deworming my puffer

[bpkenn]

Is there an easy way to figure out how much medication to give for deworming etc?

This article gives reccomendation based on weight, but i dont have any way to weigh my puffer.
library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/

I have prazipro and metro+ that i was going to soak freeze dried krill in for the medicating process.

When I dose these do I want to do them at seperate feedings, or both together?

[bpkenn]

was hoping to start medicating today, anyone have any advise on the dosing?

[Agnate]

I'm surprised no one responded, though I guess it was Thanksgiving in the US, so many board members were likely occupied. To be hoenst, I'm not quite sure how you'd go about measuring a dosage. However, if you're just soaking the food in the medication, there is less of a worry in terms of dosage. Also, I would treat separately, if only because I don't have a lot of faith in combining medication (I've also never used Metro+). This decision may change depending on the state of the puffer, though (ie. how emaciated and in need of deworming it is).

So, here are my questions:

- How big is the puffer you're treating?
- Is there visible signs of IPs? If so, how emaciated is the puffer?
- Is the puffer currently in quarantine, or in a tank of its own?
- What are the dosing recommendations on the packages?

[Myaj]

I have always used Levamisole mixed with an equal amount of metronazole.. using one scoop of each of the tiny scoop that comes with the metrondazole (ack, I can't spell today). Mix that with a teaspoon of water, soak some food bits in it, feed the fish. It tastes bad though, so generally I have to fast them for a few days or they won't accept it. I've been told this mixture is extremely safe, even if a fish eats a huge gob of treated food it generally doesn't do any harm. Of course, any fish with a heavy load of IP's will have trouble with a mass die off, which is why I personally prefer to proactively treat for IP's and not wait until the fish has a heavy load and is in distress.

Other people have tried the GelTek dewormer and say their fish have no issues with the flavor, so I think I'll be buying some of that and trying it, since my burrfish is such a picky eater.

I've never used Prazi Pro, so I can't help you there.

[bpkenn]

the puffer i'm trying to treat is about 3" and had a fat stomach when i got him. I want to deworm him as a preventative measure.

Tonight I bought some of the jungle anti-parasite medicated food and tried to feed it to him, he just spit it out in disgust. So then I dissolved some metro and prazi in a bit of water (enough to dissolve the solids) and soaked some freeze dried krill in it, then fed it to him. He spit that out also. Guess his name will be spitz

Should I keep from feeding him for a few days, or keep trying everyday with treated food?

Would I be able to just dose the whole tank with prazi, then use carbon to take it out after the treatment period of 5-7 days?

[Myaj]

I would try fasting him for a few days first, then soak his favorite food. Generally after 3 days or so, they'll take it even if it tastes bad (in my experience). If that doesn't work, I'd look into the GelTek before trying to treat the water. I think there's a chance of killing your biofilter if you treat the tank but since I"m not familar with the meds you are using I can't say for sure.

[Agnate]

You could also try mashing a clove of garlic and soaking that along with the meds. You might be able to mask the taste long enough for them to devour it. I'd do a two-day fasting (making sure to keep an eye on his stomach, just in case), and then do the medicine/garlic prep.

I'd also completely avoid treating the whole tank. The only time I'd treat the tank is if he were emaciated, as at that point, it is difficult for them to eat the food.

[bpkenn]

I have garlic extreme i can add to the med soaking process...this stuff is rather crazy on the garlic side. I haven't had him long enough to know what his favorite food is, but im assuming that freeze dried krill will be good enough? Should i make sure to chop it into small pieces first?

What is the name of the GelTek stuff? Is this stuff premixxed? I am still a bit scared that I am overdosing the food and will harm this little guy.
I did a search on google but came up empty handed.

Edit: i think i found it, is it this stuff: Gel-Tek Ultra Cure PX?

I'm thinking since he sort of half ate last night (the food may have been in the tank long enough for the meds to wash out. Is this possible btw?), I will try again thursday night.

Thanks for the help!

[bpkenn]

I bought some Geltek ultra cure px. I am a bit skeptic that my puffer will eat this "liquid food", but I'll give it a shot. Directions say to hold feeding for 1 day, then feed 5 drops of only geltek.

[Agnate]

Personally, I'd stop using freeze-dried foods if you can, and krill-heavy diets have led to lockjaw in puffers, so you should avoid krill as the main diet. Personally, I've noted that my puffers seem to enjoy frozen Bloodworms, Krill, scallops, muscles, clams, and the occasional brine shrimp & mysis shrimp (all thawed with some tank water in a dish, of course). I would seriously consider switching over to frozen foods, if you can. They contain a lot more nutrients, and the variety will be good for them. Usually for the bloodworms, I also mix in either a cube of brine shrimp or a cube of mysis shrimp, just to make sure they're getting as much as they can while eating the worms.

[Myaj]

Well, when people talk about using GelTek, they say they just add the gel to their normal food. I would try that.

My puffers all refuse frozen foods.. dang picky eaters. Their favorites are earthworms, ramshorn snails and thawed out raw shrimp.

[MMaddox]

I used the gel-tek to soak foods in before feeding, as a preventative measure.

[bpkenn]

Ive only had the puffer since wednesday, but his normal diet will consist of frozen krill, frozen silversides, clam, mussels, squid etc.
I figured it would be easier for freeze dried foods to absorb the medications, was I wrong? The freeze dried would then be cut out after the treatment period. What do you guys think?

MMadox, do you use the ultra cure px to soak for every feeding?

[Agnate]

Ahh, I see. I thought freeze-dried krill was going to be your staple, so I just wanted to mention the problems with that. I'm not really sure, but I remember hearing that it's probably best to cut silversides out of the diet. I'd like to get some confirmation on that before stating it as a fact, though. The reason is that Porcs eat invertebrates and crustaceans, and very rarely rely on being a piscivore (eating fish).

[bpkenn]

I ripped up 3 pieces of krill and dripped the geltek onto...just enough to cover the food so that it would soak it up. Fed it to the puffer and he went to town until his belly was nice and full. +1 for the gel tek.

Thanks for all the help to this point everyone. Now my next question is how often should i feed him, and how long should i medicate him?