The Puffer Forum

This fig8 that I picked up a while back has been 'in recovery' for waaay too long. The ick was cleared very fast but he hit a crazy case of pop-eye/opaque white over that eye. That eye is no longer white or popped but has a little black on part of it but at least I can see the moving parts of the eye underneath (pupil/iris/whatever).

The real issue is that it just hasn't eaten for a long time in front of me. I tried using some garlic extract in a tiny glass bottle soaking bloodworms. He goes after the smaller bits and they go in-out-in-out of his mouth and then he gives up. More often he just doesn't even try to eat. But when he does try (like what prompted me to write this, watching him 5 mins ago), it's as described.

I named him Rolly-Poley after how chubby he looked at the LFS (why I got him despite the ick), and he still looks chubbyish despite not eating for a while. It's totally weird-looking tho. His belly is chubby but then there's a 'pinch' before his head. His teeth look kind of odd, but I don't think they are overgrown.

EDIT: my crappy digital camera is now in the garbage- wouldn't even turn on today.

I was thinking about going Epsom Salt and then worry about some type of internal parisite action?

-Pyratt Pete

If he still looks chubbyish, he's probably eating when you aren't around. Does the food seem like its disappearing at all?

THe description you gave of a full lower belly and oinched upper abdomen sounds very much like IP's to me.

yeh definitely pinched" towards the head.

well.. my dad says he can get Metronidazole for me no problem and probably the Levamisole (he's a MD).

I figure I'll get some sort of pointless syringe from my dad and clove oil the fish as per dentistry sticky, check out his teeth in under 10 seconds, then squirt some meds in him.

-Pete

Look into prazi-pro if you cant get those other meds. Prazi pro is a dream!

Don't get the Metronidazole - it's not really an antiparasitic. Levamisole or Prazi Pro will do the job for you and really are antiparasitics.

Eric

well I think I accidentally killed Rolly-Poley.

Sigh.

The three drops of clove oil must have been too much for him.

His teeth Were totally messed up though and when they are so small like this I dont know how people would even go about trimming the teeth. Poor guy, he was such a mess but hanging on for so long. I finally had his eye 90% cleared up too (had suffered from popeye and stuff).

I'm leaving him in his QT tank overnight just to be sure.

So bummed. I'm learning and this kind of experience is important as I plan to be a doctor... its life and death were not without value. None the less I am very disappointed.

I think the biggest lesson seems to be that with wild-caught fish, it's important to treat them for IP's and stuff when you first get them and have them QT'd. Just keeping clean water and melafix and stuff was not enough to cure this fish. It just made it hang on for a month or so before me finally accidentally killing it...

Hopefully clove oil isn't a bad way to go out for them =\

-Pete

EDIT: I guess I'll order a bottle of Prazi Pro online just so I have it for the next wild fish I get. It totally sucks that LFS and these chain petshops and stuff don't stock the medications that work. I ended up going with the metronidazole just because it was what I could get in short notice. The catheter-injection failed miserably as I could not get it actually into the mouth (partly b/c the fish was small and also because its teeth were funky).

Are you sure it was dead? They really appear so when tranqed with that stuff. I suggest against using it on weak fish.

I'm sorry to hear that. But yes, clove oil is the preferred method of humane euthanasia. I've used it several times myself.

Good to hear, boxer. Yeh, PP, I am not fully positive that it is dead. It is 7 hours after and still appears lifeless, but it's in its QT and I'll see tomorrow =x

-Pete