The Puffer Forum

sevenyearnight wrote:Mortimer ate a red worm yesterday morning, first day since being in the hospital tank, he has pooed today, so it's not constipation or food impacted. Still has the bulge, he's been holding his pectoral fins to his body often, and it would appear that he is still biting his tail. I'm going to abandon the melafix/pimafix since this seems too much for that to cover.
I'll do a huge water change and start treating him with an antibiotic, or something, any suggestions?

I always had great success with Jungle Labs meds. Something like Fungus Eliminator. It treats both fungus and bacterial infections. Maybe someone else might have something better.

http://www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=NJ121

Small improvement, but I was able to get him to eat a medicated silverside today. Not sure if it was enough medication, but I was afraid he'd snub it if it smelled too strongly of it. I'm using prazi/metro powder and pressed garlic.

Any improvement is better then none .

Have you tried Epsom salt for the swelling?

Pufferpunk wrote:Have you tried Epsom salt for the swelling?

The entire time

I couldn't get him to eat any more medicated good, so I've started treating him with the jungle tabs.

I've tried 3 or 4 medications now, and he looks a bit better. He doesn't have the red vaining, and I've been watching him, I haven't seen him bite his tail in at least a couple of days. I've switched to medicating some red worms and crickets with Parasite Clear, I'm not sure how much medicine is actually getting inside him, but the only way I'll know he's getting better is if his tail grows back.
I've set up his hospital/temp tank to be a bit more cozy for him, he seems to like it ok, other than it being a bit small.

That's one heck of a hospital tank! Love the last pic.

Well I have the best news, Mortimer is not biting his tail, and we feel like it's growing back. The ends are changing color from pink to his normal gray color, and he seems much more comfortable. He's been eating his medicated worms each day, and he will be moving into a new tank soon. Picked something up for him on craigslist, so I guess I'm setting up a 3rd planted tank for him. So much for downsizing!

Yippee!!!

7 thats great to hear

Well caca news, he started biting his tail again a few days ago. So I'm back to treating his food again. Either I didn't treat him long enough the first time, or whatever he had was still in the main tank. I did a nauseating procedure of injecting an earthworm with medicated fluid because I'm worried that soaking them isn't holding enough medication. I have an impossibly tiny tipped plastic syringe that came with a calcium test, I filled it with the dissolved Parasite guard, and fit it into the end, or beginning of the worm, not sure which one it was, and injected it with the medicine. It was still moving a little, as he doesn't like to eat them dead for some reason.
He ate it!

Try going to the nearest pharmacy and buying insulin syringes. They aren't that expensive and work well for injecting medications in to worms. I've even given injections to my small lizards and larger fish with them.

Sigh, I thought of that, after the fact. I'm assuming I have to ask for them at the counter, don't I have to have diabetes or some Rx from a doctor to get a syringe? They have a pretty bad drug problem here, as every city, I don't think they will just sell one to me. I think, "I need a syringe to inject medication into worms to feed to my sick fish" isn't going to make me look like I'm NOT on drugs. :/

My vet gives them to me.