The Puffer Forum

I wouldn't use prazipro, it kills the parasites by forcing their muscles to contract until they die, this can on occaision lead them to splitting in the host fish leading to infection.
Adding meds to food isn't always the bet route as its usually the sick fish that doesn't eat.
I would suggest Flubenol 15, you cantreat the whole tank and it wont hurt any of the fish and theres no need to remove it with water changes or carbon

The bad part of using Flubenol, is that you can't get that one in Norway (Not PraziPro either, but I already have got that one), so it will take a while to get it here. There's no problem with getting the puffer to eat the meds, unless she doesn't like the taste. She always hungry, that one, and that's why I think that maybe she is skinny because of her activity. Because she isn't standing much still, this one. She's always on the move.

But that part about PraziPro killing the parasites with making their muscles contract is interesting. Someone I know used this on her corydoras, and they started scratching themselves an awful lot in the beginning. So now I know the reason. Thanks

BTW, no problem with othes eating the meds. Bolla is the only fish in the tank.

you can mail order it though tio get it to norway, just as long as customs dont pull it you would be fine

I know a number of people that have used PraziPro with success. The two key meds for treating IPs are metronidazole and praziquantel, so anything you can find with those two ingredients should work. Just remember to soak the food in the medication, don't add it to the water.

You can treat them in the display tank.

The problem with prazi is the way it kills the parasites.... It works by forcing the muscles of the parasite to tighten and relax until the worms tire and die. The problem with this is that the parasite can occaisionally burst after death infecting the host fish.
From what I can tell, prazi has also never been researched and approved for aquatic use, so its unclear what the long term effects can be to the fish.

I generally have treated for IPs in the main tank, unless they were still in QT from purchasing.

I'd always treat the main tank with cases of IP's. Anything exposed to them could be infected, and IP treatments seldom effect the biofilter.

I know PraziPro don't affect the filter. This is a med that is used a lot among discus owners here in Norway. That's actually why I bought it: To have it ready if my new discuses had parasites (discuses are bad when it comes to catching parasites). I haven't heard of any bad experiences from other discus owners. But I don't know whether they have put it into the food any times. I think they have just added it to the water. And I also think some of them have long experience in using it, with no side effects. I have only heard of good experiences. But I also know it's possible to buy something together with the PraziPro, that is to use on IP. You can buy a whole package with PraziPro, the med for IP and one other I don't remember. The bad part is that if I buy it all, it will cost enough to having to pay taxes for it, to take it into Norway. The limit for that is terribly low

So it turns out the only thing we can really get here is PraziPro. Everything else will need to be ordered online.

So a couple questions: how do you measure their body weight for the dosage? And it mentions on the bottle that it's for external use only, but everyone here says to give it to them in their food. Did we buy the wrong one, or are we supposed to just ignore the label?

I wanted to try to feed Bolla a bit more, before giving her medication. And today I could see the wonder had happened: She has gained weigh She isn't looking so skinny anymore. She is almost back to normal
So here is what I will do now. I will continue to feed her the same amount of food until she look absolutely normal. Then I will slow down a bit, but not back to what I was feeding her earlier. She probably needs a bit more than I gave her. I will also transfer her to a bigger tank this weekend. I got one new tank yesterday, and will get 6 (!!!) more today. This new tank won't be her final either, but she will have more room. From 15 to 22 G. Later on I will get her a 30 G tank, and that will be her final home. Whether I buy it, or use one of the tanks that I already have (at least one will get emptied before summer), I don't know, but she will have a big enough home sooner or later

I hope that a bigger tank will actually help on her weight. Where she is now, there is much current. In a small tank, anything can give much current in the whole tank. Actually she loves it, but I guess it can be too much some times. In a bigger tank, she will have the chance of a peaceful stroll, if she wants

Anyway, I will wait with giving her meds. I will continue the feeding, and really have a close eye on her for a long time, to see if she gaines or loose weight again. Does this sound OK?

Nusquam wrote:So it turns out the only thing we can really get here is PraziPro. Everything else will need to be ordered online.

So a couple questions: how do you measure their body weight for the dosage? And it mentions on the bottle that it's for external use only, but everyone here says to give it to them in their food. Did we buy the wrong one, or are we supposed to just ignore the label?

If I was you, I would take a chance and buy some flubenol 15, its been sent to Canada and customs didnt stop it last time I tried it, prazi is is just not good from what I can see and from what I have heard

Thanks, Paul, we'll definitely look into it!

How long does shipping on Flubenol usually take? I'm waiting 2 weeks or so now, and starting to worry US customs is more closely investigating my bag of white powder.

I spoke to a guy at the uk embassy in the homeland defence section who answer questions on exporting meds etc to the states, he didnt think it would be a problem, neither did the uk customs man I spoke to. Ive had it take longer than 2 weeks before and as quick as 4 days...
The only problem mentioned was how much tax you might get charged on it - but as it was a gift this time you should be ok

We e-mailed the company and they said they could ship direct mail (can't remember the exact name of it) and it should be here in about 4 days. But everything I've had come from out of country has taken about 3-4 weeks so far. Problem is, by then we're hoping to get them into their new tank, and if we do that, we're going to have to order a larger package, meaning it's going to be a lot riskier cuz our customs checks stuff I had a pen package opened once...pens!? >.<

Nick, could you let us know about how long it took you to recieve yours, as we do really want to try it.