The Puffer Forum

I have 3 GSP's in a 50 gallon tank, I have had them for a year and a half now. Two of them are about 3.5 inches and the other is about 2.5 inches. Their water parameters are as follows, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 20ppm, pH is 8.2 and the SG is 1.012. The smaller of the 3 has a shrunken stomach before I feed him. I feed them every other day. He has a good appetite and when done eating his belly is nice and round, but the next day it looks shrunken or like he is sucking in his stomach. He is energetic and doesn't act sick and his belly is white majority of the time. The 2 other bigger puffers look just fine, but the smaller guy is concerning me that he maybe sick. I did some research and found that Fish Tuberculosis/TB Systemic Infection, causes shrunken stomachs but I didn't see any other symptoms of that disease. I don't think its that but am not sure what it is. Has anyone seen this on a GSP?

Welcome to TPF

Your puffer has IP's. Get yourself some levimasole:

http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7

Also, your tank is mega overstocked. For 3 GSP's, the minimum tank size is 90-gallons. These guys get big (6", not including tail) and need SW as adults.
http://www.thepufferforum.com/articles/ ... togsp.html

What you describe is most likely internal parasites.

Do you see any stringy feces? this can also be an indication of IPs.

Your best bet is to treat their food with levamisol. You can usually find it at livestock feed stores or even through a vet.

Also, your tank is a bit over stocked. The recommended tank size for a single full grown GSP is 30g, so eventually (sooner than later) you'd want to upgrade to a 90gallon to give them all enough water volume and territory. Can you imagine three 6 inch footballs swimming around in that 50g?

GSPs also get more aggressive as they get older and larger, and even though they may seem to get along now, this will not always be the case.

Welcome to the forum.

wow phaedrus, great minds think alike, lmao.

Are these Parasites contagious? Can my other 2 puffers catch it? How long do I soak their food in the meds? Also one more question how fast do they grow because right now my financial situation won't allow for me to get a larger tank for them. Sorry for all these questions, I'm new to these wonderful fish and like them a lot. I want them to live long and healthy lives. Thanks again for the help it is much appreciated.

I would treat them all. They will grow slower (& possibly stunt) in that tank. Check for larger tanks & filters in a local Craigslist at: http://www.craigslist.com

Well I went to my local vet and told them what you guys told me and asked for the levimasole. They said they didn't have it. I tried another local vet and they said they didn't have it either. I'm not familiar wth any livestock feed stores in my area so I went to my LFS and checked out what they might have for internal parasites. I found a product called Ultra Cure PX and it's for treating IP's. Would you think this would be a good substitute? Heres a website with some info on it if you are curious to check it out or have never heard of it. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... 004+113017

I suppose it's worth a try if you can't find any levamisol.

Let us know how it turns out.

It should work if fed to the fish , but not as well as levamisole.

I'm sorry to say that I've tried that medicine on a gsp and it didn't work, but you can try it, and I hope it works for you. You could also look for Prazi-pro, which is another IP medicine that they may carry at your lfs. With it you can either treat the water (which means taking out all of the active carbon) or you can just soak their food in it, which would probably be easier.

Internal parasites need to be treated internally.

Well I'm in to day 2 now and its hard to say if it is working or not. I have been soaking their food in it for about 10 or 15 minutes. Is that long enough?

No, I'd say a couple of hours, at least.

Well today is day 7. He/she's stomach doesn't looked sucked in as far as it used to be but I'm still a little concerned that he may not be cured because his stomach is flat after 24 hrs. How can I be certain I don't need to treat him more?

Stop treating and see if it continues?