Please help - sick fahaka

[we_tigers]

It's been about 2 weeks since his last meal.

I noticed his cloudy eyes so I used melafix for 5 days (until the bottle lasted).
While it definitely improved his behaviour as he's more active now, it didn't correct his cloudy eyes.

Also he has these on his back


Looks like fungus to me.

I also noticed a white/clear stringy poo/worm coming out of his anus, so I got some jungle lab tabs.
He's scheduled for his third treatment tomorrow (2 tabs added to the tank, 48 hour intervals, 25% WC prior to each treatment)
The carbon is taken out of the filter if you were wondering.. and it's got aeration.

I got got some pimafix (for fungal infections, right? lol), however I am unsure if they can be added to the anti-parasitic meds.. So I haven't thus far used it.

I used garlic... then I used earthworms.... then I used garlic soaked earthworms... Nothing.

Please help.
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1) pH - 8, Ammonia - 0, Nitrite - 0, Nitrates - Slight slight traces (API Master Kits do not have precise readings )

2)

Tank size
80G. I know it's small, I am rehoming him after he is better. Nobody wants to take a sick specimen here.

Tank mates
7 neon tetras
1 rainbow shark

3) Fed twice a day in small doses (frozen uncooked seafood), 50% WC weekly, Added Melafix last week

4) Nothing.

5) 6 months. Cycled with used media and substrate.

[purplecandle]

This sounds stupid, but I want to ask anyway..

The white spots on the puffer look the same as the white spots on the rock nest to him. Any chance those spots are just sand. Do the spots move if they are touched? OR are you saying something else is on his back? In one picture their appears to be brown stuff, but in the other picture I do not see it. I just want to be clear what you are saying is on his back

I have had melefix work several times for cloudy eye..maybe he needs more than 5 days?

Can you treat his food as well as the tank? Or is he not eating at all, not even his favorites?

I hope he makes it!!

[Flutter]

Yeah, the spots look like sand stuck in his mucous coat.

[we_tigers]

I certainly hope that the things on his back are sand, but I really don't think they are.
It's some noticeably whiter and cotton-like fluffier (I'm almost seeing threads) substance on
top of a smaller-fluff patch island.

The camera I have isn't all that, so I think it's impossible to depict it with a visual..

He's not eating at all. It's been two weeks.

I fished out two parasitic worms earlier..it ain't poo.

I may opt to use pimafix with melafix after I run out of the tabs. He's going to be on his third treatment tomorrow
and only have enough stuff to do one more after that.

As for his cloudy eyes, it goes away when the tabs are fizzling and then comes back after it's diluted..

Just really confused here.
I guess what I'm asking for here is any fungal-infections that are similar in described symptoms,
and whether I can use pimafix with anti-parasitic jungle lab tabs.. and how many treatments of the tabs I should be doing for fahaka.

[Pufferpunk]

His diet sounds really boring. Are you soaking his food in vitamins? Try some alternative diet. Start with live earthworms.

[Bengoshi2000]

It's a long thread, but it sounds very similar to your situation: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15849&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

[we_tigers]

It's a long thread, but it sounds very similar to your situation: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15849&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Thanks for showing me this.

[we_tigers]

His diet sounds really boring. Are you soaking his food in vitamins? Try some alternative diet. Start with live earthworms.

I don't soak the seafood (clams, mussels, shrimps, squids and cuttlefish) in vitamins.
I also have krill but he doesn't touch them, but I've been told that's a good thing.
He also doesn't like bloodworms.
He was fed silversides, but some members advised against it due to Fahakas not being piscivores.
I also provide the occasional apple snail and crayfish treats, but it's not a part of his regular diet.

I think I am providing a variety here in accordance to the article in the web library.. unless you can tell me otherwise.

He's not even eating earthworms, or anything at the moment - like my first post says.

[Ohyouknow]

Awe Tigers!

The worms you said you removed, were they like little dark worms? I had those too - I think it was from over feeding in my case. Some of my fish were hauling off chunks of food to the rock caves, and I think these little buggers came out to feast. I also read that they can get in the fish's gills and cause irritation - and they'll start flashing to scratch their itch.

