Quarantined SAP - What to do now?

[By_a_coo]

Hi friends.

Here I am again...

Now I have my only left SAP quarantined. Thirty days had past since I bought it. From the very beginning I made differents deworming methods. I started with Fenbendazole, then I tried levamisole and now I treated with metronidazole.

My SAP is eating very well but he only eats freezed dried bloodworms. I was thinking of moving him to the main tank and see if he start to hunt for snails.

After all of those treatments, he didn't gain weight yet, but the best part is that he didn't show any other case of disease. He is eating two times a day, he gets rounded belly and in the next day he looks slim, not raw-boned.

What do you think I should do now? I'm very confused.

[nmonks]

Now I have my only left SAP quarantined. Thirty days had past since I bought it. From the very beginning I made differents deworming methods. I started with Fenbendazole, then I tried levamisole and now I treated with metronidazole.

So far as I know, metronidazole isn't an antihelminth, so won't treat worms. Levamisole, piperazine and praziquantel are often recommended but not particularly reliable. Fenbendazole or flubendazole are rather better. Do remember that it is impossible for the home aquarist to reliable dose any of these medications. I recently discussed antihelminthic medications with a vet for a fish magazine article, and her attitude was that aquarists "get lucky" when their fish recover, even using those brands sold in the US as safe for use in aquaria. Without knowing the mass (weight) of the fish, you can't accurately calculate the dosage, and even then, different fish will need different dosages. But this does all assume your puffer has worms. Most wild fish likely carry some, but without causing any real harm. So unless you're looking at obvious wasting away alongside abdominal swelling, I'm always a bit cautious about the "internal parasitic worm" explanation.

My SAP is eating very well but he only eats freezed dried bloodworms. I was thinking of moving him to the main tank and see if he start to hunt for snails.

Bloodworms aren't particularly nutritious when fresh or frozen, and freeze-dried ones even more useless. By all means offer them occasionally, but bear in mind heavy use of freeze-dried foods does tend to go along with constipation. Concentrate on offering a more varied diet. My SAPs enjoy prawns, mussels, squid, brine shrimp, earthworms, woodlice, even slices of white fish and the odd Hikari Cichlid Gold pellet. Variety is the key.

He is eating two times a day, he gets rounded belly and in the next day he looks slim, not raw-boned.

I wouldn't be keeping a single specimen anyway, since they're much happier in groups. They are calmer, so less likely to burn off calories swimming about wildly. They are relatively slow growing fish, so don't expect sudden changes in size or weight.

Cheers, Neale

[By_a_coo]

Actually I bought 3 SAPs, the others didn't make it. The first one to die didn't show any sign of disease, he just didn't eat and died. The second one died due to camallanus worms, I tried to offer medicated food (fenbendazol + levamisole), but I had no success in it. The only one which survived had all of those treatment, even having a regular feces he still has a sunken belly.

One week ago he started to spit out the food, so I read something related to metronidazole. I've begun the treatment and in the third day he started to eat again. I'm triying to offer shrimps, snails, mussel but he persists to refuse them.
The dose of the meds I got in Edward Noga's book about fish disease.

Now, I'm not intented to get more SAPs because the LFS seems to recieve unhealthy SAPs.

I'm sorry if I'm mistreating my SAP, but that's not because I want or wish. We're having a hard time to cure the disease and after all those expenses (food/medicine etc), now my money is running low. That's why I'm asking for help... Sorry about my failures.

[robert_hollis]

Sorry to hear you lost another SAP. Did you try soaking food in garlic? I'm not sure how well that works medicinally, but it does seem to make fish more keen on eating some foods.

-Rob

[pufferpuggirl]

Please don't knock yourself down By_a_coo, you are doing the best you can, and I think you are doing a great job. Everyone has failed, I think, in keeping puffers, I know I have. We learn from those failures and we try to do better next time.

I've read through this post .... and I don't understand what you're asking? If your puffer appears to be over it's illness and it's back again to eating, then surely there's no problem? Obviously if you can't get other SAP's, then you can't. I'm sure your puffer will be fine alone, if that's what has to be. I can understand money being low, so don't worry about that.

Are you saying your puffer isn't eating, or did I read that wrong? I just don't understand what you want to happen now, or what you're asking of the forum? Please explain.

[By_a_coo]

Yeah, I think I was not clear.

That survival SAP had all those worms/parasites treatments, now he DOES eat (at least freeze dried bloodworms)and his poo is looking regular, so I don't know if I have to treat him again. I'm amazed because he's not pacing the glass being by itself in a bored quarantine tank!

What I wanna know is concerned his slimness even after those medicines, and its lack of interest in other kind of food, because he only accept freeze dried bloodworms and I don't think it's healthy for him.

Should I move him to his main tank (cycled and planted) and see if in a more "natural" tank then in a quarantine tank he shows some interest in hunting snails or accept mussels and shrimps (I cannot afford any seachem garlic guard at this time)? Is there any likelihood of gaining weight? I'm afraid of him not accept anything but freeze dried bloodworms and begin to succumb.

This situation is being really hard for us.
Hope I've been clear this time.

[pufferpuggirl]

Yes, thank you, you were much clearer this time.

Well, I would think the fact that he's eating .... and that his poo is looking "regular" is a good thing. Give him time, he may gain weight, but as Neale Monks stated, it might be a slow process.

Yes, if I were you, I would move him back into his regular tank and see what happens. A change of scenery could make all the difference in how he behaves. You might try withholding the freeze-dried bloodworm, let him get good and hungry and then offer him something else. If there's snails in the tank, then let him find them. If you give in and feed him, then there's no reason he should try to find food. And maybe you can "hide" other food in the tank .... so that he doesn't realise it's coming from you.

I don't know exactly the right thing to tell you ... but I would definitely hold back on giving him the freeze-dried bloodworm and see if you can get him to take other foods. He will need to be good and hungry though, so keep that in mind. Of course, I know you are concerned about his being thin, but if you don't get him onto other foods, he may not ever gain weight because the freezed-dried bloodworm isn't offering him much in the way of nutrition.

I wish you all the best .... keep us informed, as I'd like to know how things work out.

[By_a_coo]

Thank you all so much.

I will try those advices. What I really want from him is to stop eating the freezed dried bloodworms and start to eat snails and shelled foods.

Within a couple of days I'll move him to the main tank, there are a lot of snails there.

PS: I just remember that he ate a guppie fry in the LFS, but I don't know if it's healthy for him since guppie can carry camallanus and other types of parasites.

[pufferpuggirl]

I definitely would not feed an SAP live food, that puffer is not a piscivore, meaning, he is not a fish eater. So steer clear of guppies for that puffer. It's better to go for the snails and shelled foods, anything more than freeze-dried bloodworm.

Best of luck!

[By_a_coo]

Thanks again!

[pufferpuggirl]

You are very welcome!