just some things you might give a try. I'm not really sure, a picture would help those that are more familiar with FO systems help you diagnose the issue.

[greggnyce]

He does not do it at night but it does it wether I am standing in front of the tank or not. the skin is rubbed off in a little spot under his bottom lip I think it is definetly from the rubbing but wondering if I can change it without removing him from the system.

[bkv1997]

If you turn the lights out in the middle of the day and leave the room lights on does he do it? Is he seeing/chasing his reflection I guess is about the only thing I can think of.

John will be around tonight and he might have a better answer for you, but I'm personally not that familiar with fish commonly kept in FO systems.

Let us know how it turns out.
Brandon

[greggnyce]

Today we tried adding a mirror and some new rock to see if its because hes bored. Any other hints would be helpful. Thanks for your help!

[jhnrb]

Hard to say what the problem is. is there a cave for the puffer to hide in? if not you need to provide one so the fish can recluse to a quiet area where it feels safe. do you feed your puffer shell fish on the shell? is the temperature and water parameters all good. The fish could be wanting to get out of the tank or move away from something that is bothering it, it could have a gill flukes problem, the damaged area may be stressing the fish. really hard to say. you will need to treat the fish for gram + and - baterial infection as a precaution. look very close and see if you can see anything at all, redness around the wound, any thin strings, lumps, bumps, bleeding, rapid respiration, swiming problems, eating problem, any other things not mentioned. also try to cover the corner where the fish is running up and down sort of like a cave open to the tank and see if that helps. look in the room and block the fishes view of various items and see if it stops at any time. good luck and keep us posted. others may weigh in here too.

[greggnyce]

I am rearranging the tank today to see if that helps. Thank you for the advice. I will give it a shot

[jhnrb]

Good luck with your puffer. rearrangement is a great idea. sometimes though only the fish knows what is going on and it is too bad they cannot tell us, so be vigilant, check water parameters, temperatures, see if you have any stray voltages in the water, watch the area of injury closely for any signs of further deteriation. The puffer may have gotten stung by something in the tank, or injured the area and is rubbing it because it irritates the fish. seems like it is trying to remove something. look closely and see if you can tell if anything is attached to the fish in or near the injury. good luck. keep us posted.

[greggnyce]

The puffer is healing! His mouth is much better and healing on its own. We rearranged the tank and gave him a cave and that seems to have worked. He's much calmer as he swims around and is exploring a little more. We are working on cycling a fish-only tank that he'll get first dibs on territory. Thanks for the advice!

[jhnrb]

Very good. Im glad it appears to be working for you. so a lesson you will be able to share with others that have similar problems. congrats. keep us posted on the progress.