My fahaka often gets sand stuck in his slime coat, too. On the belly, his back, fins, sometimes his slime coat clings to his tail, and it's kind of gross. It picks up EVERYTHING (Usually if he gets into a spot where some stuff has collected he looks terrible.) What i did (to check it all out) was to get my hands in there - and once they are wet - try to run my hands over his body. It wipes off sand and whatever is in that slime coat. He wasn't too happy about it, and acted a little nippy after - but everything came off.

From what I've read, a couple of weeks of not eating seems like forever to us, but if in that time he hasn't gotten a sunken belly I doubt it's IP's. Mine went on a hunger strike once, wouldn't eat earth worms for ANYTHING. I stopped trying to feed them to him, and introduced something new - and he gobbled it up. After a while I switched back again. I try to stay 'seasonal'

[we_tigers]

Awe Tigers!

The worms you said you removed, were they like little dark worms? I had those too - I think it was from over feeding in my case. Some of my fish were hauling off chunks of food to the rock caves, and I think these little buggers came out to feast. I also read that they can get in the fish's gills and cause irritation - and they'll start flashing to scratch their itch.

My fahaka often gets sand stuck in his slime coat, too. On the belly, his back, fins, sometimes his slime coat clings to his tail, and it's kind of gross. It picks up EVERYTHING (Usually if he gets into a spot where some stuff has collected he looks terrible.) What i did (to check it all out) was to get my hands in there - and once they are wet - try to run my hands over his body. It wipes off sand and whatever is in that slime coat. He wasn't too happy about it, and acted a little nippy after - but everything came off.

From what I've read, a couple of weeks of not eating seems like forever to us, but if in that time he hasn't gotten a sunken belly I doubt it's IP's. Mine went on a hunger strike once, wouldn't eat earth worms for ANYTHING. I stopped trying to feed them to him, and introduced something new - and he gobbled it up. After a while I switched back again. I try to stay 'seasonal'

Hey OhYouKnow!

The worms I removed were white/clear, and they were clearly coming out of his anus (lol).
I actually tried to remove the stuff on his back with an algae scraper (lol), I removed most of it actually. Yay!

What did you introduce to him that he gobbled up? I have no idea what to get here... really thought worms were the last resort and when he ignores it
it's rather disheartening.

[Flutter]

Have you tried a cray? Maybe try putting some live crunchy food in there. The cray can do it's thing until it's eaten.

[Pufferpunk]

Animals generally won't eat when they are ill.

[purplecandle]

Go out and buy an expensive tank mate for him, Most of the time when puffer owners do not want their puffers to eat their tank mates, they will. "Yep they get a long fine my puffer and his new friend! Wait. Where did the little guy go?".......... JUST JOKING!

I am really glad to hear that the stuff on his back came off! One less thing to deal with!!

If jungle tabs do not seem to be working, I would go with something else. I am sure the other members here know of some better alternatives. Especially if he is not eating at all.

Good thing is, from the picture you showed, your puffer looks to be of a healthy weight, so he can take the hunger strike for a while..just got to deal with those worms!

[J-P]

there is something oddly familiar with this and I really can't put my finger on it.

it has to do with the eyes.

I hope you can find an answer .... It eludes me at the moment. Maybe one of our mentors can help

[we_tigers]

Have you tried a cray? Maybe try putting some live crunchy food in there. The cray can do it's thing until it's eaten.

Yeah, our good old friend Menagerie has crays for 14.99 at the moment.
I love that store, but sometimes they are ridiculous.

I went out and got a fresh pack of seafood medley from Metro (they're fresh obsessed, right?) earlier,
because the older bag I got was from a smaller store in Chinatown and had minor freezer burn.
I thought this because the smaller stores are less inclined to have the privilege to take the products back to the whole saler/manufacturer/whatever.

Whenever he does eat, he will have a pack of earthworms and a fresh pack of seafood waiting.