Puffed up

[pprize]

Does a porcupine puffer get ick everytime it puffs up? I've had my guy in Qt for a few weeks. He is doing great. Five min ago i put him in the bag to aclamate him and he puffed. will he get ick now?20g qt, 75g agressive

[ATJ]

"Ich" is caused by a parasite that feeds off the fish. They attach to the gills, skin and eyes. If the parasite is not present the fish can't get "Ich". If the parasite is present, the fish will become infected unless they already have an immunity.

A puffer puffing up will not cause it to get "Ich".

I recommend quarantining all new fish for at least 6 weeks. In that time if there were any "Ich" parasites present they will have gone through a number of life cycles and the numbers will have increased so that the infection is obvious. If the fish show signs of "Ich" they can be treated. If not, they can be moved into the display tank.

See: Marine "Ich" (http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html)

[pprize]

Thanks for the advice. I already have the puffer in my 75. He seems do be doing fine. Should i take him out and qt for 6 whole weeks.

[ATJ]

If you have other fish in the 75 gallon, it may already be too late. If the puffer was infected with "Ich" it may have carry the parasites into the tank and evem if you remove the fish, the other fish may become infected. If it is the only fish in the 75 gallon, watch it for signs of "Ich" and remove it and treat it in the quarantine tank.