Anthony Calfo

Welcome Huskerreef to marinedepot.com and my forum.

First off, sorry about this terrible accident.

Unfortunately I have seen this personally  as well as heard of this happening more times than I can count.  Puffers seem to be drawn to the "humming" of the pumps.  Often the smaller ones get mesmerized & will inadvertently get sucked in/caught/trapped.  The larger ones while mesmerized view this as something to eat/taste and will often bite/destroy or alter a powerhead/pump.  I have seen puffers chew/eat/dismantle the presponge filters in less than 8 hours and then start on the plastic prefilter screen.  I have seen the entire case of a Mag 12 removed & crushed in less than 4 hours of placing in a tank.  It is because of this "problem" with puffers that I now place all pumps that are in the display tank in "cages" (made of plastic lighting crate/screen from Home Depot), not real pretty but in my tanks that are not predrilled for a sump, it beats the alternatives - injury/death of a puffer, electrocution/fire from destroyed/eaten pump, etc. 

All cords to these pumps must be protected as well.  Often a puffer will be chasing or attempting to get a piece of food by the cord & will bite into it . I would suggest protecting the cord with pvc pipe/coupling or thick vinyl tubing.

As far as what to do for your chilomycterus schoepfi (common spiny box puffer).  Maintain prisctine water conditions.  I'd suggest frequent water changes daily for 3 - 5 days to cut down on the number of pathogens that he could be exposed to in this time of stress.

Feed the puffer food enriched with vitamins, garlic and most importantly beta glucan.  This will help boost its immune system and hopefully will heal and won't develop any secondary bacterial infections.

Is the puffer eating or able to open/close its mouth.  Is the injured eye moving ?  Is the injured eye poped out ?  Can you post a pic ?

There may be some swelling or slight discoloration initially secondary to the injury.  Watch closely for signs of infection - redness, increased swelling, increased respirations, both eyes become cloudy, refusal to eat, erradic behavior/hiding - just to name a few.

Best of luck with your spiny box puffer.
Please keep us updated on your marine friend.

Thanks for the update.

You might want to consider adding some vitamins, garlic and beta glucan to the puffer's diet in order to boost immunity and help healing and hopefully prevent a secondary bacterial infection.

Reluctance to eat is not uncommon after a traumatic event/stress, but getting the puffer to eat will improve chances of healing/recuperating.  You might consider getting some freshwater ghost shrimp (many LFS carry them) and gut load them.  Most puffers won't refuse a live shrimp.

Best of luck.
Keep us updated.

Hope your puffer friend is on the mend.

Any updates?

Sorry for your loss. 

Thanks for letting us know.

Again, sorry.