The Puffer Forum

This is a little guy that I saw at my LFS about a week and a half ago. At that time, he looked so sad and was in pretty bad shape. I told them to feed him some snails (they had no idea they even ate snails) and that he was showing signs of ick. Needless to say, they did not do anything for the poor little guy and I saw him like this there yesterday. My husband and I decided that we would take him home and do our best to make him better! His eyes are very clouded and his ich is so bad, he looks like skin and bones! He did turn green a little on top when we got him home (see pic) We thought he was dead at the store because he was all black, not moving. He ate some last night (There were about 20 snails in the tank, there WERE. lol) We are doing our best to get him better, keep your fingers crossed that he pulls through!
Jessica

Ich, cloudy/swollen eyes, and what looks like something very large encysted along the spine?
Jeez... Did you have to pay for it?

Poor fella!

Go for it!
Poor dude...he looks terrible. If he ate, though...he wants to live.
Pami.

Yeh, I payed 7 dollars for it... and the guy had the nerve to tell me that if it died within their 48 hour guarantee, I would have to bring in some of my water so they could determine the reason of death. Ridiculous! The store where I bought him is the only fish store (besides Petco) within 40 minutes of me. i hate going in there, but I needed some frozens for my kids! They never have clean tanks, I can honestly say in every tank there was at least one dead fish, and several more that were on their way. I asked them what the params were for the little guy (so I did not shock him too much when I got him home) and they had no idea. They hadn't tested their tanks for a few weeks, they said. Unbelievable. I want to get a job there just so I can clean up their tanks! They also said they would charge me 7 cents per pond snail. No, thanks. I will keep you updated on how he is doing!
Jessica

HRPuffersnStuff wrote:Yeh, I payed 7 dollars for it... and the guy had the nerve to tell me that if it died within their 48 hour guarantee, I would have to bring in some of my water so they could determine the reason of death. Ridiculous! The store where I bought him is the only fish store (besides Petco) within 40 minutes of me. i hate going in there, but I needed some frozens for my kids! They never have clean tanks, I can honestly say in every tank there was at least one dead fish, and several more that were on their way. I asked them what the params were for the little guy (so I did not shock him too much when I got him home) and they had no idea. They hadn't tested their tanks for a few weeks, they said. Unbelievable. I want to get a job there just so I can clean up their tanks! They also said they would charge me 7 cents per pond snail. No, thanks. I will keep you updated on how he is doing!
Jessica

Unbelievable. Why on earth are you supporting that store?! I mean... There's a store near me which I hate, and I get the crawlies after each visit I make. I resolved never to set foot in there again; I just can't bear it.

Well, i support this store because someone has to. People buy fish from them every day, without having any idea how to care for them, regardless of how well they take care of their tanks. This poor little guy can't help it that this store is where he ended up, he could have just as easily been shipped to a great one. If I did not take the poor little guy, no one would have. Most people see no potential in the little guy. I wanted to give him a chance cuz no one else would!
Jessica

I really hope he makes it. He just looks awful.

Just wanted to give all an update on "Mr. Pishy" (courtesy of my better half)
His eyes are covered over almost completely, he is having a really hard time seeing the food I put in for him, but eventually he kinda runs into it an gets a belly full. Everything is going in and coming out exactly the same, I mean not digesting at all. I watched him pass a brine shrimp that looked like I had just put it in there. He is eating though, snails, bloodworms, brine shrimp, which is a big plus. I bought him a few ghost shrimp, so we will see what he does with those. He definately has a good apetite and I can say i have yet to catch him napping anywhere, he generally swims around all day, even if not so well. As far as I can tell, he has just about every possible problem a fish could have, but he doesn't want to give up just yet! I am treating with Melafix and Pimafix, changing water like mad a keeping a close eye. I am a little weary of trying any ich meds (I hate meds) and I don't think he is quite strong enough for a salt dip. Does anyone know if I can treat with Prazipro at the same time as the Mela/Pima fixes, or if ot would be better to wait until I fixed the ich/fungus/bacterial problems before I try to tackle any internal problems? I hope he shows some improvement soon, as I am going on a week long vacation on the 16! Good news is i have someone watching them who has experience with fish, so they would be able to adminster meds while I am away, but I hate to leave and not know if he will make it or not. I will let you know if he gets any better!
Jessica

Its absolutely discusting they made you pay for it

I hope you help out the little guy! I did the same for my T turgidus, she was being kept in brackish water and only fed rosy reds. She lived in cytoalgae filled tank with bright light. She sulked in the corner all day and never moved.

Since she has his new tank she constantly swims around and her colors have brightened. I wish you luck with your rescue, that fish is in bad bad shape!

What kind of fish store sells an ich infested fish

perek wrote:What kind of fish store sells an ich infested fish

The PETCO in Manassas Virginia speciallizes in doing so and all of my complaints fall on deaf ears, but that's a topic for another thread I guess...

Good luck with the rescue HRPuffersnStuff and please coninue posting updates. Oh, and enjoy your vacation!

ybenormal wrote:

perek wrote:What kind of fish store sells an ich infested fish

The PETCO in Manassas Virginia speciallizes in doing so and all of my complaints fall on deaf ears, but that's a topic for another thread I guess...

Good luck with the rescue HRPuffersnStuff and please coninue posting updates. Oh, and enjoy your vacation!

I guess my LFS are just care. The petsmarts in my area constantly scoour the tanks for ich fish which are removed and sent to fishy heaven. The only place close that might do something like that is Pet Lovers.

What SG have you got him at? Try raising it to (or by if he's already in brackish)1.002 before you go away...maybe by a daily water change so it's very gradual for him.
Maybe he's finding it hard to digest through the shells of the shrimp, so maybe a cockle or mussel might be better for him.
Poor guy...fingers crossed for him.
Pami.

Oh my!

Constant updates... I want to see that little guy pull through!!


He's gonna love you when he gets better.

UPDATE
Mr. Pishy is showing great improvement! His eyes are clearing up very well and his ich has improved tenfold. He is having problems with gill flukes, my husband found him curled up laying on his side, but luckily I had already tackled that problem previously, i had him in a very short salt dip, then swimming around in no time. Today he started pacing the glass, so I see that as a sign that he is getting better. Slow and steady recovery thus far. He still looks terrible, but so much better than when we brought him home. I will try to get a picture up soon.
Jessica