Who Gives A Fish Forums

picked him up yesterday and the lfs had him all puffed up. now he's looking like this - seems to be doing alright though?

likely just getting used to the change in environment and water conditions

I'm guessing that's putty. Not sure he'll be too thrilled about it hardening against his skin.

I had a trachy that did great for a week, then suddenly deflated to almost nothing for a month. I moved him to a Nem basket and within an hour, he was inflated again. Turns out, the original spot had way too much light. Now he gets minimal light and inflates to about the same size as yours. Every few days, though, he goes through this weird "hulking" phase - gets huge. I think that's just their way of flushing out the water inside to stay healthy. A friend of mine has brains that do the same thing, and he's super particular about their care, so maybe your guy was just in the middle of a "hulk" when you bought him?

Give it a few days and see how it goes. I think the putty's just on the rock, not his flesh.