The Puffer Forum

What do you do when you havee already treated a puffer for IP's, he appears to be fine, and then the infestation appears to return? I routinely worm any new puffer in quarentine with foods soaked in gel tek PX, and my GSP Kiwi went through this as well. Before he was added to the main tank, I observed him producing normal dark poo. Today I notice a long white string of poo comming out of him... His food is definatley parasite free, it's organic earthworms and small snails(from a healthy tank), so I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Can anything OTHER than IP's cause white poo? He was given a superworm mealworm as a treat the other day(something I would normally never feed), because I have been out of earthworms for about a week now and he was getting nippy, they are white inside the shell, would thye poop out white?

My turgidus's main diet is nightcrawlers and his poo is definately not white.

Parasites can be annoying.. they are generally only suceptable to the meds at certian stages, so if there were eggs inside him at the time of deworming, they may have survived and hatched later, re-infesting him. So it may take multiple treatments.

How's his weight though, skinny at all?

I know a lot of people don't like to feed dewormer unless they see signs of it, I'm one of the few that likes to do it on a regular basis, every 3-4 months or so, just to be safe.

How long was the IP treatment done? IME, needs to be done for at least 7 days regardless of what the bottle says.

I do a 10 day routine, feeding every day for 5 days, then a 2 day fast, then 5 more days. I also soak overnight in the fridge to get really deep medication permiation, as I worry food soaked for only a few minutes will disspiate the medicine into the water. I removed the string of poo and examined it closely, and it DOES look a lot like the fatty insides of a super mealworm... I will definately not be feeding those again in case they are the source of the poo, no matter how hungry and cranky the puffers get.

The problem with adding meds to food is its usually the sick fish that dont eat the food....
I notice the med you are using contains praziquantel, looking at the side effects to animals and humans, I would suggest not using it. its never been tested or approved safe for fish use from what I have been able to find out.
I would think this might be a better option and is available in the states if you email first for a price http://www.flubenol.co.uk

Luckily he eats better than any fish I've ever owned, if I don't cut him off, he'll hapily eat until he appears partially puffed, like he was when I got him at the pet store. I never let him eat like that now. Do you think it's better to treat him again anyway, which I'd like to avoid doing over and over; while I think one precautionary treatment to protect your tank as well as the incomming fish is acceptable, I'd prefer not to fill him with chemicals over and over. Or should I check his poo again after he returns to his proper diet? Flubenol looks interesting, however, it also looks like something you must be VERY careful with.

Nick wrote:Flubenol looks interesting, however, it also looks like something you must be VERY careful with.

What makes you think that? the only flubenol that is dangerous is flubenol 5% as its mixed with acetone or DMSO to make it water soluble, Flubenol 15 (%) as on the link above is perfectly safe for ALL fish including rays and puffers.

Plus, looking at the ingredients, what you are using doesnt have much medication in it either, although I am checking that out now....

Active Ingredients:
Praziquantel 0.0057%
Flubenol 0.03%
Metronidazole 0.30%

Lol Paul, I was going to PM you about this thread.

It looks risky because it says if there are any tiny traces of any impurities in your tank, the DMSO base needed to allow it to enter the fish without ingestion will allow these impurities to pass into your fish as though injected, and they might die.

Rocker wrote:Lol Paul, I was going to PM you about this thread.

too late mate, already seen it

Theres no DMSO or acetone in Flubenol 15, whats stated on the site is with regards to the other types of flubenol

They really should make that more clear, it really sounded to me like they were saying they use the DMSO rather than acetone. How does the medication absorb in effective volume then? They are perfectly happy to sell fish IP medicines in the US which disolve in the water then do nothing.

In the states there are no laws or regulations as to what can be used to treat fish as far as I am aware, but in the UK its another story, we are very restricted as to what we can use, hence why dmso or acetone is used.
You might have seen stories about discus head or tail standing?l this is a side effect of acetone...
One of the ingredients in flubenol 15 is specifically designed to force the flubenol into the gills of the fish, Flubenol 15 contains no acetone or dmso, its a harmless subsyance that was developed at a university for the specific job it does.

I'm glad to hear that, I take it from what you've said you have used it or know someone that has? I may have to get some if I can really treat IP's without soaking food.

I use it regularly on my discus and cichlids as do a lot of people I know. Its been used for around 20 years, although its only been available over the counter to the public for about a year.
Its widley available on the net, but thats the cheapest and best place for it as mentioned above

I think i'm gonna have to give the Flubenol a go soon, the Sabahensis just isnt putting on weight, he's also using one gill more than the other.