The Puffer Forum

Did you treat for any internal parasites? The lack of appetite and lethargy can be an indicator for that.

What are the stools like?

Update:

She now has a 75 all decked out with live+base rock, substrate, etc. Tank mates are on hold.

Food is offered daily but if uneaten removed within 12 hours to keep from it rotting.

Oh yeah...she went through a couple weeks of metrinitizole + praziquantel + copper treatments in QT. Then had to stay in QT for almost a month while not coming out in anything.

The stools are almost non existent. Since she doesn't eat much not a huge suprise.

eh hunger strike it souns like, from the meds.

may i ask why the use of copper?

generally a last ditch thing for puffers as they dont handle it well, and being scale less it can really hurt them and even kill them.......
also it does a number on their appetites In my experiances.

give her a few weeks if she will rebound she will by then.

We did the copper when the first round of meds + a F/W dip didn't seem to knock out a bit of ick she had when she came to us. We kept up w' the concentration via a test kit to make sure the level stayed at recommended dosage.

The new richer environment seems to help her mood... Here is a pic:

It is with a heavy heart I update/close this thread: We woke up the 26th discover she had passed in the night. Water parameters were/are still spot on. Vet report came back that she had been totally impacted w' sand/misc debris and her digestive tract had shut down for some time. She was never in sandy substrate when we had her so who knows. We will remember her fondly as perhaps the sweetest puffer we have met.

Really sorry to hear that. She was beautiful.. was she in before you bought her or any live foods raised on a sand substrate?
RIP lovely lady

Thank you for your sentiments...

Here is the full backstory:

She was dropped off at an LFS where my girlfriend has a friend. She had been severely nipped/torn up by triggers but beyond that we didn't know much. I get the vibe her last home was more of a "for looks" type tank than one from a true hobbyist.

The LFS where she was dropped doesn't do much fish, 90+% reef stuff so a 8" Arothron is kinda like godzilla in tokyo there. A couple phone calls and a short drive later we took her on as a rescue case. We had managed to heal most of her wounds (fins were growing back, wounds closed/healed/etc) Her spirits went from very shellshocked to extremely sweet. She just never ate much/if anything at all. I don't know of any way to check for impaction but I can honestly say we did everything we could.

We will miss her. Might pick up another A. Meleagris at some point in the future (certainly if we can find another one that is as much of a sweetheart) but for now we are just focusing on the rest of the stable. Thanks again for the kind words.

Best of luck with your other guys. I don't know of any way to check for impaction either. Anyone?