The Puffer Forum

ok, so my girlfriend just bought me a F8 for my valentines day gift (yes i know its early, i bought her a betta over the weekend becuase i didn't want to risk the one she wanted getting sold to someone else so i was early too) and it looks like its in decent shape other than two small things. its left pectoral fin and anal fin are both badly nipped and appear so possibly have a mild case of fin rot, and it's vent is somewhat red, but not inflamed. he was kept in freshwater at the store, and is in my 20 gallon tank in a breeder tank so he is isolated from the other fish. my question is what is the best way to treat him for the mild fin rot and what and could he have IP's or is his vent supposed to have a light red tint to it? the breeder tank is not his permanent home, i am getting my hands on a full 10 gallon set up with everything as soon as i have 45 dollars to buy it, and should have it cycled in about a week after set up. he appears to be acting fine, even ate the snail i put in there with him for a snack, and has a nice white belly and no blemishes other than his nipped fins. hope i'll be able to actaully keep this one.

well when i woke up he seems to be doing a little better already. i looked at his vent and it doesn't look red anymore, and he's using his anal fin to move again. he is still clamping his left pectoral fin to his side though. he's eating like crazy (could only give him one snail today though, i ran out only enough for one snail per puffer today) and even went after some pelleted food that i feed to the other fish in the tank (as well as my finger multiple times, i guess i look tasty). i don't see the fuzzy stuff hanging off his fins anymore, but i don't think he's fully out of the woods yet. also he seems to have some debris stuck to his belly. its not fuzz, it just looks like shell scraps. i'm going to keep my eye on it though. i'll get some pics today so you can see him and tell me what you think.

The stuff stuck to his belly is likely detritus from the bottom of the tank when he was sleeping. When puffers stress out, they excrete a large volume of slime, which dirt and stuff gets stuck to. Judging by the fact that he came from a pet shop only yesterday, it would make sense that he's got some slime built up. Just make sure the water is nice and clean, and keep feeding him lots (pick up some frozen blood worms or frozen pieces of raw shrimp). Get him some liquid vitamins if you can (from the fish store - freshwater vitamins should work) and also treat him for internal parasites (just to be on the safe side).

If he seems to be acting fine, eating lots, and has a white belly, he's probably good. Just keep an eye on the fins and fungus if it comes back. You could try dosing Melafix and Pimafix, if you want, but you probably don't need it if he's perked up a lot since yesterday.

ok thanks. yeah, he does seem to be acting better. he's hunting for food in the baby tank, but there's nothing for him right now. i'm heading out in a little bit to pick up some food for him. i just noticed he's got a few scars on him from bite marks. they look like they've healed though, just faint outlines of beak marks.

If you have Melafix, I always like to add it to a tank with new fish just to be safe. It won't hurt, anyways.

is it safe to use it in a tank with loaches though?

I don't see why not. It's not a medication. It's basically a special kind of tea tree oil used for aquariums.

oh ok. thanks. going to go pick some up then while i'm getting some more snails.

It's always good to have around. I use that for any kind of skin problem for all my fish, including my non puffers.

doing him now. only doing a half dose because i'm not sure if i should do a full dose due to loaches being in the tank. do you think its safe to do a full strength dose tomorrow?

I read on http://www.Loaches.com that Melafix is benign but to start slowly. This is one of the threads found. http://aquaweb.pair.com/forums/archives ... read=82487

ok here are some pics of him. let me know what you think. and also is the black coloration in his tail going to go away once he's fully healed, or is that just a genetic dfect that will most likely stay. the ends of his tail fin is clear though, so i have no idea.

ok i want to treat him for IP's just to be safe, but i was wondering if Jungle Parasite Clear Tank Buddies would work becuase i can't seem to find the gel tek cure px stuff. also is it loach safe seeing as he's in a tank with my clown loaches right now. it doesn't list copper as an ingredient but i want to know if anyone here as tried it with them, and to what results.

I've tried it with no luck, but then again, Puffy was pretty bad.
Is he still eating? I would treat his food by soaking it in the meds (I break off a piece of the tablet and put it in the shot glass when the food is defrosting).

he ate the first day i got him, and then the second day he took one bite out of a snail and hasn't eaten since. i tried putting a piece of raw shrimp on a plastic toothpick and moving it around in front of him but he didn't seem to interested. he might just still be full, he' an older one and i heard they only eat about every other day. or he could just want food. not sure.