The Puffer Forum

Hi, some of you may remember by DP Weebo. I got her last year and kept her in a 5g at first and then moved her to a 6.6g. I just moved her last week into my 55g with a divider, and she seemed to be very happy with her new home (she was spreading her back fin a lot which she doesn't normally do.)

However, for the past couple days she hasn't been eating. At first, I thought the filter was moving the freeze dried blood worms to fast so I turned it off during feeding. She still comes up to the surface and looks interested in the food, but she doesn't eat it!

She is also much more lethargic and has been lying on the gravel for past two days. Today she was lying on the rock structure and didn't respond to movement in front of the tank; she always has!

Today I noticed that she seems much thinner that last week and got scared. So I took her out and have her in a jar currently. I put some food in there but she only ate one piece that was about 3 mm long!

Parameters:

Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Ammonia: 0-.25
pH: 7.6

Here are two pictures, one from a month ago and one from today. Notice that she is much thinner now. Also, her back seems to be bent in a zigzag.




HELP?!

She's no longer reacting to her red food container (although she always swims to the glass when she sees it.)

Could it be that she's old? I got her slightly over a year ago and she hasn't grown much since? Your PufferPedia says they live 5 years or longer. Could she already be that old?

Have you ever treated her ip's?

I turned the filter off to see if it was the current that was making her weak. Right after I turned it off, she looked like she was coughing. Was she trying to puff up? Now she's lying on the rocks again...I don't know what to do!!!

edmlfc1 wrote:Have you ever treated her ip's?

You mean internal parasites? No, I didn't realize she had any...?

There could be two things:
1) it could be ip's
2) her teeth

Have you ever fed her crunchy food to keep her teeth worn down? Does the teeth look overgrown?

sudden decrease in weight could be a sign of parasites. is her stomach caved in at all?

edmlfc1 wrote:There could be two things:
1) it could be ip's
2) her teeth

Have you ever fed her crunchy food to keep her teeth worn down? Does the teeth look overgrown?

I gave her ramshorns from the large tank for a while, but now that she's in the 55g, they're always there. I can't see her mouth now, but earlier today it looked the same as always. Is her mouth supposed to be slightly open? It always has been.

side19 wrote:sudden decrease in weight could be a sign of parasites. is her stomach caved in at all?

The second pic up top is what she looks like now. I've noticed that recently it looks like her stomach is always empty. I'm assuming that would mean it's caved in.

If it was overgrown teeth you wouldn't see anything but teeth. I would start treating her for ip's right away. Since she is not eating you will need to treat the entire tank. You could move her into a hospital tank and treat her in there. Get some prazipro and follow the directions. I don't know if she will make it or not, she looks really skinny. IP's will also cause a puffer to stop eating.

edmlfc1 wrote:If it was overgrown teeth you wouldn't see anything but teeth. I would start treating her for ip's right away. Since she is not eating you will need to treat the entire tank. You could move her into a hospital tank and treat her in there. Get some prazipro and follow the directions. I don't know if she will make it or not, she looks really skinny. IP's will also cause a puffer to stop eating.

Dangit! I just took down her tank yesterday...I guess I can set it up again though. If Petco or Petsmart don't have prazipro, then I think I'm doomed. Pets Inc. is closed already and those are the only stores near me. Do they have it?

I got mine from petsmart before, try there first.

Are you sure they are open today? On Easter Sunday?

edmlfc1 wrote:Are you sure they are open today? On Easter Sunday?

You'd be surprised how many stores are open here. If I find their phone number, I'll call them and see if they're open and if they have it. But I don't think she'll last until tomorrow...she's not reacting to anything now.

They're closing in the next half an hour. They don't have prazipro but they do have something from API. Would that work?