question about porcupine puffer

[jessinator752]

we've had this porcupine puffer for about a week. he has been swimming happily until this evening. when we came back from running some errands around 7pm my puffer was all puffed up as big as he can get. he keeps deflating then puffing right back up. is this a normal thing? from everything i've read online it seems that puffing up is a sign of distress. what can i do to help him? if i put him in a qt would that help or make the stress worse? i have a lion in the tank, could he have gotten stung? any suggestions would be great, i don't want to loose him or hurt him.

[jrsatx20]

ive kept both of those fish together before and my experience has taught me that the puffer will most likely die. well mine has always died. mine at the moment puffs if u look at him when i put food or ghost shrimp in the tank it spooks him.

[Darth-Tater]

I bought one two weeks ago and he just swims the tank and acts like he is king of the tank. He is the smallest fish. But...he never puffs up. It might be the lion looking for dinner.

David

[jessinator752]

well he was puffed up and floating on top my water. he's more out of the water than in it, and making a clicking sound. i put him in my qt, he deflated but is still having a hard time going under the water. i feel so terrible! i wish i could do something for him. i'm hoping he makes it through the night. if he does i'm definatly not putting him back in with the lion. i think the best thing for him would be to find him a new home.

[merlin0883]

if they puff up out of water, i have heard that they can have a difficult time expelling the air. When possible, you should always keep them in the water during a transfer, or at least don't let them stay in the air for more than about 5 seconds. Also, my friend had one with a lion fish, and they never bothered each other at all. Good luck.

[crossxfire2]

ive kept both of those fish together before and my experience has taught me that the puffer will most likely die. well mine has always died. mine at the moment puffs if u look at him when i put food or ghost shrimp in the tank it spooks him.

That's why they call them GHOST shrimp. lol

[jessinator752]

i didn't take him out of the water, he did it himself. he puffed up then kept sticking his mouth out of the water. i guess he filled with to much air rather than water and couldn't expell it. he was floating puffed up with half his body out of the water. when i transfered him to my qt i stuck a small bucket in the tank so i never actually took him out of water. once he was in the bucket he deflated but couldn't swim under water any more. his head stayed out of the water. i tried to push him back under the water, but he came right back to the surface. he kept making a clicking sound. unfortunatly he didn't make it through the night. i just wonder what happend while i was gone to make him puff up and never stop. that was horrible to watch.

[BA]

besides the issue of the lionfish, which i have always kept them together no problem, any possiblilities you have any stray electricity in your tank? i read a thread on reef central a long time ago where this happened and the guy got a grounding probe, and the porcupine stopped puffing up randomly....

[jessinator752]

i guess that's a possiblity. my husband asked that question as well. i put salt on my hand and stuck my hand in the tank and didn't feel anything. everything i have running is used equipment. what is the easiest way to figure out what could be leaking electricity? i know heaters go out often so i don't normally run one. this tank came with one, but i don't have it plugged in because my house stays a constant temp.

[BA]

there could by tiny amounts of electricity that u don't feel but the fish can...

[jessinator752]

i will have to have my husband check all the equipment for leaks. i have no idea how to do it, but i'm sure he does. thanks!