The Puffer Forum

katty wrote:I saw your post! Now I'm excited for the video.

I cant help but wonder if all this treatment is maybe unnecessary? I see all the symptoms but Puffy is acting just fine. Puffy has ick spots that have been there for like 3 weeks now (weird, I know!) and his poo looks like ip... Puffy's overall attitude has been great though. He'll get annoyed during gravel vacs and try to attack the hose but hey, I doubt we'd like giant tubes stuck randomly into our homes either. He eats just fine, except for that week I was treating with Jungle Parasite Clear. He wasn't really interested in food and absolutely refused to eat food soaked in medication. He did take a couple of bites out of unmedicated food though. His appetite just wasnt that great but it seems like it was from the medication. Puffy has been eating great lately though. Most things I put in there are sucked up before they even hit the ground.

Here's a video I just got of him. He social but also tends to be a little camera shy.

katty wrote:My poor little Puffy came with all sorts of problems that just wont seem to go away. I'm new to this so I am freaking out at everything possible. Haha.

I have several questions that I can't seem to find any info on. (I've read both articles in the library.) Puffy is a 2 inch Fahaka Puffer and also the only one in my 10 gallon tank. (Dont worry, I plan on getting a MUCH larger tank as soon as I move in a month or so.) Unfortunately, I don't have the API master test kit so I can't give any specific numbers but I tested the water with the Jungle test strips and everything is ideal and in the right range. (I plan on getting the API kit soon too.) I have been feeding him a mix of shrimp from the grocery store (cut up into small pieces) and bloodworms with vitamins/nutrients added to it. I also currently have pond snails and ghost shrimp in qt tanks I plan on feeding him soon. I do a 50% water change every 2 or 3 days. The things added to the water are aquarium salt, Parasite Clear, Aquasafe (water conditioner) and Melafix. A few days ago, I also treated the tank with Jungle's Parasite Clear as directed on the package (Remove carbon filter, add one tablet to each 10 U.S. gallons of aquarium water) but I used 1/2 a tablet instead of a full one. It says treatment can be repeated up to 2x with 48 hours between and a 25% water change (which I did, completing one full tablet). The ingredients include: praziquantel, diflubenzuron, metronidazole, and acriflavine. I also added a teaspoon of Melafix to the tank a couple days as well because I noticed a couple boo boos on his belly. The aquarium was up for a month before Puffy was introduced to the tank. I cycled the tank with 2 Mystery Snails and 3 African Dwarf Frogs which were all removed from the tank before Puffy was introduced. The Aquasafe also said that it introduces healthy bacteria to the tank as well as neutralizing potential chemicals. On a side note, the frogs died from what I believed was chytrid, a disease that does not harm fish and only affects frogs. That's pretty much all the background info I can think of!

He currently has ich which I have been treating for about a week now but new cysts are still appearing. I currently have the tank at 80 degrees and I have 2 tablespoons of salt for every 5 gallons. The old cysts are still there and 2 new ones appeared today. The infestation isn't super bad but it isnt exactly pleasant either! Also, I've been conflicted on ip. After I had him for a couple of days, I noticed white chunks of poo at the bottom of the tank. Initially, I thought it was ip but after I looked at the pictures of white poo in the sticky in the general discussion and considering that I overfed him the day before, I decided that it was most likely undigested shrimp. I did, however, soak a piece of shrimp in Jungle Parasite Clear which he ate happily. His poo was black and normal the day after. I added the half tablet in order to help with the ich as well. On the other hand, today, I found whitish/orangish poo on the bottom of the tank that did resemble the poo in the pictures. Puffy's overall behavior hasn't really changed. He's still acting the same as the first day I got him, extremely curious and pretty active (with the exception of several lazy hours once in a while after I accidentally overfeed him). His color was extremely dark a couple days ago as well. It's back to normal now though.

So to sum it all up, my questions are: (I figured it'd be easier to list them rather than including them in all that!)
I've heard that Jungle Parasite Clear is light sensitive. Is this true?
Has anyone used this treatment before and does it work well?
Is it normal for ich cysts to still appear even though I've been doing treatment?
If Puffy poops stringy whitish/orangish stuff, does it mean he has already flushed out the ip or is it still affecting him?
Is it possible that the grocery store shrimp is giving him ip? (I've keep it frozen and feed it to him raw after thawing it in tank water.)
What causes the color change and why does he do it?
Is there anything else I can do to help him and heal him faster?

I'm sorry if these are all dumb questions! I'm totally new to all this. I plan on doing another 50% wc tonight and a gravel vac. I just want Puffy to be healthy! Thanks guys!

katty wrote:Ahh. That worries me. Should I try to fatten him up for a couple of days before? And how long did you treat for? Thankd edmlfc1, you're the best! <3