# poorly puffer



## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i noticed that 1 of my dwarf puffers has a sunken stomach. he has become very lifeless and just hangs out on the bottom of the tank. i neeted him and put him in a breeder to keep an eye on him. hje is not interested in food at all even snails. i even put a fry in there and he seems to weak to even try to eat. i dont know wat to do. i dont want to loose him. water params r good and the other 2 r just fine. he fed 2 days ago. could it b internal parasite? if so how do i treat as they r scaleless arent they? his eyes r still moving well but his body seems to have given up. i feed them 3 times a week with bloodworms, and live bloodworms wen i can get it(scarce round here) they also get snails as soon as i have some big enough. please help


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Sounds like a case of intestinal parasites. Is its poo whitish and stringy? Lack of appetite and sunken abdomen are obvious signs of intestinal parasite infestation. One tablet of Metronidazole(250mg) per 20 gallons is the dosage I often used in this case.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

do i treat the whole tank. i have no idea where to get metronidazole. i have never seen it poo!! but there nothin white n stringy hangin out of hm, like i noticed we another fish had internal parasites


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> do i treat the whole tank. i have no idea where to get metronidazole. i have never seen it poo!! but there nothin white n stringy hangin out of hm, like i noticed we another fish had internal parasites


There is a chance others will be infested with parasites as well so yes, you'll need to treat the whole. I used Flagyl as pure Metro is hard to come by. Either way, Flagyl still works in my case. Your pharmacies should have those in stock.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i just put in some frozen bloodworm and he went for it! thats a good sign right? didnt actually eat it but didnt ignore it like yesterday???


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> i just put in some frozen bloodworm and he went for it! thats a good sign right? didnt actually eat it but didnt ignore it like yesterday???


Was it eating snails as well? You might want to try Metro here and hope that the puffer manages to eat. Metro stimulates the fish's appetite and rid of intestinal parasites.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i get it from a human pharmacy right?
he hasnt eaten a snail today no, cos the ones i have r too small atm. im trying to breed the snails for permanent food! u have to remember im in the uk and havent seen some of the meds advised on ere


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> i get it from a human pharmacy right?


Yes.


> he hasnt eaten a snail today no, cos the ones i have r too small atm. im trying to breed the snails for permanent food!


But, Lioness, it appears to me he probably hates bloodworms or lost appetite to them and without proper size snails, he was probably starving himself to death.:?


> u have to remember im in the uk and havent seen some of the meds advised on ere


I just remembered about it but if I remember correctly, there are some UKers I talked with before that Flagyl is available in your pharmacies.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

really? he usually to eat them
there is no other live food readily available in my area so wat am i supposed to feed them? i did put a snail in with him last night but he ignored it? hes still alive gonna try some more food and a fry


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## Falina (Feb 25, 2007)

lioness501 said:


> really? he usually to eat them
> there is no other live food readily available in my area so wat am i supposed to feed them? i did put a snail in with him last night but he ignored it? hes still alive gonna try some more food and a fry


I find that brine shrimp is readily available both frozen and live. I know you live at the opposite end of the UK, but it's always a suggstion.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

my lfs rarely has any sort of live food
i dunno why


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

so far mine have never been off there food they do prefer some things to others so a little variety may help mine seem to enjoy attacking anything thats alive almost any small animals will be taken if aquatic foods are difficult to obtain try some terrestrial ones fruit fly maggots are easy to raise and are taken eagerly(they do a crazy dance as they drown..they cant resist :twisted: )


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> my lfs rarely has any sort of live food
> i dunno why


You might want to do online shopping.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i have thought of that. i have noticed that there r some brine shrimp eggs on ebay. im poppin down to the lfs today to see wat i can get....thanks guys. he is still alive but no change


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## xingumike (Oct 20, 2006)

If by 'live food' you mean the bloodworm in clear plastic bags filled with water i see at my LFS then that might be the root of your problem. Filthy beasts usually raised in poor condition imo, prone to disease and parasites, i would never put them in my tank, frozen all the way.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i havent used live bloodworm for a while. just got off the phone to lfs to c wat they have. they said he mite have worms??? the only live food they have had for a couple of weeks is snail, and brine shrimp prior to that. the lady said to try mussels


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> they said he mite have worms???


I think he suspected what I had suspected previously as well.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

wat can i do about that?


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

"If by 'live food' you mean the bloodworm in clear plastic bags filled with water i see at my LFS then that might be the root of your problem. Filthy beasts usually raised in poor condition imo, prone to disease and parasites, i would never put them in my tank, frozen all the way"


by frozen you mean dead which kind of defeats the object of live food all my fish eat frozen food but for the puffers its got to be wriggling my lfs raise them in the filter systems of the koi ponds ive never had any problems other than supply i trying to find somewere nearby that sells whiteworms which may be a more reliable source of food

ps how do you quote what someone else has said?


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

is there anything that they will eat that u can get from a fishing tackle shop?


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

small fly maggots are worth a try


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

just the normal maggots???? obviously the non dyed ones.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

daisycutter said:


> ps how do you quote what someone else has said?


Click 'Quote' button.


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

the dyed ones use industry regulated food colors (in the uk anyway) most places supply several types just try the smallest, fritfly maggots can be bought as cultures or bred yourself whiteworms are tiny reletives of the earthworm and can also be bought as cultures ive never tried whiteworm but im sure they would be eaten


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

he didnt make it  died over the weekend. i spoke to someone at the lfs and he said there probably wasnt a lot i could do anyway.


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## daisycutter (Jan 4, 2007)

:shake:


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