The Puffer Forum

puffer_puff wrote:lisalisa, do you know if there's a place in or around our city that carries it?

You live in Toronto too? Bio-Spira is not sold in Canada. I order mine here: http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html

Pyratt wrote:Hehe if you have plenty of money to throw at this fish, grab an 8oz of Pimafix while you're at it. In general, in the dosages on the bottles, Pimafix and Melafix are assumed to be non-problem causing (in terms of interfering with medications or health of the tank). Pimafix is supposed to help in fighting fungus and, who knows, that may be a true fungus... /shrug. The point is that (as far as we know) Pimafix won't hurt.

-Pyratt Pete

P.S.: I've done a bunch of reading up and that Kanamycin seems to be a great medication if you can access it.

I now have some KanaPlex by Seachem, which is 40% kanamycin sulphate. I also have Melafix and Pimafix (2 8-oz. bottles sold together for 7.99!).

The kanamycin and both the Melafix and Pimafix are in the tank. It was such a little amount that I was fearing it wouldn't dissolve properly or reach the puffer, but I know that's just me being paranoid. How long is it supposed to take to work?

The puffer stays up in the corner as though the filter is sucking him in, but that just seems to be where it wants to be—seemingly gasping at the surface, though not actually taking in atmospheric air (it stays underwater)—and the filter's not sucking the fish in. I've checked to make sure repeatedly. Besides, the other two places where I find him is hovering under the streams of water from the two power filters (trying to wash off the disease?) or down at the bottom, listless, so it is able to move away from the intake on its own.

Thank you, lisalisa, for the URL for the bio-spira. I'm not sure I need it right now, but thank you.

Pufferpunk wrote:Yes, use the Melafix along w/any antibiotic. Don't bother w/B-S in your QT. With the meds & large WC, it won't have a chance to work in there.

You say the B-S won't have a chance to work because of i) meds and ii) large water changes.

On ii): I'm not sure I'm supposed to be doing water changes right now. The container of kanamysin reads that I'm supposed to dose again two days after dosing. If I did a water change today, after dosing yesterday, then I would be taking out medicine. So, does that mean I should bother with the B-S (my biological filter has been disrupted because of the Clout)? Alternatively, it would make sense to do a water change right before the next dose, so that's every two days. But without the B-S that will mean my biological filter will remain disrupted because of the Clout I used! The B-S would enable me to raise the SG.

On i): Do the meds prevent the B-S from working? Or can I add the B-S and raise to high brackish immediately (it's still at SG 0.008)?

B-S needs up to 48 hours for the bacteria to settle out of the water column and attach themselves. Doing a water change before that happens removes the bacteria along with the water.

I had turned the temperature down in order to prevent the bacteria from multiplying as quickly as it would with the temperature higher. Now that the kanamycin is in the tank, what should the temperature be?


(FYI: The puffer is at a 45-degree angle (tail upward), breathing hard, with sores all over its underside.)

What is your temperature at now? I'd try to maintain it as close to 80f as possible.

Sadly, I don't think your puff has much time left. He sounds in real rough shape.

Oh—it's at 77, to my surprise. I had turned it down to about 73, due to the fact that I figured the bacteria were multiplying at a faster rate if I had it turned up, but with no medication.

Well, it's been struggling now for a while, and it's been sick for over two weeks. It's "hanging in there" beside the filter intake tube (there's a sponge around the tube, so it's soft for the puffer).

Do you think I should decrease the distance between the tube and the side glass so that it can wedge itself there better? So that it can breathe atmospheric air?

I'm not so sure that he's resting near the intake tube.. rather it's more likely he's too weak to swim away and is being drawn there. Very often when you find a dead fish, they are stuck to the intake tube.

I would start thinking about euthanizing. clove oil overdose would be the most humane imo.

that looks like lymphosis, you might have that instead, but it is treated by having prisitne water quality. it is similar to human warts, and occurs when the water quality tanks.

so either way, what you are donig should help.

Phaedrus wrote:I'm not so sure that he's resting near the intake tube..

You're wrong about this. There are three different places it goes: near the intake tube, where I think it's trying to get atmospheric air, at the top of a plant (also, I think for the same reason), and at the bottom in the middle. It's not stuck against the tube.

Your suggestion to euthanize it is premature. I woldn't euthanize it, regardless.

Jager wrote:that looks like lymphosis, you might have that instead, but it is treated by having prisitne water quality.

I cannot have pristine water quality right now, as I need to keep the medicine in the tank-I cannot change the water.

Hang in there... my christmas wrasse was almost a gonner but he recovered. It was a near thing. One of his pectoral fins never grew back (the fin rot/infection really was serious) but he's been healthy ever since. (Although he does list a bit on his left turns...)

I've also lost fish no matter what I did... it's a hard thing. Hang in there and good luck!

To euthanize or not is completely up to you. As unpleasant as it may seem, it is often the most humane course of action.

Having watched helplessly as a fish passes painfully away, I would now rather end their misery quickly and painlessly rather than hang in there till the bitter end.

I hope he does pull through for you though. You've come a long way with him.

I've had to do this... I cannot stand the smell of clove oil anymore since I associate it with beak-trimming (stressful) and euthanizing (very sad).

I only use this option when I'm sure there is no hope or nothing I can do to help... my first experience with having to put a fish down was "Momma Molly" who ended up with "whirling disease" and was clearly suffering. It still makes me sad...

puffer_puff: You may want to add an air pump with an air stone or the like... I think I remember something about antibiotics reducing oxygen in the tank (but I may be thinking of another treatment and I am not at home to check my directions and books).

Hang in there mate. Hang in there fish.

-Pyratt

pristine water quality means no ammonia nitrite and low nitrates. perfectly feasible even when treating with medicines. just do water changes, and add more mwedicine to cover what you removed.