The Puffer Forum

Parameters: Ammonia--0, NitrIte--0, NitrAte--5ppm

Tank: 10 gallon FW, gravel substrate, Whisper 20 HOB filter, plastic plants, rock, driftwood

Inhabitant: Poofer, Carinotetraodon irrubesco

Feeding: 1x daily thawed frozen bloodworm or mosquito larvae, to rounded belly

Water changes: weekly or every other week, 50%. Last water change on Saturday

Product: Seachem Prime

No changes in past week or so

Tank has been up and running for 1-1/2 yrs, cycled with Bio-Spira.

Problem:
Poofer has not eaten for several days. Today I found her lying on the bottom of the tank. She is very thin, dark, listless, and will not come up for food.

Poofer had a very long bout with IPs, treated once with Jungle Parasite Clear in her food for two weeks, and once with Flubenol in the tank water for 5 weeks. She has had trouble putting/keeping on weight since then. She is emaciated now.

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

my puffer passed away last night despite how hard i tried to help him with medications and water changes. my local fish store guy told me he may have cut up his insides with a snail i fed him before he started to act strange. he recommended i try maracyn-two. i did but i think my puffer was already too sick by then for the medicine to help. but maybe it'll help your little guy.

good luck.

It could be long term effects from the IP.
How'd keeping an irrubesco in a 10 work out for you?

So sorry to hear that! Hard to believe a puffer would die from eating a snail--natural food in any puffer's diet.

Does your puffer's belly actuale gets round when you feed her? Does it seems like she needs lots of food to make it round? Maybe there is still some IPs... It took me 3 treatment to get rid of IPs in my puffers.
As flamesofiftreet says, it might be the damages made to the intestines by massive IPs invasion. The intestines wouldn't be working as well and absorption might be compromised. Maybe soaking her favorite food in vitamins? If she finds her favorite food attractive enough, maybe it would give her a chance. If she refuses to eat at all, then I don't really know what can be done.
Good luck!

mspatron:
The LFS guy knows nothing about puffers, apparently, they do not cut up their insides with snail shells. It's their natural food. Also, even if they did, maracyn-2 in the water wouldn't be a good treatment.

I can't get her to eat.

When she was eating, she would eat until her belly was round, and then she would "hollow out" again by the next day.

Should I hit the tank with Flubenol again? What should I do?

Flamesofifreet: Poofer was doing great up until now as a singleton in a 10. The PufferPedia requirement of 20 gallons seems a bit ridiculous to me. With overfiltration nitrate has never gone above 10, and she has tons of places to hide.

maybe try the flubenol again. A healthy puffer should not have a hollow stomach the next day. It should be slightly bulged or flat depending on how much was fed.

I'd hit it with a does of flubenol and then try some food again, perhaps something more meaty like a prawn or mussel that you can skewer and position near to see if you can get her to take a bite.

Sorry to hear that. I would add another dose of flubenol and offer food soaked in garlic like Hilly suggests. Good luck

I dosed the tank with Flubenol.

Poofer started to swim aimlessly, so I tried putting food in front of her, but she bumped passed it like she didn't recognise it. She no longer cues in on her feeding cup or chopsticks. It's as if she is blind.

Puff, I feel so sorry for you and Poofer...
Have you considered seringe or tube feeding her? My guess is she probably still have IPs and her intestines are damaged right now. Maybe someone here knows about tube feeding puffers... Sounds to me like she needs some food into her and tube feeding might be the solution...

She's so tiny I don't know if that's possible. Her mouth is maybe 1.5 mm wide.

I have not seen her today. I'm hoping she's just hiding. I want to find her and make sure she's still with us, but it stresses her out so much when I move her furniture around.

I hope that Poofer is okay.

a small pipette or wide needled siringe may make force feeding possible --