The Puffer Forum

Please forgive me if I've overlooked information that may already be up on this site.

I have a new Puffer (GSP), that came to me through the mail, who has a sunken (concave-shaped) belly. (By the way, this will be my third attempt to keep a Puffer, within the past two months, following upon two failures. )

I've read in several places here that the safe bet would be to assume he has internal parasites, and to treat this condition with Discomed, by Aquatonics. It seems, however, that this particular medication is no longer made -- or at least is no longer available for sale.

Is there another medication that is available for sale that would treat this condition? I've ready the "Sticky" here about Levimisole, but I'm afraid I don't understand it -- or rather, that this is a kind of 'do it yourself' modification of a medication not marketed for fish, that is beyond my very modest scientific abilities to concoct.

If there is one available, I would like to buy some medicine, made especially for fish, that would safely treat my GSP for internal parasites. Does anyone have a recommendation?

As always, I am grateful for your help.

- Peter

I have some extra unexpired Discomed.

I do not know of any meds marketed specifically for fish that contain Levamisole. If you decide to use the Levamisole, do a search on froogle.com, then sort the results by price. You may also be able to purchase it from your veterinarian.

I do not know of the safety or effectiveness of the following in regards to Puffers. However, these treatments are commonly used on Seahorses which are very delicate. Hopefully, someone else will say whether they are okay to use on Puffers.

•Metronidazole (Flagyl) – Internal protozoan. The med must be ingested. It can be purchased at nationalfishpharm.com
•Praziquantel – Worms. The med must be ingested. It can be purchased at drsfostersmith.com under the name PraziPro.

I used praziquantel on my F8 Robert to good effect...I actually saw a worm in his poo after the treatment.
The drug was from over the counter cat worming tablets. I ground one up and added a tiny amount to his food over two/three days.
Pami.

All my gratitude to Feathers&Fins and Pamela. I'm treating with the medications you suggested.

I also wanted to mention that I came across another medication made by Aquatronics (and presently on the market) by the name of 'Pipzine'. It claims to be a "wide spectrum anti-parasitic/dewormer" for both marine and fresh water fish. One adds it directly to the water or as a food additive.

Has anyone heard of 'Pipzine' -- and is it effective for Puffers?

Have not heard of it, and am not familiar with the active ingredient. A chicken dewormer, according to a 5 second google scan? Internal parasites must be treated internally, so don't bother adding the meds to the water column. Presoaking foods is the only way to combat them. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

You may want to check the expiration date on the box if you have Aquatronic's Pipzine. Hopefully it is not expired.

http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/product/product6.htm
250mg Piperazine Citrate is the main ingredient. I've never used it.

Hope your Puffer feels better soon!

I've posted this opinion before, but loach keepers have long treated the water and not the food with levamisole. I've had such treatment work with loaches and paradisefish. Granted, it's much more effectivet to treat the food, but if they're not eating your only choices are forcefeeding (can we rate that on the stress-o-meter?) or treating the water column.

Metronidazole is an antibiotic with very, very minimal and highly specific IP activity. I wouldn't waste my money.

Praziquantel really is an antiparasitic and the best option other than levamisole.

Eric