I was already treating him with Melafix since his fins were all tattered at the LFS. He was in a ten gallon with about 20 other SAPs and Avocados (the puffers not the food). They all had damaged fins. When the symptoms began to appear, I began treatment with the Melafix/Pimafix combo and also dosed aquarium salt as per label instructions. The temp was gradually increased to 83 degrees F and aeration was increased. After about 2 to 3 days I noticed some improvement but the gills still looked horrible and his belly was sunken even worse. I suspected that he might have a parasitic infection since the Melafix/Pimafix combo wasn't completely working. I think they treated the secondary infection(s) but not the primary problem.
The next day I bought some Jungle Parasite Clear as it now contains praziquantel and metro. After about 5 minutes the SAP went into convulsions, swam erratically, and would just float or sink or get stuck to the filter intake. I thought he was gone but I did notice his gill movements becoming more normal. As the evening went on he improved dramatically, the convulsions stopped, he swam normally, began to eat, and gill movement and appearance improved further. Was this true improvement or was it just temporary? I didn't know if he would make it through the night but I sure had some hope now.
The next morning he was like a new fish. He improved further and just continued to get better. I continued to dose Melafix/Pimafix and dosed Parasite Clear again after 2 days and a 25% water change. He had no reactions to the Parasite Clear this time.
It's been about 10 days since the initial Parasite Clear dosage and he is now looking good and getting his belly is filling out again. So far so good.
I would also like to note that the treatment did not appear to change the measured water parameters or damage the biological filter. The water did get a little bit cloudy though but not much. My plants(Hornwort, Java Fern, Java Moss) are also OK.
