Fahaka Puffer heavy breathing and slime?

[DLZX10R]

1) pH 7.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrates 5, KH 5, GH 8

2) 120g 48x24x24 filtered by an FX6 @ 82F constant/heavy surface aggitation/sand substrate - 1 Fahaka puffer, 4 Corydoras, 10 Giant Danios, 4 nerite snails, 1 Raphael Catfish, and 2 Bamboo shrimp.

3) 2 Large Canadian Nightcrawlers/day for the puffer, hikari pellets for everything else. 50% water change done every other day. Water conditioned with Safe (powdered version of Prime) dosed directly into the tank for the tank size and temperature matched by digital readout from sink. I generally dont dose any other products unless its necessary.

4) No changes to the tank.

5) Fully cycled mature tank running for 2 years.

Question: I am seasoned with keeping aquatic livestock, however this is my first puffer so my knowledge with abnormal behavior is somewhat limited. Ive done extensive research about the Fahaka prior to purchasing it, however nothing has given me a definite answer to the issue that I am currently facing. Its possible that I may be overthinking this as well, but here goes.

The Fahaka is approximately 7 inches long and was purchased 2 weeks ago at that size. After acclimating it into my tank, it was very active and exploring. I feed daily and inject the nightcrawlers with 0.2cc of vitachem and soak in garlic every 3 days. Ive also fed it fresh live supermarket shrimp and crayfish, and frozen silversides. The Fahaka has been active, alert, and eating voraciously, however today I fed him 2 non supplemented nightcrawlers and a few hrs later I noticed that he is breathing heavy and has burrowed his belly in the sand and also gotten sand on his head and back. The other thing ive noticed is that there seems to be a little bit of "slime" thats floating off of him (his back and his tail) - it looks alot like the slime that the nightcrawlers produce as a defense mechanism.

Ive read that its not uncommon for a Fahaka to simply burrow itself and breathe heavily after eating, however I am just seeing if theres anything out of the ordinary here. In addition, i just wanted to check that the Vitachem and nightcrawlers are safe for it to eat and what exactly the slime may be or if its coming from eating the nightcrawlers. Any input or advice is greatly appreciated.

[DLZX10R]

Just an update. The Fahaka was breathing normally again this morning, active, and exploring again. Water parameters checked and were the same as well. I fed it another 2 nightcrawlers this afternoon and again it dug its belly into the sand and began breathing heavily with its mouth open. Now (5 hrs later) its breathing normally, active, and swimming around the tank again. Its possible that I may have been overthinking its behaviour and that it was just full and digesting (similar to how people have food comas after eating a big meal).

[Pufferpunk]

Sorry I'm just getting to this but after reading your 1st post, it seemed to me your puffer should be fine. Glad I was correct! Do understand that all his tank mates are potential meals.

[pokeystar]

Glad all is looking better. Regardless I am now a convert to precautionary treatment for Internal Parasites. Chances are they are there in some number. There's a good article on here in the puffer library.

[DLZX10R]

Glad all is looking better. Regardless I am now a convert to precautionary treatment for Internal Parasites. Chances are they are there in some number. There's a good article on here in the puffer library.

I was actually going to ask about this. I too err on the side of caution and believe in prevention over treatment. Would it be safe to treat my Fahaka with antiparasitic medication just to treat any form of IPs. Also, which treatment is considered "the best and safest" in this regard?

[Pufferpunk]

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... treatment/