The Puffer Forum

I finally got a good look at the gills and both are affected after all. I decided to put in the melafix and he went nuts. I've never seen him swim so fast. He was dashing up and down on the side like they often do but he was going so fast. When he would get to the top and start on the way down he would thrash his tail HARD. About 40min. later he calmed down. He's swimming slow and hid behind plants a little. I'm thinking maybe the mela burned??

I don't know if I should do one of those FW baths or just see if he's alive in the morning and watch him.

Then I found water dripping down the biowheel cord...UGHHHHHHH!! Don't worry the cords are in a U.

malafix and pimafix are herbal, they should not have hurt him...

Jase wrote:malafix and pimafix are herbal, they should not have hurt him...

That's what I thought. I don't understand why he went nuts. If I lose this one...I just don't know anymore. He's been here 18days. Yeah, I count the days.

maybe he tasted it or something...
counting days. wow.

You're probably right. He's probably never experienced that before.

As soon as I get up I go check on him and I count the day in my head. Now I'm back to being scared to go in there. I swear I think I hold my breath until I see him. Unlike the poor F8's this little guy came so healthy and I've been able to see that puffer behavior you all talk about. There's just no fish like them. I was looking in the fridge last night and I glanced at his tank and I swear he was watching me even though I was in another room. I've never been watched like that by a fish.

On a different note, where on earth do you keep your mbu? They are so pretty and BIG. What do your parents think about him/her?

Jase wrote:maybe he tasted it or something...
counting days. wow.

I don't have an Mbu
I really wish I did though...

LizB wrote: On a different note, where on earth do you keep your mbu? They are so pretty and BIG. What do your parents think about him/her?

Where it says mbu is reflective over the total amount of posts you have. Right now your a dwarf puffer, than after that your a figure eight, gsp, and so on.

I get it now.

I've had fish start "tasting" (at least that’s what it seems like) the water like crazy after adding melafix/pimafix.. They definitely know there's something different in the water.

Look, I'm no fish expert, but I do know one thing.....

Melafix is extracted from Melaleuca alternifolia, more commonly known as Tea Tree Oil. Undiluted Tea Tree Oil, (though not overly caustic), is still caustic enough to irritate human skin, causing mild "burns".

Just because something is "herbal", doesn't mean that it's "harmless" to living creatures. See aconite for reference. Oregano oil causes burns, too, as does undiluted mint oil. Capsaicin causes TERRIBLE burns to human skin. Oil of cloves is "herbal", and yet, (even heavily diluted), will euthanize your fish within minutes.

Many "harmless" herbs are not precisely "harmless", as far as your fishes reaction to the Melafix.....

Imagine being trapped in a room where someone pumped in large amounts of mentholated, (harmless, but mentholated), smoke. You'd freak out a bit too, I'll wager.

Chomper was laying around on the bottom for a few days before.... you may have read..

But I gave him Melafix and he "woke" right up from it and started zooming around the tank, and eating again

When you add anything to a tank, the fish sometimes rush over expecting food. We've had fish that clearly suffered gill injury and gasped at the surface after "breathing" the un-disbursed Melafix just after it was added to the tank. Once this occurred the fish continued to show considerable distress until removed from the tank to fresh water. Exceeding the prescribed dose of Melafix is known to damage fin margins so you can imagine what it does to the already irritated gills of a sick fish.

I don't mean to say Melafix is toxic, but it can cause fin or gill injury if too much is used or if the fish get an overdose by swimming into the concentrated medication before it disperses in the tank. Just because a medication is herbal doesn't mean it can do no harm. That said, we like Melafix and use it frequently because it is proven to significantly accelerate healing, though it has no effect on pathogenic bacteria.

For more information see Vet. Dr. Johnson's article at http://www.koivet.com/html/articles/art ... edications.

FishFan wrote:When you add anything to a tank, the fish sometimes rush over expecting food. We've had fish that clearly suffered gill injury and gasped at the surface after "breathing" the un-disbursed Melafix just after it was added to the tank. Once this occurred the fish continued to show considerable distress until removed from the tank to fresh water. Exceeding the prescribed dose of Melafix is known to damage fin margins so you can imagine what it does to the already irritated gills of a sick fish.

So in other words you are saying melafix is not good to treat a fish with gill injury. What treatment should be used for gill injury?

It would depend on how the injury occurred. There are many different options for medications. Some bacterial and protozoan injuries respond well to Methylene Blue. Some treat wounds with Epsom Salts. Also there is hypo salinity. But as with all medications there are always possible side effects, just like our medicines as humans. 200 people may take penicillin but 10 of those people might get really ill from it. And I do agree, not everything is good if it says "herbal".

while looking for something witty to write...
herbs are deadly
http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ ... iller.html