Hello all
I've had my dwarf puffers a couple of months now. 3 of them look great with nice round tummies and seem really happy. My 4th puffer doesn't seem to be doing so well. The 4th feeds pretty well but hasn't put weight on and has a pinched looking tummy.
I thought it may have been internal parasites and got some Prazipro after much searching (hurrah for ebay).
I've been reading the posts on the forum and I know that i need to soak their food in the treatment. The thing is what should the dose be? I worked out how much I'd need to put in solution according to the instructions on the back but i don't know if that is concentrated enough when the puffers are getting it in their food. I've been feeding them with treated food for 4 days but my DP doesn't look like he's getting any better? Can anyone advise me if I am treating him right?
Thank you very much in advance
mary
Prazipro and my sick fish
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.
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Myaj
- Tech Team
- Posts: 4587
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:27 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Bubba, turgidus
Paris, lined burrfish - Location: SE Wisconsin
- Contact:
Here's part of the article in the library (if you haven't read it already you might want to):
Praziquantel. Praziquantel, which, in the US, goes by the brand name Droncit, is another alternative.
As with the other medications, the medication is best provided orally — but prolonged immersion, and more concentrated baths, are viable - albeit less efective and more stressful — alternatives.
TPF Mentor Kelly, AKA Puffer Queen, has been using Praziquantel to treat puffers for years….and uses the dosages recommended by Noga in Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment. This is the book most public aquariua use as a reference. Noga’s recommendations are as follows:
Orally: 23mg/pound of body weight x one treatment. This of course would require the fish to be eating or would have to be tube fed.
If the fish is not eating: Baths – 38 mg/gallon for 3 hours. Prolonged Immersion – 7.6 to 38 mg/gallon for 24 hours
Obvioulsy a dwarf puffer doesn't weigh a pound, anyone have guesses on how much they do weigh?
I usually go the Met/levamisole route and I've never had any problems with overdosing.
You won't see immediate results, it will take a bit for the one to put weight on again. Did you see them purging any long, stringy looking feces or anything of that sort? Keep in mind, if the one has too much internal damage, he may not make it, but at least you tried.
Be sure you are doing good gravel cleanings right now to clean up any not-quite-dead parasites they may purge so they don't reinfect themselves.
Praziquantel. Praziquantel, which, in the US, goes by the brand name Droncit, is another alternative.
As with the other medications, the medication is best provided orally — but prolonged immersion, and more concentrated baths, are viable - albeit less efective and more stressful — alternatives.
TPF Mentor Kelly, AKA Puffer Queen, has been using Praziquantel to treat puffers for years….and uses the dosages recommended by Noga in Fish Disease Diagnosis and Treatment. This is the book most public aquariua use as a reference. Noga’s recommendations are as follows:
Orally: 23mg/pound of body weight x one treatment. This of course would require the fish to be eating or would have to be tube fed.
If the fish is not eating: Baths – 38 mg/gallon for 3 hours. Prolonged Immersion – 7.6 to 38 mg/gallon for 24 hours
Obvioulsy a dwarf puffer doesn't weigh a pound, anyone have guesses on how much they do weigh?
I usually go the Met/levamisole route and I've never had any problems with overdosing.
You won't see immediate results, it will take a bit for the one to put weight on again. Did you see them purging any long, stringy looking feces or anything of that sort? Keep in mind, if the one has too much internal damage, he may not make it, but at least you tried.
Be sure you are doing good gravel cleanings right now to clean up any not-quite-dead parasites they may purge so they don't reinfect themselves.
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manutius
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 1316
- Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:49 pm
- My Puffers: RIP Clooney the Mbu :(
- Location: Southend essex, UK
- Contact:
The above advice is great but do you have a hospital/quarantine tank you can place him in and ensure that he is getting the meds orally? As he is weaker than the other fish he may not be able to get thefood in him and therefore be too weak to fight off whatever it is that is wrong. Also by Quarantining him you can check for dodgy poo or any other symptoms.
If you don't have one, what would you guys say to using a floating breeding trap in the main tank to administer the meds orally?
If you don't have one, what would you guys say to using a floating breeding trap in the main tank to administer the meds orally?
Thanks for the replies. I hadn't spotted the prazipro advice - thanks for that. I'll guesstimate my puffer weight and see if that compares to the dose he's been getting.
I haven't been able to catch him doing a poo so I'm not sure what it looks like.
With respect to a quarantine tank. As far as feeding is concerned he is eating OK. I'd rather keep him with the other fish if possible as the quarantine tank i do have has another fish from another tank in it.
I'm wondering if it is possible that the puffer has a congenital problem and if he will just always be skinny.
Thank you again. If anyone does know the weight of a puffer please let me know!
mary
I haven't been able to catch him doing a poo so I'm not sure what it looks like.
With respect to a quarantine tank. As far as feeding is concerned he is eating OK. I'd rather keep him with the other fish if possible as the quarantine tank i do have has another fish from another tank in it.
I'm wondering if it is possible that the puffer has a congenital problem and if he will just always be skinny.
Thank you again. If anyone does know the weight of a puffer please let me know!
mary
mary
Thanks everyone.
I have treated all the fish with prazipro. I can never catch any of them doing poo so I don't know if they have/ had parasites or not. I'll keep a close eye on them and Prazipro them again if it looks like any of the others might have them.
Fingers crossed that's the end of puffer trauma for a while.
mary
I have treated all the fish with prazipro. I can never catch any of them doing poo so I don't know if they have/ had parasites or not. I'll keep a close eye on them and Prazipro them again if it looks like any of the others might have them.
Fingers crossed that's the end of puffer trauma for a while.
mary
mary