Sick pea puffer

[T Brad]

I’m dealing with a sick pea puffer. Its eyes have turned black and has stopped eating as of two days ago. No idea what the problem is. Ammonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are about 5ppm. It’s in a 36 gal with a fair amount of plants (Java ferns , rotala, Amazon frogbit, jungle Val, etc.) only other fish in there are two other dwarfs and a Bristol nose. I do 35 percent water changes weekly. Lethargy and black eyes are the only symptoms. The eyes didn’t change at the same time. It was a week or so apart. At first I thought it was blindness from either a fight which I can’t say has never happened but it isn’t common or maybe too much co2. I turned off the co2 and did a water change and it seemed to perk up but then it is back to this. No new tank mates in months and this tank is about a year old. The puffers have been in there since it cycled. Everyone else is fine.

Right now it’s in a specimen container so that I’m able to keep an eye on it, make sure it has access to food and to separate it from tank mates

any thoughts or ideas? I have any anti parasite, fungal, anti bacterial, Ich-x, and aquarium salt so I’m prepared to treat it, I just don’t know what to treat for.

Edited May 9, 2023 by T Brad

[Colu]

How long have the had the pea puffer and has  it been dewormed @T Brad

[T Brad]

I’ve had this guy along with its tank mates for over a year now and yes full rounds of deworming. I’m lead to believe this is a captive bread individual but my fish store also thought they had captive bred Amazon puffers so I take that information with a grain of salt. Since making this post I’ve taken a couple of pictures using the camera flash and now I’m thinking this could be bacterial. The black appearance of the eyes being due to them being swollen and essentially magnifying the black edges. Here it is attached and please be critical of me if I’m missing something. I’m trying to get this right instead of leading anyone to a conclusion. @Colu

Edited May 10, 2023 by T Brad

[Colu]

Something not right I can't put my finger on it his eyes don't look right but am no puffer expert the fact you have done multiple rounds of deworming he's not eaten in a couple of days you had him over a year what I would do is a course of kanaplex just in case there's a bacterial component you could try feeding him black worms or brine shrimp  to try and  simulate his appetite @T Brad

[T Brad]

It’s hard to tell since they kindof have bug eyes already. It’s the photo with the flash that clued me in on this idea. Normally their eyes are black with a gold iris. Under normal lighting this one’s eyes look black but with light shining directly at them like a camera flash you can still see the gold iris. So in my mind and I could be wrong on this, if its eyes are swollen then could the lenses be acting like a magnifying glass focusing everything funky so you can’t see the gold irises without shining a light directly at them. Could this also explain why it seemed  to have difficulty finding food? At this point I feel like whatever is wrong it’s no longer a problem of finding food but it’s progressed enough that the appetite is gone. It’s indicative of a serious problem for puffers as they are veracious eaters. Would Maracyn (Erythromycin) be suitable? It’s what I have on hand. The one fish store here (Little Rock AR) and none of the pet stores carry Kanoplex. Looking at Amazon it would be tomorrow evening at the soonest I could have some and this if their shipping is on point. Thanks for the responses and helping me work through this.  @Colu

Edited May 10, 2023 by T Brad

[Colu]

On 5/10/2023 at 12:44 PM, T Brad said:

It’s hard to tell since they kindof have bug eyes already. It’s the photo with the flash that clued me in on this idea. Normally their eyes are black with a gold iris. Under normal lighting this one’s eyes look black but with light shining directly at them like a camera flash you can still see the gold iris. So in my mind and I could be wrong on this, if its eyes are swollen then could the lenses be acting like a magnifying glass focusing everything funky so you can’t see the gold irises without shining a light directly at them. Could this also explain why it seemed  to have difficulty finding food? At this point I feel like whatever is wrong it’s no longer a problem of finding food but it’s progressed enough that the appetite is gone. It’s indicative of a serious problem for puffers as they are veracious eaters. Would Maracyn (Erythromycin) be suitable? It’s what I have on hand. The one fish store here (Little Rock AR) and none of the pet stores carry Kanoplex. Looking at Amazon it would be tomorrow evening at the soonest I could have some and this if their shipping is on point. Thanks for the responses and helping me work through this.  @Colu

kanaplex is just my go to antibiotic treatment as you have  maracyn to hand I would do a course of that

[ahaab]

Any resolution to this issue? Just noticed my pea looking exactly like this today.

[T Brad]

Sorry Ahaab just saw that you had posted this. Hopefully not too late of a response for you. The answer is Yes and no. The fish died but I feel that’s because I was too late to begin treatment. I strongly believe it was a bacterial infection and the eyes were a symptom. I determined this is what pop eye in a pea puffer looks like.

On 1/18/2024 at 5:15 PM, ahaab said:

Any resolution to this issue? Just noticed my pea looking exactly like this today.

See my above comment. Quoting here to ensure you’re notified

Edited January 24 by T Brad

[ahaab]

Thanks for replying. My guy was in bad shape and didn't help that the others started picking on him. I took him out and tried another tank but he still wasnt eating and just laid on the bottom. I ended up euthanizing him since he was in such bad shape. I did get some meds to treat the others just in case.