The Puffer Forum

I have had my two little baby F8's for 4 weeks now. I absolutely love them to bits! They both settled in well and were very curious about each other and seem to get along o.k (for now!)

I had to order them at my LFS as I couldn't find anywhere that had some in stock. I had the tank cycled and ready for them so when the LFS called me I went to pick them up straight away. They were still in their seperate delivery bags. One (Ting) was WAY smaller than the other.

They are both feeding really well on prawns and snails. Both very active and sociable but I'm worried about Ting. She's stayed quite small and skinny and is very pale. I have seen her darker but this last week she's remained pale but still very active and hungry. I think Xiang (the bigger one) has grown a lot more in the last 4 weeks.

Could Ting have internal parasites? Should I treat for it as a precaution? Her belly is nice and white and I didn't think inverted but before feeding earlier I noticed it did have a tiny little dip in the middle. She feeds till it is round.

This is a picture from the day they came home. Could it be that its just the difference in size/age or is my fish sick?

I'd recommend treating all new fish for IP's, particularly wild-caught ones (which I assume these are).

I had good luck using Gel-Tek "Ultra Cure PX" with my Figure 8's, which I found at my LFS. It's an IP gel.
I made a concoction with frozen bloodworms, Gel Tek and a dash of garlic for flavor (hehe). I fed them it for ~ a week, they had no problems eating it and I believe it cleared them of IP's (hard to be sure if they had them, or if they are gone, etc.).

Cute little guys! What's that on the little one's back though?

Thanks for the reply! I'll have to look into what products we have over here and start treatment.

I hadn't noticed that on her back until I posted the pic earlier. I think it might just be the way her fin was in the photo. There's nothing like that on her normally.

how did you cycle their tank?

thanks

Its hard to tell from the photos but it doesn't look like it has IPs, it just looks smaller. Is its stomach sunken in? Have you noticed any white, stringy poop? When feeding, is she eating normally and getting enough to eat? It could be just that the larger one is just larger. Mine are both tiny but one is smaller than the other. The small one will likely always be smaller, as its probably younger.

puffer2007 wrote:how did you cycle their tank?

thanks

Fishless, with household ammonia and a prawn in a bag.

Readings were 0,0,<5 When they went in and no little spikes after that.

Boxermom wrote:Its hard to tell from the photos but it doesn't look like it has IPs, it just looks smaller. Is its stomach sunken in? Have you noticed any white, stringy poop? When feeding, is she eating normally and getting enough to eat? It could be just that the larger one is just larger. Mine are both tiny but one is smaller than the other. The small one will likely always be smaller, as its probably younger.

No white stringy poop. Actually I haven't seen her poop. The other one I have seen poop only once!

She is eating normally. If its both of them circling round a snail she holds her own and guards it from the bigger one! She definitely gets enough to eat but her belly does get smaller quicker. It doesn't appear totally sunk when due a feed but it does look very flat with a tiny little dip in the centre, like a very small ridge.

I was inclined to think it was just because she is smaller but would it be an idea to treat it anyway? Or should I wait an monitor her growth for a couple of weeks? They both seem as happy and lively as they should be.

Did I mention I love them