Hello everyone!
One of my Fig8s has a case of IPs. What is the current method of treating them?
I know in the past soaking their food in a medication was considered best practice, but it's been a long time, and I don't know what meds to use/are available.
Can someone please give me some pointers?
Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Most of us are using Jungle Parasite Clear fizzy tabs for the soak, with a bit of added garlic juice for taste.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Thanks PP! About how much food can one tablet treat?
I imagine frozen bloodworms are still the food of choice for this?
I imagine frozen bloodworms are still the food of choice for this?
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
I'd break up the tab into 1/4 & soak a cube of bloodworms in it. Feed 1/2 morning & 1/2 of it at night.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Thanks again. 
One last question: If I can't get the puffer to eat the treated food (I've never had much luck with garlic juice in the past), would force feeding be an option?
I would think using a small syringe w/ a blunt tip would do the job. Of course I've never tried that before.
One last question: If I can't get the puffer to eat the treated food (I've never had much luck with garlic juice in the past), would force feeding be an option?
I would think using a small syringe w/ a blunt tip would do the job. Of course I've never tried that before.
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
I wouldn't try that unless you were absolutely desperate. If the fish won't eat then let it get hungry. It'll be fine for a few days without food. You can also try treating the water as well. It's thought that by 'tainting' the taste of the water the medicated food will taste less funny to the fish.
It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Ok. I'll give the garlic a try first before anything else. While I don't have the aquarium-use "garlic juice" anymore since my bottle expired years ago, I plan to mix in a teeny amount of minced garlic in with the cube as it thaws (along with the meds). This fish will willingly eat flake food, so hopefully he'll take to the medicated food without too much complaining.
Since I only have 2 F8 in a 20-long tank, I can get multiple feedings out of a single cube of worms. I plan to thaw a fresh cube of worms w/ 1/2 tab of med + garlic in a shot glass, feed about 1/4 of the worms to the fish, and then refreeze/rethaw each day until gone. I haven't read anything about the active ingredients breaking down from freezing, so I imagine this should be ok.
Since I only have 2 F8 in a 20-long tank, I can get multiple feedings out of a single cube of worms. I plan to thaw a fresh cube of worms w/ 1/2 tab of med + garlic in a shot glass, feed about 1/4 of the worms to the fish, and then refreeze/rethaw each day until gone. I haven't read anything about the active ingredients breaking down from freezing, so I imagine this should be ok.
-
bertie 83
- Moderator
- Posts: 5298
- Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 4:28 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: lineatus R.I.P, South American puffer. Valentini puffer, porcupine puffer.
Non puffer
Danios, Tetras, Redtail Rasporas,
Harlequins, CAE's, Yoyo
Loaches, Clown loaches ,Eels, various shrimp, tangs,wrasses, damsels, chromis - Location (country): Brighton, England
- Location: brighton , england
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
Crushed/ minced garlic is fine, should get the taste buds going. Brine shrimp are good appetite stimulators but are not nutritional. Good way to get meds into them
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Clearing internal parasites from a Fig8
much better than dried, minced garlic is minced fresh.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"