The Puffer Forum

Ok -- I got the sick MBU home.. and he's in his tank.. which is in process of cycling (I believe.)

There was a little ammonia present this morning, so I did a 50% water change before I put him in. I treat all my water with Prime.

I didn't write down the other test numbers, so I'll get those tomorrow and post them up.


1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and

2) 40 gallon for now... One MBU.

3) nothing is set in stone yet, as I just got him today.

4) brand new tank, brand new fish..

5) used gravel with "good bacteria" in it, and media from other established tanks, as well as some live plants.



I wanted to get some pics in here, so you guys can see what I'm working with. I'm soaking food in Metra+, since that was the only thing readily available to me today. I plan on ordering some Geltek within the week, since ET (that's who he looks like!!) doesn't seem to like the taste of the Metra+.

He's not moving, which is pretty normal for him at the moment.. but he does perk up when he sees me looking at him. He's not clamping his tail as much as he was at the LFS, it's a little more open now.

Here's the crappy pics I have so far. I can't get my good camera to focus on him the way I'd like.



got some clam in front of him.. since he won't eat unless it's right up by his face..


top view.. poor baby's sides are pinched in..






Let's see how well he does!

Poor little thing, I hope he makes it.

I'm sure a lot of my questions will be answered in one of Annabelle's threads.. I'm using those for reference...

Glad to see he's eating. Keep doing those WC daily. Larger volume, if necessary.

Woah, he's really skinny isn't he! that's the kind of shape Bollo went

I cannot believe he's as long as Naboo! he looks tiny

I'm so glad he's eatting, it'll be great once you get the IP out of him and every meal fattens him up

Bollo litrally went from head on a skinny stick to a right little fatty within days!

I'm about to feed him for the third time since I got him home.

I've done a lot of searching around on here, but I'm not finding a dosage for the metra+... anyone wanna chime in here? and what's the best way to dissolve it? It seems to be semi-dissolved and floating around in the water I'm soaking his food in.

If he's eating, then that's a very good sign!

I think Nick had used that med before. I'll shoot him a pm and ask him to stop into this thread. Maybe he can help.

Wow, poor little guy. I really hope he pulls through! He doesn't look too happy.

>>>Gurus: please correct me if I'm wrong on this!<<< Metronidazole is an antibiotic (see http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monogr ... dazole.asp), and I believe it is chosen as part of an anti-IP regime to address protozoan wasting disease, which evidently presents the same symptoms as a "normal" IP infestation. Praziquantel, on the other hand, is used to treat actual worms like tapeworms, and is found in medications such as Gel-Tek Ultra Cure PX, PraziPro and Jungle Labs Parasite Clear. (In the Gel-Tek and Jungle Labs products, it's combined with metronidazole; Gel-Tek's product also includes flubenol.)

I point this out because right now you're only treating one possible cause of his illness since you're only using metronidazole. Hopefully you'll get your Gel-Tek very, very soon so you can start treating your baby with it instead, as I'm sure you want to be safe and make sure that all possible causes of his illness are being covered. It seems like it's a great product, from what everybody says, and fish evidently do not mind the taste of it. However I would be worried that some of the IPs or their eggs might have gotten into the substrate, which means that treating the whole tank would be necessary in order to prevent a later reinfestation - and Gel-Tek just affects whichever fish eats food soaked in it, which means you'll need to look for another IP medication so you can do a systemic treatment that will make sure whatever's causing the illness is completely gone. Ideally you'd treat both ways: internally and directly, using the Gel-Tek product, and systemically, using either PraziPro or Parasite Clear.

In any case, good luck! We'll all be keeping our fingers crossed for your poor friend until he gets better.

ive never seen a mbu with dark colouration like that before. still his belly is a good colour so fingers crossed

Oh poor little guy.

Yes, Marksrush is correct, Metro is an antibiotic that is supposed to be used WITH a dewormer. I've always mixed it in equal amounts with Levamasole, a pig wormer, that you can get at Farm and Fleet. Just a small amount, I always used the Metro measuring spoon that came with the powder, I think it was only a few grams. That mix works, but it tastes horrible and its hard to get the fish to eat it.

If its easier, and we can figure out a time/place to meet up, I have a spare bottle of GelTek, I ordered two when I saw everyone was going out of stock with it. My schedule is pretty tight/weird, I'm only available during the day since I work at 4pm in Oconomowoc, and this weekend I'm likely going to be camping with my horse, but I'm sure we can figure something out if you can't get your hands on anything asap.

I dont think that i can offer ay adive as such, but wanna say good luck.

The IPs article mentioned garlic as a natural remedy. I think I read someone on this forum recently used it.

I'm doing everything I can for my little guy. he's getting fed almost 4 - 6 times daily!

He seems to be doing a bit better. He's been swimming .. well.. hovering above the gravel, but at least he's moving around. That's more than he was doing on Sunday.

I need to go in an vac up the food he spits out.. he's a messy, messy eater.

I'll post some more pics up later tonight.

I think you're doing an awesome job! Go lilgirlkat and Mbu!!!