The Puffer Forum

I have a 75 gallon freshwater community South American tank with corys, hoplos, plecos, otos (I cheated on this species), Lemon tetras, hatchetfish, etc. etc. Anyway, my poor female callichthys got a bump on her nose and it steadily got worse. Now, she's in a hospital tank with a fairly neutral ph at 80 degrees or so - keeping the ammonia at zero obviously - and I'm trying to get her to eat.

She's being treated with Melafix, Kanaplex, and Neoplex. These things have stopped the nose rot. They problem is that unless she eats, she's not going to be able to grow back any skin or barbels. I'm using cubes of frozen bloodworms warmed to room temperature soaked in Garlic Guard. I have to use tweezers to dangle the worms in front of her "nose" to get her to eat; and even then we're talking only one or two bloodworms a day. I'm getting desperate here. She lets me put the food in her mouth, but it's so hard to get her to eat. I think that she can't sense the food because of the nose rot.

Does anyone have advice for me? She's such a dear sweet little girl, and now that her condition isn't worsening, it would be a true shame if she died from starvation.

Have you tried live bloodworms? Be sure to soak any foods in liquid vitamins. I'm glad she's getting better.

I haven't. With the storms here it's going to be until tomorrow until I can get to Tacoma for good foods. If the store has live bloodworms, I'll try them, as she's not eating a thing. I honestly don't know what to do. I'm actually putting the food in her mouth and she won't swallow.

Make sure her water is pristene, no ammonia/nitrite & low nitrate.

Thanks. It's hard because there's so much uneaten food. I'm doing water changes every other day.

Update -

This is just crazy. I haven't see her eat for three weeks. She's only 4 inches long including her fins, so I ask, could she be eating after I turn out the lights? Otherwise, how is this possible?

Husbandthing bought me some Zoecon, which I'm soaking her blood worms in along with the Garlic Guard. We've switched medications on the urging of our local fish guy, and now we're just waiting to see what happens. To be honest, I'd have put her down last week, but she's hanging on. I promised myself that she'd get a chance with the new medicine; and if she didn't show any new tissue after it, I'd have to make the hard decision. But at least now every time she inhales water, she's getting something, no matter how small.

Weird, isn't it. People spend money on dogs, cats, even guinea pigs (me) because they're tangible pets; and yet it's so easy to feel a close attachment to an animal that you can't pet or pick up just for the appreciation of its need for care and to be able to watch it live.

I sure love those damned fish.

Poor thing. Have you tried VitaChem? That is really great stuff, especially along with the garlicguard.
It's possible that she's eating when the lights are out. Most catfish are more nocturnal usually.

Something I found over at the Gel-Tek web site:

Ultra Gro VX is an amazing vitamin and mineral rich dietary supplement that is safe for all fish especially herbivores, plant, algae, and filter feeders. Scientifically formulated with an premium blend of Spirulina and other essential nutrients, Ultra Gro VX utilizes the latest advances in Gel-Teknology to provide superior additional nutrition for a healthier and stronger immune system. Ultra Gro VX contains fish pheromones to entice and enhance feeding behavior without clouding the aquarium water.

See http://aq-products.com/GelTek/ultragrovx.htm ... I may try adding this to Random's krill a couple of times a week.

If she can hang on, I'll see if I can find these. This evening, I managed to get a bloodworm into her mouth and she swallowed. If I can get something into the water, then at least she'll be inhaling it. I even thought of getting the partner to Zoecon, Zoe, because it would be in the water proper.

I do wonder what's going on when the lights are out, too. I'm not very optimistic, and it looks like she won't pull through, but I have to make sure she gets every chance. Thanks so much for your advice.

keep at it. hopefully the fish will start eating soon. I've used zoe and zoecon in conjunction and I've had no problems. i also add vitamin c due to pp's article.

Hey how are you? Hope I'm not too late.. You can try "Garlic x-treme" by Kent... It really works wonders! I can't say enough about it. It's pretty much a food soak. You drop 1-3 drops in a little container (or shot glass like I do) and a little tank water and the food. Let it soad a couple of minutes or so and put it in the tank slowly... Haven't had a fish yet who hasn't eaten after I tried this.. Some will gain their appetite slower than others, but they'll definitely be eating.. Wish you the best of luck.. Oh and remember not to overfeed.. =)

Thank you all so much. Cally (Ichtys) died yesterday morning. She would not eat no matter the type of food or the atmosphere given. I think, in the end, that her nose was so damaged that she couldn't detect food.

She hung on for six weeks, and I did all I could. It was actually quite emotional, letting her go. I remember her being in the tank for over 3 years always just being so sweet and doing what nature intended for her to do - be a fish in an Amazon atmosphere. I will miss her.

I'm sorry, Cally.

Hey, stuff happens. It's not like you can ask her what she needs. That's the problem with animals; you can talk to them, but they can't answer.

If this ever happens with another puffer in the future, I've heard that soaking food in water with a little garlic before feeding can help. Idk.