New GSP!

[Pufferluv09]

Her name is Toki (Japanese name meaning "New hope"), and she is such a cutie! She looks great and healthy aside from a slightly sunken belly, but considering what happened to Pocky, I'm dosing the water with Melafix and Pimafix for a few days just as a precaution. About treating for IPs, I'm not sure if it would be ok to put prazi pro in the water on top of this, so I'm thinking I should just soak the food. Would this be ok? The bottle only has instructions for just puting it in the water, and that has worked for me previously. But for just soaking the food, how much prazi pro should I use, for how long? And one last question.... can you soak live blackworms? They are the main food I use. I also have snails, frozen brine shrimp, and some frozen krill.

[pufferpuggirl]

I'm not so sure I'd be using the Melafix and Pimafix in that tank, unless your new little puffer is showing signs of needing those meds. And if you do use that combination, I'd always make sure to add an extra source of oxygen, just to be safe. Actually I think I'd concentrate on the IP medication instead of the Mela/Pimafix combo. I've never used Prazi Pro, so I can't comment on that. I also don't feed any of my puffers black worms, but I do soak my frozen bloodworms in a liquid vitamin solution. Try giving your puffer some cut up shrimp (I buy the jumbo for human consumption and my puffers love them), mussel, and also some earthworms every now and then will be much loved, I'm sure.

[Pufferluv09]

Well my main reason for using mela/pimafix first is because it is the same tank that Pocky was in, and since I'm not positive what was wrong with him, I don't want there to be a chance of her getting sick. I did a 100% WC a few days ago, sifted through all the sand well with the vacuum, cleaned the walls and things, but the filter is the same. Also, I'm afraid of it not showing signs until it is too late, if she does have something. Oh and there is a bubble wall, so there should be enough O2. I'd probably have done IP treatment first too if it wasn't for I already had the mela and pimafix in the water before I got her. Thanks for the food advice! I've been meaning to go to the store to get shrimp. Earthworms would be good to find too.

[zombiefetus]

Watch them closely if you're treating with prazi pro. I used it on my first puffer and it worked amazingly, but then I used it recently on two new GSPs and it failed miserably (didn't take care of the IPs at all) and I lost both fish before I realized it wasn't working at all to replace it with something else.

[Pufferluv09]

Oh that's terrible! I will watch closely. Did you use it in the water or soak the food in it?

[zombiefetus]

I did both and it had no effect on their IPs.

[Pufferluv09]

Hmm
Was it the same bottle you used before? I wonder if it expires..?

[Nick]

I always recommend treating the tank water also when soaking food with IP treatments, for three reasons.
1) Any little bit that does cross the gill barrier for uptake from that water helps a bit.
2) Generally, puffers HATE the taste of IP meds, and spit out the soaked food. And the only way to make them not notice that taste, is to flavor the entire tank with it by treating the tank as well simultaneously.
3) Any parasite segments, whole worms, or what not else that might have found it's way out of the puffer and into the tank water is now soaked in poison killing it.

[Pufferluv09]

Those are great points, Nick. I stopped the mela/pimafix treatment yesterday and started soaking the food with prazi pro, but will now do another water change and add it to the tank water as well.