The Puffer Forum

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the pufferforum and I need some urgent advice. My puffer has been doing very poorly the past weeks. It has become deathly skinny but until last night was feeding normally. Now it is refusing to eat blood worms. I suspected a parasite to be the cause of his skinniness and, hence, used a 10 day course of Waterlife Sterazin treatment (as directed on the bottle). However, I don't think it helped. I included the details of the tank below. Please help, as I am very worried about it. Any advice is welcome. Thank you very much in advance.
Riverpig

1) water parameters -
pH: 7.5
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrates: 0
salinity: 1.001

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants: 90 Litres, 3 Gobies, 1 Nerite Snail

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank
Products: API stresscoat, filter boost
Feeding: Life blood worms, frozen blood worms, freeze dried blood worms, some small snails, some shrimp, several smaller portions spread across the day
Water changes: 20% every 4 days

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.
Medication: 1 Course of Waterlife - Sterazine

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it?
Since January, 2 weeks cycle with gobies and filter boost

Unfortunately, those bottles direct you to treat the water & FW fish don't drink water. The FOOD must be soaked in the med, to treat internally: library/hospital/internal-parasites-pre ... treatment/

If your tank has been set up since Jan, why are you still adding Filter Boost? You should be showing nitrate in there, too.

Welcome to the forum. What type of puffer do you have

It's a figure 8, nitrate appears to be zero somehow from the test kit. I am trying to feed it medicated bloodworms but it is refusing to eat. It occasionally puffs up too, but deflates itself in a few seconds. It is laying on the bottom, being somewhat wobbly. I have made sure there is no ammonia present, so I am still unsure what would be the best option. Does it sound like internal parasites, or could it be bacterial? Thanks all your advice in advance!

Soak the worms in garlic. What test kit are you using? Are you sure you're shaking the products as long as the directions suggest?

Thank you everyone for your help but unfortunately my puffer didn't make it.

Sorry to hear this