Two Amazon Puffers help

[IIIpuff]

Hi everyone, long time puffer fan, first time poster. I work at a pet store and we got in 5 freshwater Amazon puffers on Friday May 25th, unfortunately only two are left, the rest passed from stress and illness. The two remaining are actively swimming and eating but they have fungus covering them and you can see that they're irritated by rubbing up against decorations.

The tank is 30 gallons, fully cycled, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, we did a 10 gallon water change yesterday and today. There are live plants and decorations to hide in. We have a sponge filter.

I have two questions, first I've been treating them with kanamyacin (kanaplex) and super ich cure (just in case) for three days now and I haven't seen a noticable difference in getting rid of the fungi- any suggestions?

Second a customer put down a deposit for the bigger puffer of the two, and I know these puffers do best in a group of at least three or else they get stressed. Is there any way to help with this? The customer said they either do well alone or in a group. I just don't want the remaining puffers to do poorly alone since there are only two...

Any help and discussion would be appreciated I really want to help these puffers out and give them the best care possible, they've already been through so much stress. I will provide pictures as best as I can when I figure out how to upload pictures in this forum.

[Pufferpunk]

Offer them this: library/puffers-in-focus/sap/
They stress out very easily, as you have observed. Most common ailments are ich & velvet. They also are extremely sensitive to meds, especially ich meds. Best treated with salt, heat & large (80%) WC, every other day. Kanaplex is an antibacterial, not antifungal. Try adding Melafix & Pimafix.

[IIIpuff]

Thank you for the response Pufferpunk, I did a 70% water change to lower anymore nitrates and rid of the medications (super ich cure and kanaplex) as well as a gravel vacuum.

I've raised the temperature to above 80F and am now looking into putting salt. The store has API aquarium salt, Im looking for regular table salt in the meanwhile. Can I use API aquarium salt if I don't find table salt? Finally, I'm not at the store for the next four days and my coworkers are not the most keen on medicating the puffers. Salt+heat should that be okay for the puffers when I get back four days later? Thank you

[Pufferpunk]

Adding carbon to their filter will remove the rest of the meds. Aq salt is fine. Yes, salt & heat should help.

[IIIpuff]

I did as instructed and told my coworkers to do water changes before I go back to work on Saturday and keep an eye that they are swimming and eating (currently they only eat bloodworms but are eyeing up the snails and mysis I put in). I will let you know their status on Saturday, hopefully the heat and salt will show a difference by then... Thank you again

[IIIpuff]

Also sorry- would feeding them crushed Malaysian trumpet snails help with their teeth?

[Pufferpunk]

Yes

[IIIpuff]

Hi Pufferpunk, wanted to update you on the situation. The two puffers have considerably less ich than last week. We've done water changes and kept the temperature high and kept with the salt.

Unfortunately one of the puffers doesn't seem to be doing well, swimming very weak, skinny stomach, and not eating(frozen bloodworms, frozen clams, crushed Malaysian trumpet snails and ramshorn snails). I am worried it's an internal parasite, and that the puffer may not have enough energy to recover. On the subject of internal parasites, would liquid prazipro help?

Also my coworker who has kept fish for 27 years called the salt and heat method "old wives tales" and called melafix and pimafix to be a placebo effect stating what their compounds did and how it wouldn't help with bacterial and fungal infections in addition to stating how some strains of ich are resilent to this method, stating how Kanaplex was the medication helping them. In what I've seen, day 1-3 of using Super Ich Cure and Kanaplex didn't have any observable effect which is why I switched to heat+salt as the forum has suggested and saw noticeable differences. I'm grateful for your help, and I've read the articles on pimafix/melafix and curing Ich.

How would I justify using the advice I've been given here on the forum to my coworker who I've already told that this forum has experts on treating Pufferfish? If the SA puffers don't make it I know he'll blame me for using other people's advice.

I just want to make sure at least one SAP makes it. At least one is swimming and eating, still has ich, but it's much less.

Thank you

[hadla]

If it eats the food soaked in prazipro, then it has a good chance of making it. As long as they’re eating anything, that’s what matters! Once they stop eating altogether, chances are slim

Forgot to add: this is why I’ve never been interested in amazons. They always look too skinny and the constant beak trimming required...