The Puffer Forum

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:

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.

Yeah, good ideas but just dont use a syringe/needle from a junkie off the street though. I really dont know who would sell a needle for a syringe. Cant buy them around here unless you are a diabetic.

N.G. is spot on. Ask your family doctor. They will have to break the needle off the tip, but you're injecting a worm. It isn't going to be pleasant either way.

J-P wrote:N.G. is spot on. Ask your family doctor.

or veterinarian

FADE2BLACK_1973 wrote: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 am already starving her a bit... even when she was healthy she kinda just eat every other day.. so right now I am feeding every 2 or 3 days..

I have a cray and red wiggler in the tank with her..
For the red wiggler, she shows not sign of interest at all.. she swims away if I kept bugging her with the worm..
For the cray.. she will look at it.. and just let it pass by...

But last night I hold on to the cray with a tong and kept on wiggling it in front of her.. this time she attacks! But after she ate the cray she doesn't look all that good.. like breathing really heavily...
and I still couldn't get her to take any food with med.. this is really frustrating..

and I don't think injecting a worm will worm as she never like worm even when she was healthy..

Puffers are like picky 4-year-old children who only want to eat one food all the time >.>

This is a very stressful situation for you as a puffer parent. However, I believe that you getting too stressed won't fix the situation and perhaps like dogs puffers can sense when you're stressed. Don't worry too much, you are dealing with a lurker species, and their metabolism moves a bit slower than other fish because they don't do a whole lot of swimming. She may genuinely not be that hungry. Can we get a pick of her to see how bad the IPs are affecting her?

If she's breathing heavy you should do a water test and post your results that way we can help you there if need be.

I will be changing water tomorrow morning.. I will test her water param again and go from there..

the good news is she seems a bit better today.. I gave her two tiny pieces of shrimp withOUT soaking it in garlic and she ate both pieces.
Some signs of appetite is a good thing I guess

here's a picture of her after her meal


does she look all that bad?
her poop looks okay.. How do I really tell if she has IP or she just don't want to eat?

She is skinny enough to have IPs. I still say don't stress yourself too much. She's very pretty. Glad to hear she's eating something, again. Maybe try getting her to eat food just soaked in meds. Perhaps she doesn't like the garlic taste.

Is her poop white or pearly looking?

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:She is skinny enough to have IPs. I still say don't stress yourself too much. She's very pretty. Glad to hear she's eating something, again. Maybe try getting her to eat food just soaked in meds. Perhaps she doesn't like the garlic taste.

Is her poop white or pearly looking?

Her poop is pearly looking but in dark brown color. Is it bad?

She has IPs then. The fact that it's not white yet is a good sign if you ask me. Keep doing all you can to get her to eat medicated food. Even if you can only get her to eat a couple times a week, that's good. When you're offering her the shrimp you're offering her a fresh piece every time, correct?

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:She has IPs then. The fact that it's not white yet is a good sign if you ask me. Keep doing all you can to get her to eat medicated food. Even if you can only get her to eat a couple times a week, that's good. When you're offering her the shrimp you're offering her a fresh piece every time, correct?

I usually defrost 3-4 shrimps then cut them up into pieces and put them in the freezer. And I defrost a piece whenever I need to feed her.

Okay. Never re-freeze a piece if she doesn't eat it, just toss it out. Also, be sure to defrost them in dechlorinated water.

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Okay. Never re-freeze a piece if she doesn't eat it, just toss it out. Also, be sure to defrost them in dechlorinated water.

oh yea I tossed it if she doesn't eat it. And I use her tank water to defrost when I need to feed her.
But I used tap water to defrost the shrimps before I cut them into pieces. Is it not good?

pufferian wrote:

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Okay. Never re-freeze a piece if she doesn't eat it, just toss it out. Also, be sure to defrost them in dechlorinated water.

oh yea I tossed it if she doesn't eat it. And I use her tank water to defrost when I need to feed her.
But I used tap water to defrost the shrimps before I cut them into pieces. Is it not good?

I don't actually know how much of the tap water it would hold. I would say soak them twice during the defrosting period. Soak in a bowl of tank water, dump it, and soak again.

Thanks! really appreciate your help!

btw, how should a healthy poop look like?

You're welcome it's no problem. Healthy poop will be brown with no pearly look to it. It shouldn't be too stringy, either. Basically like small clumps. Sometimes it will be red as well, if you feed red foods such as bloodworms.