Amazon Puffer: Ich Treatment

[JustJen89]

PipIchDay1-2-reduced.jpg

Hey all, I'm new to puffer ownership, but my little guy Pip (Amazon puffer) has been doing well for the last month. Fast forward to a few days ago, and he started stirring up substrate by violently shaking his dorsal fin. I did a full tank water change Monday morning (removal of fish, plants, and tank decor) and thorough substrate vacuuming. Yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon, I saw that he is absolutely covered in Ich. It came on extremely quickly for him.

No Ich-X
I cannot get Ich-X locally and ordered it online. It arrives Saturday. I started API Ick Super Cure yesterday around 8 PM at half the dose and have gradually bumped tank temp up to 82F. I have a fluval tank with a good built-in surface agitator, as well as a strong air stone, so oxygenation is not an issue. Carbon filter is removed.

Today, Pip looks significantly worse. He's not overly lethargic and has a great appetite still, but is clearly very agitated and rubbing against anything he can.

My Question: Salt Dip (Yes or No)

Because he is scaleless and already pretty covered in ich, and the API doesn't necessarily kill off the parasites already on his body, should I risk stressing him out and doing a salt dip for him for 5-10 minutes? The next dose of medication is not until tomorrow evening (48 hours from first dose).

Pics included.

Thanks everyone!!

[Pufferpunk]

Why are you using 1/2 dose? Does it say on the instructions to do that for scaleless fish? If not, you are only making the parasite immune to the meds. Please do NOT raise the temp! Ich is a gill disease. What you see on the body is the overflow of the thoroughly infested gills. Raising the temp lessens the O2 in the water. It's hard enough for the puffer to breathe, as it is. You could add salt to the tank at 1 tbsp/10g. Do you only have the single puffer?
Poor fella!

[JustJen89]

PipIchDay3.jpg

Everywhere said that scaleless fish are more sensitive to ich medication and to administer half the dose, and since I didn't have the Ich-X available and had to use the API Super Ick Cure (which says on its bottle to use half dose for scaleless fish), I did that. Today, the Ich-X arrived and I did a normal dose on the tank.

Unfortunately, I only have one puffer at the moment. I have since learned just how social Amazon puffers are and that they thrive in groups of 6 or more. I tried to purchase multiple when I bought him, but the gentleman at the aquatic store recommended against it. I am upgrading to a larger tank in the coming weeks and was actually about to go purchase and begin quarantining additional puffers when the ich outbreak hit.

Currently, he only has two mollies and a bristlenose pleco in the tank with him. Lots of live plants and driftwood. I am adding the salt to the water shortly and I'll crank the temperature back down over the next few hours.

I'm new to puffer ownership, but I come from a wildlife degree background (notably, my background is mainly terrestrial animals, though I took a few Ichthyology courses) and have since begun doing my own research, which I should have done myself firsthand instead of relying on the supplier. They are an extremely reputable and reliable source for fish, so I'm surprised at their misconception regarding Amazon puffers.

Today, Pip is much less active and I haven't seen him eat, which worries me.

[Pufferpunk]

Poor guy is really infested!

[JustJen89]

Also, the Ich-X bottle says to dose "at least every 24 hours, but no more often than every 8 hours, depending upon the course of the disease." Each dose is preceded by a 1/3 tank water change. Due to the severity, I'm planning on doing a 1/3 water change and another dose in 8 hours. Do I add additional salt when I do this? I would add it to the replacement water at the correct ratio for that 1/3 before adding it to the tank.

[JustJen89]

He is absolutely COVERED and I'm terrified I'm gonna lose him. And the only new additions to the tank were plants. It came on so suddenly. I work from home and he's sitting next to my computer. I ooh and ahh at him all day long, so I notice any changes pretty quickly.

It's why I realized he's been stressed and decided I'm going to upgrade to a long, wide tank and introduce several more puffers. He started doing a lot of glass surfing and showing other signs of stress. He just started flashing a day before I took that Day 1 photo, and like I said, I had just performed a full tank water change and thorough cleaning.

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, replace the amount of salt you remove.