The Puffer Forum

Ok,
I just got my 3 little DPs and one of them has IPs I'm sure. When I got the little guys home I noticed how it had such a sunken belly, but then when they actualy got into the aquarium, they started hunting and seemed to be finding all they wanted because the sunken belly dispeared! ut this morning, the puff that had a sunken belly pooped and I saw a reddish stool that kind of looked like a bloodworm but only 1/8" long, followed by stringny white poo. So I'm pretty sure it's IPs.

Now, I got the frozen bloodworms, tawed them and soaked them in gel-tek, but they won't eat it. Like I said, they hunt and eat all the time things I can't see! So it's not that they are not eating, just not the stuff I offer! I also tried muscles with gel-tek and garlic and they just look at it and keep on hunting!

Since they don't understand yet that I'm offering food and that they are finding their own, can I add gel-tek directly to the water or will that be useless? If I can, how much drops should I add?

Also, I saw this morning that the otos have ich (only 2 of them with 5-6 spots each), I'm worried about treating for IPs and ich at the same time, won't it be too stressful for them all?

10G QT tank (they will be moved to a 15G when QT is over)
3 DPs and 3 otos (from the same lfs with centralised water system, bought them all yesterday)
NH3 = 0
No2 = 0
No3 = 5
pH is 7.8
Gh is 4
Use Aqua Plus to dechlorine
Aquarium has just been fishless cycled with shrimps (couldn't find amonia, I'm guessing what they are eating is little shrimps pieces although the water was changed 3 times before they got in there and the gravel was vacumed)

Tanks!

I believe adding it to the water would basically be useless. You can treat ich and ip at the same time it wont hurt.

My figure 8's took frozen bloodworms soaked in gel-tek and garlic guard no problem.
Sounds like you may have to wait until the food they're finding is gone.

Thanks for your inputs.
I'll start treating for ich with aquarium salt right now. Then 'll try to train the puffs to take food from me! I guess you're right CoreyK, I'll have to wait for the food they are eating now to disapear! I did a gravel vaccum to help this.

Go to your local pet store, and get a levimisole wormer you can add to the water, unless the puffers eat the geltek treated food heartily. If only picked at, parasites develop resistance to meds FAST, and your IPs will be resistant to all 3 common puffer internal wormers.

ok, good to know.
Right now they show no interest at all in the food I offer. It seems they don't even notice me, they're too busy hunting in the aquarium!! Don't know what they find there, but they all have a nice little tommy now!! I tried tiny shrimp piece on a string (with gel tek) and one of them took a bite and then went back to hunting as if what's in there is way more interesting than shrimps! I tried mussel on a string too, and the same one tried to get the string, not the mussel!? I'll try to find levimisole, I think it'll be easier to treat the tank than to get them to eat the food I offer. I want to treat the otos too, but they are more interested in the glass than the spirulina or algae tablets!! None of my fishes want my food!!!

Does Levimisole unbalance the bacteria that maintain the cycle?

Not that I know, but additives can be a concern, so read the ingredients, and too much may stress fish, so don't just keep dumping the stuff in there.