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do figure eight puffer fish always look like they have ich?

i just bought a figure eight puffer fish today and it looks like it has ich but i have looked through all the pictures online and they look like its just normal. not to sure what the deal is. i have already placed him in a bucket as a precaution and treated him with some meds so he should be fine but i just wanted to make sure nothing weird was going on thanks a ton.

Public Comments

1. mine did the same thing if you have already you need to get some aquarium salt that will help with all fish and if he is getting darker he is sick check the temperature as well
2. It's possible that he does have ich if you see distinct white spots that look like grains of salt. Rather than meds, salt can be used to treat your puffer. Since it's a brackish species, it should have some salt (preferably marine) in the tank anyway. Stores sell them as freshwater fish, but if kept in freshwater beyond the juvenile stage for a few weeks, the fish gets stressed, and it's immune system doesn't fisht off disease and parasites as well as it should. They should also have a fully-cycled tank to be put in - they're sensitive to ammonia and nitrite in new tanks, so you'll have more water changes to do to keep the levels down. See these for info on your puffer: http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/hospital/fwich/#more-87 http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Biocellatus/ http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/