The Puffer Forum

I put my recently adopted valentini with my ceylon puffer this morning because when I woke up and looked at the valentini's tank, I saw that she had nipped the legs off one of my emerald crabs in the reef tank she was in. I watched the valentine and the ceylon for a while in the new arrangement, and the ceylon seemed totally uninterested, which made me hopeful that things would go well. I would've liked to have been able to watch them all day, but I had to leave for work.

I got home after work, and the valentini had a nip out of her nose, just above her mouth. She was hiding by the heater. It looks like the ceylon took out her nasal structures, although again he seemed uninterested in her and was pacing the glass on the other side of the tank. I put her back in the reef tank, and am hoping that she'll be OK. I guess I should have known better. Major drag. I would like to treat with Melafix but I don't know what it will do to my corals.

Sorry to hear about that. maybe set up a hospital tank?

I agree on a hospital tank. Sorry that happened.

Google says Melafix is reef safe, for the most part. Although polyps may withdraw during treatment, they supposedly show no damage after treatment is complete. I'll try it and hope for the best. Although actually I could take the corals back to work and keep them there while I treat her...I think I'll do that.

Awwww... poor baby!

Melafix is useless.

It's tough to get puffers to get along!

MMaddox wrote:Melafix is useless.

Not to be disrespectful, but what?! Please explain.

I'm going to agree with Mike here, or at least, make the point that Melafix (and other tea-tree oil remedies) are unreliable.

Each day I answer a few of the sick fish queries sent into the Wet Web Media site, along with Mike and in the past Jeni. Anyway, on a regular basis there are questions about why someone's fish is still sick, despite having been treated with Melafix, Pimafix or Bettafix.

My conclusion is that they work less reliably than mainstream medications like erythromycin, tetracycline, acriflavine, and the organic dyes such as malachite green and methylene blue.

I'm willing to accept that tea-tree oil may have antiseptic properties, and thus might be useful when transporting fish or if fish have been fighting, but that doesn't mean I'd use tea-tree oil products to reverse established or systemic infections.

Cheers, Neale

Yes, Neale, Melafix is a rather mild remedy, doesn't always accomplish much but it does help often enough - at least in my experience. As you mentioned is probably not appropriate for severe problems. However what I read on this forum says that puffers are very sensitive to the other medications you mentioned and that if one chooses to use them, often the dosage needs to be adjusted. I'd have to get a lot of advice before I felt comfortable using them.

Poor Valentini, I hope she does better.

As Neale pointed out, I perhaps overstated with saying tea tree oils are "useless", but when used as medications for primary infections in fish these oils are virtually useless. Antibiotics are much more effective!

If you fear a potential infection, use Seachem's StressGuard, which seems to reduces the chance of infection in open wounds, although not proven.

Hope things work out, and neale always post brilliant informative posts, thanks matey

Melafix sure won't hurt for now, and at the least it should de-stress your little girl.

Melafix is an excellent "anticeptic" for cuts/scrapes & great for would healing. It is not an antibiotic but can definately boost the effectiveness of any antibiotic you use. It may also prevent a minor wound from becoming infected, such as in this case.

Commonly sold Melafix (regular strength not industrial concentration) has 1% tea tree oil as the effective ingredient. The oil itself consists mostly of various mono- und sesquiterpenes. They actually have some antibiotical properties and kill Mycobacterium spp., while many other bacteria (which species exactly is poorly understood, in part unknown or only substantiated by empirical evidence) are not harmed.

Given the small concentration it is recommended and used in as well as the apparently high selectivity with which bacteria are affected, it cannot be compared to the meds listed by Neale above. It *might* help with minor infections or it might fail. One might think "Better than doing nothing", but... Bacteria from the nitrogen cycle may not be affected, but what about all the other possibly beneficial in a reef or a tank with live rock? I do not like this lack of information on which bacteria are affected.

Definitely no choice for visible infections unless you know it is a Mycobacterium infection and can work with higher concentrations. In this case I'd use it in a separate tank. Oh and while I've gone this step, I'd also exchange it for a real antibiotic with known characterisics until more information is available.