The Puffer Forum

Hi,

I got FInquel/MS-222 for my puffer's teeth, but am having a hard time measuring out the amount (100-200mg/l) on my mini scale. Are there alternative ways of measuring the amount? Can I simply estimate the amount? If so, what would be a comparable capsule size for the amount mentioned above? I really don't want to use clove oil unless I have to.

dole out 500 mg and divide that by 5.

I use the tiny spoon that comes with my Salifert test kit.

So essentially the amount does not need to be completely accurate, just an estimate?

I've tried 200mg on my puffer, but he didn't get knocked out.

I just used MS-222/Finquel to put my fish out for a teeth trim a couple months ago. It's hard to figure out the dosing!

Most sources say to use 1/4 tsp of Finquel per gallon of water you're mixing it in. I didn't want to mix it with a whole gallon of water, so I just took four cups of my fish's tank water and mixed it with 1/16 tsp of Finquel. I measured this very small amount by filling my 1/8 tsp half full...that's 1/16. Since they recommend 1/4 tsp for the 16 cups in a gallon, and I only used 4 cups, I just divided the 1/4 tsp dose by 4, and that's how I got the 1/16 tsp. You could use 1/8 tsp in 8 cups if you want to use more water.

I think it's important not to give your fish too much of the stuff because it will not wake up, but the dosing is a bit of an estimate. Each fish is probably a little different in what it can tolerate. My fish was out cold in about two minutes. I watched a video on YouTube of puffer dentistry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drUCDs4UG_M and it helped me to know how important it is to keep an eye on the fish's respiration (I didn't put my fish in and out of the medicated water like in the video). Watch his gills and how fast/slow they're moving. This should help give you an idea of how groggy he is. If you feel nervous because the FInquel dosing is kind of a estimate (it kind of is) just really keep an eye on his breathing and have a tub of unmedicated tank water right on the table you can put him in quickly in case you feel like he's slowing down too much. Once my fish hit the water without Finquel in it, he started waking up and breathing normally. It was scary, though, because other than those gills moving, I would have thought my fish was dead!

Hope that helps/isn't totally confusing! Good luck!