The Puffer Forum

The article above gives good ich treatment advice - advice I've used on pure FW fish before. My question is will it work in low brackish for a brackish puffer that's newly aquired?

I'm looking at an otherwise healthy figure 8 at the LFS (the only good looking one there with regards to eating, healthy fins and color), but he has 3-4 ich spots and I wondered if upping the temp to 85 while moving the fish (in FW) to 1.002 would likely clear things up for him...as well as a 40% water chang with gravel vacuuming.

If not, what's the most recommended BW puffer ich medicine.

Thanks,

Eric

That's what I wish I'd done this time last year, instead of using a med which may have contributed to the death of Freddie, so go for the temp and salt treatment - it shortens the ich life cycle and the salt gets the little critters when they bust out into the water.
Pami.

Yup, same treatment. If your fish is already in BW, then temp & large water changes.

Cool. I'm going to pick him up tomorrow then. He's in hard but not BW, so 1.002 seems like a good starting point. Unlike with Homer, though, I'm going to take 2 hours to gradually increase the SG to 1.002 and will likely keep him at that level until the ich is gone. Then, I'll gradually increase up to 1.005 but only after I'm sure he is well.

Unlike Homer (my deceased Figure 8 ), I noticed this guy had yellowish green coloration on 2/3 of his tail fin, but then it's clear on the final 1/3. Being new to puffers, I thought I'd just ask if that's normal or possibly a sign of damage from other puffers nipping him or early bacterial fin rot. Any guesses?

His other fins are perfect, and he has a nice white, round belly.

Thanks,

Eric

My Mags has a continuation of her colouring onto two thirds of her tail, including squiggles and dots - do you think that's what poor Homer had?
Or did it just look a bit....off? I reckon it was his colouring. Robert doesn't have it at all, but hers is quite pronounced.
Good luck with the new guy!
Pami.

Pami - thanks for the reassurance on the tail thing! Homer's tail was all clear, it's the new guy at the LFS with the colored tail (he's coming home with me today). The tail fin didn't look damaged, so I'm sure it's just coloration like Mags...obviously, I'm just paranoid after the bad experience with Homer.

Thanks everyone!

Eric

One follow-up...is it possible using the heat and salt method for there ever to be an increase in the ich after treatment or should there always be less of the little buggers? My little guy I picked-up yesterday seems to have more spots today than yesterday...it's likely just the ich maturing and breaking though, but after a couple more days if the ich is still increasing would you advise I continue with salt and temp or resort to a medicine and if medicine, which one?

Thanks again,

Eric

The salt treatment should continue at least 10 days past the last visible spot's disappearance, 2 weeks if the temp is not well above 80F.

Spots which were infected with parasites will continue to appear 2-3 days minimum after the treatment starts, from protozoans which had embedded but were not sufficiently developed to be seen when treatment started.

Just remember, the salt can only get the little gits when they're in the water, it can't get to them when they're in the skin - they're protected.
Bear that in mind, and keep patient...good luck.
Pami.

Thanks Pami and RTR! I'll be patient. I have the temp at 83 right now, and he's active and eating like a little pig. He's obviously much more healthy overall than poor old Homer was.

Eric

You may want to raise the temp higher than that, 86-87.

I'm pretty paranoid with temps that high (I already have a supplemental airstone in there). I'll try upping it a few degrees tonight and see how he is doing. We're still talking only about 10 ich spots or so on his whole body and fins.

I'd been planning to gravel vac w/water change every other day...is that sufficient?

I also discovered a section of a piece of java fern was missing this morning...and that section perfectly matched the size of the puffers mouth. Did he think he saw a snail or do Figure 8s snack on plants from time to time?

Eric

My puffs are always at it with the plants. ;D Nothing unusual there.
Don't worry about upping the temps... With good surface agitation you can go as high as 90F for days at a time.


(PS is there any way we can get that big toothy grin emoticon back?)

If you up the temp, the life cycle will speed up, which means that there'll be more frequent loads of the free-swimming parasites in the water. Hopefully they'll die and sink to the bottom, so I'd gravel vac every day.
You should be ok with 86 degrees, just make sure the fish isn't starting to show signs of suffocating. If he does, knock the thermostat down a bit.
Tomites...that's the name for the free-swimming ones, yes? I was trying to remember.
Pami.

Just a brief update - Dougal is doing great. I did increase the temp to 86, but I'm not goin' any higher than that - I think my poor little heater might poop out if I did (the tank is in a half finished basement). He's absolutely fine at that temp.

Only one ich spot today! Naturally, I'll keep the temp up way beyond the last ich spot, but they've been declining every day since my last post.

So, we're on the mend.

Thanks all,

Eric