The Puffer Forum

Bad news! I tried feeding her again but no luck.

I tried feeding her the next day she ate the shrimp with garlic she wouldn't take it.
So I decided to feed her again today (skipped one day).

She ate half of it but at the same time she spitted out many little pieces.
It doesn't seem like she ate much if any.

What should I do now?

Are you using the meds now? If so, try soaking in the meds for a less amount of time and in the garlic a longer period of time.

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Are you using the meds now? If so, try soaking in the meds for a less amount of time and in the garlic a longer period of time.

Yea I am using the med.. so basically I just put the med in the garlic and soaked the shrimp for 2 hours.

Should I soak the shrimp in water + med first then in garlic?

Whatever container you're using for soaking now put some tank water in it and dissolve the med, then soak the shrimp. Then soak it in the garlic for an hour longer than you soaked it in the meds, that way it has time to absorb the garlic smell more and cover the meds up.

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Whatever container you're using for soaking now put some tank water in it and dissolve the med, then soak the shrimp. Then soak it in the garlic for an hour longer than you soaked it in the meds, that way it has time to absorb the garlic smell more and cover the meds up.

Thanks! will try again tomorrow. Just really worried

I can understand how you feel. It's very stressful when a pet you care deeply about has a problem. Hopefully you can get something figured out that will work for you and your puffer. If you have something like a small syringe you can use to inject meds into earthworms a lot of fish can't resist them, too.

Maybe try starving your congo for more then 1 day fish can go quite a while without food. 2 days or more may make your puffer more willing to eat.

How long she hasn't been eating and how badly the IPs are affecting her will make a difference in how long she can go without eating. A lot of puffers can literally go weeks without eating, but if they're severely wasted because of the IPs then getting them to eat more regularly is very important.

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Whatever container you're using for soaking now put some tank water in it and dissolve the med, then soak the shrimp. Then soak it in the garlic for an hour longer than you soaked it in the meds, that way it has time to absorb the garlic smell more and cover the meds up.

Just tried this method.. still won't eat..
what else can I treat her with? I don't want to see her starve to death...
what about Levamisole?

Can you get earth worms? Puffers often find the worms wiggling to be irresistible

puffykid wrote:Can you get earth worms? Puffers often find the worms wiggling to be irresistible

I have got cray and red wiggler in there.. she shows no sign of interest..

Other medicines don't work as well, really. And the reason you have to soak their food in it is because that's the only way to get them treated. Go back and forth maybe so she will still eat. Break up what you feed her into two separate feedings, early in the day give non-medicated food, and then later in the day, give her the medicated kind. When it comes to worms, you may need to dangle them above her and wiggle them a bit if they're not moving.

Try what puffkid mentioned, dont feed your puffer for a few days. I had to start feeding my congo puffer everyother day here lately. He started geting picky and wasting. He eats though but not as much has he use to.

Btw, if you put a live feeder fish in your congo puffers tank, he just lets it swim around in them without eatin it or just kills it and leaves it?

I still think picking up some live earth worms is a good option. If you call around some bait shops you can probably find them live close by. I know that the longer you soak the food the more meds you can get into the puffer at once, but since your congo is sick he / she may not be as willing to try foods that smell unusual. I suggest using a live worm soaking it in jungle parasite clear and garlic for only 15-20 mins instead of hours, this way the worm will still be sort of alive and wiggling when you drop it in but will still have some meds inside. Then tie the worm to a string and let it squirm in front of your congo, and hopefully she'll go for it!

puffykid wrote:I still think picking up some live earth worms is a good option. If you call around some bait shops you can probably find them live close by. I know that the longer you soak the food the more meds you can get into the puffer at once, but since your congo is sick he / she may not be as willing to try foods that smell unusual. I suggest using a live worm soaking it in jungle parasite clear and garlic for only 15-20 mins instead of hours, this way the worm will still be sort of alive and wiggling when you drop it in but will still have some meds inside. Then tie the worm to a string and let it squirm in front of your congo, and hopefully she'll go for it!

This is all really good advice, however, if you can use a syringe/needle of sorts to inject the worm with the medicine then the puffer won't be able to smell it, anyway, and you get more meds into your puffer's system.