The Puffer Forum

Hey guys,

So, I got a little dwarf puff, and right now he is in a 5 gallon, mini bow tank. No worries, I have a 10 gallon that I am in the process of setting up for him, there was just a few things that I wanted to take care of first before moving him into his nice, bigger home.

1. Been treating for ick since the 3rd. I treated with Bifuran until the 7th or so, and went out and got Ich Attack. (LoL no one told me that it would STINK, hahaha). Been treating with Ich Attack since then, and the temp has been higher than normal. So far, everything is looking good, and signs of Ich are not there any more. I know it's a gill parasite though and that treatment should last a bit longer. How much longer? Been doing 50% WC everyday until I got IA, then been doing them every other day. Temp has also been high, 86 deg F, with a bubbler in the water, since the 3rd.

2. Also, he has a "pinched" look to him. He's super skinny, eats like a little porker, but doesn't have that round puffer look. I am thinking it's IPs, but wanted others opinions on it. Also, if it's IPs, I was looking at getting Prazipro, but OMG, it's almost $60 at the LFS for a 4 fl oz bottle =O are there any suggestions out there on others ways to treat for IPs? Is that even what he has??

3. 30 gallon AC hob filter ok for a 10 gallon?

4. He gets snails and frozen blood worms right now...any other food suggestions? I know someone said that I don't have to worry about their teeth, but I wanted to double check: will his teeth get overly long? I currently don't have snails small enough for him to crunch, he just slurps them out of their shells. Lots of eggs in my breeder tank though =)

5. Also feeding habits: He begs constantly! And due to his pinched skinny look, I am not sure how much I should be feeding him. He can eat three big ol' snails in one sitting, and still begs for more. I usually put 2-3 in there, but have lately been feeding him blood worms because I need to go and get more snails. Eggs still haven't hatched yet.

That's all I can think of for right now. He's such a happy little guy, finally recognizes me when I go to the tank, but man, putting food in there-- the little booger's vicious! But he's very entertaining. Can't wait to get him into the 10 gallon.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post =)

1. treat for 2 weeks after last signs go

2. definately sounds like ips


3. should be fine


4.dps dont get overgrown teeth


5.feed until belly slightly rounded

Hope this helps

Also a lot of people here us jungle fizz tabs for ips, soak his food. And as for foods you can give pretty much anything your lfs stocks. Variety is key

Thanks! It does =) about the slightly rounded belly....it's really hard to tell....it doesn't really happen all that apparently on him right now = / I am afraid of over feeding him because he's so small =(

Also, something I forgot to ask after I looked at him...his little tail is still clamped...will that go away after I am done treating for ich, or does that indicate something else that I may be missing?

On that food post....can he eat tiny ghost shrimp?? I have several shrimp, but there is only one that's not bigger than he is LOL

mine attack large shrimp. Maybe feed a little more one day to see if it makes a difference to his appearence. As for the tail i cant answer that as i dont know

I think they clamp their tails due to illness.

Are there any special instructions on giving jungle fizz? some guy at petco gave me mine, because it has been banned at petsmarts and petcos because it has been found to cause cancer in humans. do i just drop the tab in? do i need to mix it with tank water outside of the tank first then add it?

No, don't add it to the water.
There should be an article in the library.

Break off a small piece, put food in a small bit of tank water, add pressed garlic or extract, and add the small piece of tablet. Allow it to soak for about 1/ 2 to 1 hour. The garlic is to get them to eat it, if that medicine tastes anything like it smells, it would straight up be like eating a wal rus infused alka seltzer. They may not eat it if you soak it long.

Mmm...I was told that this one was the one you just dropped into the tank and that it wasn't the food soaker one. It's Jungle's Parasite Clear Tank Buddies where 1 tablet treats 10 gallons of water

amg but i dont' know! dumb stores. Why did they have to quit carrying it. Everything nowadays has the potential to cause cancer. Ugh

I wish chat worked = / I want to get him treated asap. Can't wait until he's healthy so he can move to the damn 10 gallon LOL

Have you considered using the salt and heat method for treating the ich?

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Have you considered using the salt and heat method for treating the ich?

His ich is pretty much gone (at least the white puffs are), so I know that I need to treat 2 weeks after to prevent a re infestation. It's not the ich that I am worried about now, I am pretty sure that he has IPs. He's got a pinched, skinny look. = / Went to petsmart, LFS and Petco and none of them carry the fizz tabs anymore. I only got some cause the guy at petco knew that they worked and that I was desperate LoL. I don't have the $60 to drop on Przipro atm or I would do it in a heartbeat. I just want to get him puffy and happy = /

goldielocke76 wrote:

Nuclear_Glitter wrote:Have you considered using the salt and heat method for treating the ich?

His ich is pretty much gone (at least the white puffs are), so I know that I need to treat 2 weeks after to prevent a re infestation. It's not the ich that I am worried about now, I am pretty sure that he has IPs. He's got a pinched, skinny look. = / Went to petsmart, LFS and Petco and none of them carry the fizz tabs anymore. I only got some cause the guy at petco knew that they worked and that I was desperate LoL. I don't have the $60 to drop on Przipro atm or I would do it in a heartbeat. I just want to get him puffy and happy = /

Do you think you could order it in enough time to get him treated?

Prazipro or the jungle clear? The guy at petsmart gave me "Jungle Parasite Clear Tank Buddies" I was told by him (again I don't know, no one get mad please) that this was a drop in the tank med, and not the med that you soak in. 1 tab is supposed to treat 10 gallons of water