The Puffer Forum

I have a 5 inch green spotted puffer who I think has parasites. For a couple of months, he has been getting thin the next day after eating and is always hungry. At first he didn't get too thin so I didn't really notice it, but for a few weeks now he gets a sunken looking stomach the next day after eating.

Before, I had been trying to use garlic, but it didn't seem to help so last week I ordered some Levamisole online after reading the article on treating internal parasites in the Puffer Library. I soaked some large freeze-dried krill in the recommended dosage (100mg in a teaspoon of water) and fed about six pieces to him, but he threw it all up and I asummed it was because I gave him too much. The next day I tried again with just a couple of pieces and he ate it fine. Nothing happened though, so I waited a day then dosed him again.

My question is, how exactly are you supposed to treat when using Levamisole? Is it supposed to be a one time dose, or given over several days or weeks? I'm afraid to give him another dose in case I might overdose him.

Or could it be another disease entirely?

Read the IP article in the library, it has dosing instructions:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/lib ... treatment/

Make sure you treat the tank water with something precautionary in case segments or whole worms are waiting to recontaminate...

OraLacerta-

Sorry if this is a silly question, but I did read that article, and I don't think it's very clear on the exact usage. It doesn't mention anything about whether I need to use Levamisole over several days or weeks, etc. It only says this-

The debate of whether fish, or any other animal for that matter, should be dewormed on a regular basis, only when showing signs of parasites or if they should be treated at all is an ongoing one. Some fishkeepers deworm every 4 months or so as a preventative. However, with a sensible initial deworming and quarantine protocol, this should not be necessary. As always, observe your aquatic charges, and let their health be your guide.

Does that mean it should only be one dose every few months and that it's not safe to give my fish more doses over several days?

Nick-
Actually, it might just be my imagination, but I don't think he's getting quite as thin after eating anymore. I never saw him purge any worms though, so I haven't vacuumed the gravel yet, but he's getting a water change and tank cleaning this weekend anyway. Do I still need to treat the tank water? What should I use and will it kill the good bacteria?

There is a more specific section on the treatment dosages specifically for Levamisole. I would treat for a week, and observe the puffer closely after that week, and if there are any signs of the parasites persisting I would dose for another week. All that that section you quoted was referring to is that some people will treat their puffers every few months as a precautionary measure. It wasn't saying only to treat once every few months if you suspect an infestation is present.

The Figure 8 my GF and I most recently flubenoled started holding food in his system less than half a day after treatment. You can treat the tank water with the levimisol as well, I'd do it once early on and once a few weeks after treatment in case the parasites are egg laying and babies hatched.

I'm still having trouble using the Levamisole. Is it possible for fish to be allergic to it?

I've tried to give my puffer more doses with food, but it's very hit or miss, most of the time, he'll spit it back out, or else throw it up. I've managed to get maybe three or four doses since I started so he doesn't get quite as thin anymore, but he's still not completely well. It's very strange since neither of my other 2 GSPs or F8s (in other tanks) have a problem with eating the medicated food.

I also tried to treat the whole tank, but he got so upset like the medicine was hurting him, that I panicked and did a huge water change to get rid of as much as I could. Then he relaxed and went back to normal after a few hours. When I poured some in, he splashed around like he was trying to get away from it and got very black and breathing hard.

Am I using the right stuff? I bought this version, which I diluted with water (distilled) according to the directions. Then I used the dosages recommended in the article in the Puffer Library.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail.html ... b0d0204ae5

Could I be using too high a dose still?

Should I try another medication like Flubenol?

I've never tried that stuff as it is not meant for use in aquaria, the 2.02 grams of non-levimisole in there worries me a bit, it would never have been tested for a reaction in fish, since it's not meant to use this way. Perhaps your fish had a bad reaction to the fillers.

Wow, I didn't even notice that when I got it! You're probably right. I had a lot of trouble finding it though. The fish stores near me didn't have it, and I couldn't seem to find it online either. Is it under some special brand name?

marfisa wrote:Wow, I didn't even notice that when I got it! You're probably right. I had a lot of trouble finding it though. The fish stores near me didn't have it, and I couldn't seem to find it online either. Is it under some special brand name?

kind of off topic... but do you have pix of you GSP? I just want to see how it looks like at 5", I can't wait for mine to grow that big

This is how Mr. Fattykins looked a couple of years ago- about 5 inches with his tail included. This picture was taken to prove how big these fishies get to a woman who ran the fish department in the pet store who sold him to us saying that he would stay small. He's a little bigger now at 5 inches not including his tail.


Here are a few more recent pictures-

http://gallery.rahenna.com/d/150-1/fattysmile.JPG

http://gallery.rahenna.com/d/162-2/iluvfattykins.JPG

http://gallery.rahenna.com/d/191-2/sticker.jpg
The reflections on his skin look like someone removed a price sticker improperly.

Shakespeare responded very well to Flubenol-15, which is created specially for aquarium use. Ships internationally, even though the makers are in the UK.

Could you recommend a store that will ship to the US? The http://www.flubenol.co.uk site doesn't seem to exist anymore.

The flubenol website doesnt seem to be working at the moment, you could try and PM Paul Fox on here as he supplies the stuff.

Nice pics, biggest GSP I have seen, if you would like them added to the Pufferpedia as a reference to others on what a big GSP looks like, PM me and i'll sort it.

marfisa, do you have a picture of your GSP without using the flash? I'd like to see how his color is naturally. I find the flash washes out some of the colors. Great pics though, you have and amazing fish.