The Puffer Forum

Hello guys,
this is my first post here. Been in the hobby for over 10 years now. Keeping freshwater and reef tanks.
Unfortunately my MBU puffer got sick and I need some advice. 3 days ago he was belly up when I came home after a long trip. I asked my neighbor to look after my aquarium (not blaming him).
I assume he got some sort of internal parasite. I already looked at it through a microscope and looks like nematodes. Not sure what kind.
Anyway... started a hospital tank and started to treat him. Epsom salt for excretion and Flubendazole for internal parasites and deworming, seems to be working. He has regained his balance and is not upside down anymore.
He still has a little firm lump on his right side. I assume the nematodes have caused some internal inflammation in this area.

What kind of antibiotic can I use?

Does anybody know what kind of worms they are? Need to find out their life cycle for effective treatment

Are the nematodes under his skin or also in his poop? Have you treated his food?

hello Pufferpunk,
that is his poop. His skin seems to be fine, couldn't find any lesions or anything under the microscope. On Monday the day after I started treatment he excreted a lot of that stuff. So I did a 100% water change. the nematodes seem to be dead from the medication. Yes he ingested the medication. I also added some Flubendazole to the water column in case some worms got out his body before the medication could reach them.

Thank goodness he's still eating! Is he still belly up?
Where do you think this parasite would have come from? How long have you had him?

Not belly up anymore, fortunately fixed that his tail is still bending a little bit upwards. I think the IPs are causing this buoyancy issue. Compared to Sunday it is much better.
Do you know what kind of nematodes they are? I might have to retreat him to kill off the next generation of this nematode since flubendazole is not effective against their eggs. knowing the lifecycle would be great for treatment.

Not sure where this parasite could have come from. But from experience I can say, could be really anything. Food, tank mates, etc.
As long as his health is good his immune system can deal with it. I assume the water quality and feeding was not optimal when I was not home.

I have PMed our Mentors here, who are both scientists & much better at IDing the photos you have posted.

thanks pufferpunk
how long do you usually treat puffers with IPs?
I stopped feeding him so he can clear out his intestines. Is that okay?

That's OK, I always recommend a fasting day--actually several for a large fish. How big is he?
I usually treat 5 days for IPs.

I'm not even sure there are nematodes in the sample. Can't see heads or intestines at all. They'd look like this: https://www.apsnet.org/edcenter/K-12/Te ... /step9.jpg Do they move?

Hello Corvus,
they don't move, the flubendazole probably killed them all ?! But i am not an expert regarding parasites just guessing.
today he pooped some weird pinkish balls, looks like cysts. I really don't know what that stuff is. Looks pretty alien.
there seems to be some internal structure in the cyst?

This looks indeed like a worm cyst. Good job.

should i keep treating with flubendazole and magnesiumsulfate? I have treated him 4 days now.
Not sure when the next generation of worms hatch.

I'd carry on. When the cysts are excreted there hopefully might not be a next generation.

He is getting better now. And it is getting more difficult to force feed him the medication since he has regained his strength. He really dislikes the taste of the medication and it is difficult to hold him in the water. The amount of cysts he poops decreased. I tried to feed him a mussel without shell today but he just refuse to eat it and just chews it and spits it out. I think he is kind of mad because of the force feeding.
I am thinking about force feed him a mussel smoothie. He has to eat something been nearly a week since he ate.
any advice on force feeding?