The Puffer Forum

It looks like the skin is peeling off?
Have you added anything else (like copper) to the tank which could be causing problems with the slime coat? I think you may need to treat it with antibiotics.

Yes, that's right, the skin is peeling off. There were what looked like blisters, and then, when they burst, there was broken skin. Did I add anything with copper? Probably not ... unless it was in the Ich med that I added before but didn't know it.

What antibiotics should I use, rocco?

This looks like a serious flesh-eating type of bacteria. Try some thing like Kanacyn. You'll have to do huge water changes to keep the parameters in check, as this is an anti-bacterial & will kill off your biological filtration. Continue with the Mela/Pimafix.

Thanks.

But oh bother. I just found out that LFS here in Singapore are forbidden by law to sell fish antiobiotics ... Good grief ... now I have to find another solution for this problem if it exists.

Melafix was working quite well for the first couple of days btw. It did save some of the tail fin from rot. But then this other skin peeling thing nothing seems to be stopping. Would putting the full dose of melafix AND pimafix at the same time be too much?

You could add the full dose, your fish will act funny if it's too much.

I always use the full dose of Melafix & mixing it with Pimafix should be fine. I'd add an airstone if your fish seems to be breathing rapidly. Don't you have any vets in Singapore?

Sure, we have vets Not sure if they have experience with fish though. I am tempted to order antibiotics off eBay, though I wonder if they will come on time.

Honestly speaking, I am pretty impressed with the resilience of this fish. Man, I am not sure I would hold up as well if I were as sick as it. It hasn't been eating for about three days. Is there anything I can do?

It has also been resting a lot more than usual. But if experience is anything to go by, correct me if I am wrong, if it still finds the energy to come up every now and then to swim a little, it is still not hopeless yet. Many sick fish I had in the past simply rested at the bottom, not moving much and died pretty quickly.

It is very upsetting, more so for it than me for sure, it just seems that more and more of the body from the tail up seems to be losing skin by the day

Thanks for all the help, guys. I am not about to give up so long as my fish hasn't.

Ernest wrote:Sure, we have vets Not sure if they have experience with fish though. I am tempted to order antibiotics off eBay, though I wonder if they will come on time.

Your vet should be able to order you the medicine you would need. I'm not sure how the dosing would work though.

I will like to thank everybody here for the help and concern this past week. My ceylon puffer just died a while ago and everyone in the family is really heaving a sigh of relief because we really can't see how it was going to make it anyway. Staying alive the way it did was really painful to watch.

Perhaps this is not the correct place to post this question, but I'll ask anyway. What do I do with the tank water now? Empty it all out? And how about the sand? Is there anyway to disinfect it, assuming I don't own a microwave or conventional oven?

If you leave the tank fishless (fallow) for 6-8 weeks, and keep adding an ammonia source (like frozen food) all the bacteria will be dead and you can add fish right after for it will still be cycled.

Thanks, rocco. But that's assuming the next fish to be housed in there will be brackish. I suppose I can still make periodic water change in the meantime to reduce the salt content, right?

You could. Don't reduce it more then .002 each time. no more or often then weekly to be safe with your tanks cycle.

just top up with fresh water every so often to stop the salinity rising too high from evaporation...


8 weeks minimum, don't want your next fish to be stuck down with the same thing, poor puff.