OK, for the technical stuff just so I cover this forum's requirements: pH 8.4, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates less than 10. Tank has been up and running for about a year, FW originally, but gradually moved to BW when I picked up my figure 8. Only inhabitants are figure 8 and a knight goby (he's new).
My real question is how many folks do a preventative deworming of their puffers?
My figure 8 will eat like a pig until he has a round belly in the evening, by the next morning I'd describe his stomach as flat, and by the following day when I feed (I feed every other day - he's about 2 to 2.5" SL) his stomach is just slightly sunken in (definitely not emmaciated looking). Is this normal? I've had him since June and he seems totally healthy other than this. So many of the pictures I see are of...how can I say this politely...very "healthy" looking puffers who simply don't look skinny at all. Do we all only take pictures of recently fed fish?
Anyway, I have discomed so I could do what would amount to a bit of a preventative worming, but I hate to use med's if the fat, straight, thin stomach profile is normal for a puffer being fed every other day.
Thanks,
Eric
Preventative IP deworming?
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Read this before posting!!
Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.
1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.
2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.
3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)
4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.
We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.
While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.
Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
Pics would be very helpful here. Its hard to judge if you haven't seen live specimens that are infected and those that aren't.
Read some of my posts about dwarfs and levimisole. I'm currently using it for preventitive treatments, but I'd see about a pic first, so you don't medicate unnecessarily.
Read some of my posts about dwarfs and levimisole. I'm currently using it for preventitive treatments, but I'd see about a pic first, so you don't medicate unnecessarily.
The rare and elusive SteelGeek has been known to cause great damage to his environs...
I'll try and take some pictures, but my camera doesn't do close-ups very well. It's too late tonight, so I'll see about tomorrow. I'll also have to see where I can host the photos because we changed ISPs and I no longer have my webpage (I think SBC/Yahoo DSL has a photopage you can use).
I'm most familiar dealing with camallanus (I think I spelled that correctly) where you can see the little buggers hanging out or with fish that try to eat but end up spitting out the food (not sure which IP, but levamisole has always worked for those). I just didn't know if it was possible for a healthy fish, eating well, to still have a worm of some sort.
Eric
I'm most familiar dealing with camallanus (I think I spelled that correctly) where you can see the little buggers hanging out or with fish that try to eat but end up spitting out the food (not sure which IP, but levamisole has always worked for those). I just didn't know if it was possible for a healthy fish, eating well, to still have a worm of some sort.
Eric
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