Help with my reticulated puffer

[Jay Hemdal]

Well I don't know, hence the thread. He has no visible signs of anything. He just hasn't eaten for almost 2 weeks. That's the real only symptom. He was was always on one spot til I dosed polyplab medic , which seemed to improve his behavior a little... noticed he swam a bit more and now has a different spot he likes (both spots seemed to be near my heater) not that that's relevant.

I will post a video shortly but he's probably not going to be moving is it going to be sitting at his favorite spot by the heater like I noted earlier. Copper reading should be close to if not zero because it's been many weeks since I treated him, but we'll test shortly to establish a baseline. I posted a photo that I took yesterday of him I'll post it again.

The video may not give us a conclusion, but it can help rule out issues.
Jay

 

[Celestion]

being by the heater is relevant

 

[sc50964]

Not sure if you have already said it, but how big & old is tank, what his tank mates are, and what the water parameters are.

Def need to know these info

 

[coral_garage]

But are you using the right medicine? Is it ich or velvet that’s bothering him? You need to describe more of his symptoms and upload a video or whatnot. If it’s flukes then cupramine isn’t helping one bit. Puffers don’t deal with cupramine well to begin with IME. Coppersafe or power is a much better choice for ich & velvet.

Well I don't know, hence the thread. He has no visible signs of anything. He just hasn't eaten for almost 2 weeks. That's the real only symptom. He was was always on one spot til I dosed polyplab medic , which seemed to improve his behavior a little... noticed he swam a bit more and now has a different spot he likes (both spots seemed to be near my heater) not that that's relevant.

Please, post a clear video of the puffer.
What is the current copper reading?

Everyone is guessing, we don’t have enough background information…. don’t start a copper treatment until we have better information.
There is no reason to think that adding a UV would have any benefit in this case, they have no benefit for flukes or internal infections, which are the two likely diagnoses hete.

Jay

Just tested for copper
.not sure which viewu guys recommend..I usually look top down. It's been 2-3 weeks, w carbon and 3-4 20-35% WC's, I have no lr or sand, just a bunch of bio bricks in the sump. Even at top down view..it seems to show about .5 of copper??? That's hard to believe. Used salifert test kit . To reiterate.., had the puffer for about a month, he ate well at first, then came down w ick heavy (tank had ick so I already knew it would happen) dosed curpramine at recommend dosage (never tested) he showed immediate recovery and started eating again. After 15 days of copper I stopped..and shortly after than..is when he stopped eating and was lethargic. I dosed medic by polyp lab and he seemed to be alless lethargic but still hasn't eaten for almost 2 weeks now... probably plan to dose copper again tonight because prazi isn't something I can get a hold of easily..would have to order from Amazon and I'm afraid to wait any longer.

 

[coral_garage]

And yes...he likes to hang by the heater..what relevance would that be .? He alswyas seeems to perk up when I dose "medic", tank is a few months old..and the only inhabitants are three eels. One of the eels that I had around the same time frame as the puffer also hasn't eaten in about the same time frame but I hear eels go on hunger strikes from time to time , the other two are new. As the foto above shows....I clearly still have some copper in my system..which is hard to believe.. already calibrated the test w my reef which reads 0. Can this be an issue of dosing copper for too long? It's been almost 4-5 weeks since I started the copper! And havet dosed in 3 weeks!

 

[coral_garage]

My options seem to be so far:
1. Start a 2nd dose of curpramine (but levels already show the recommended amt at .5 so maybe dosing would be a bad idea)
2. Start dosing medic again (consistently)
3.dose prazi pro Incase it's internal (already ordered will arrive Mon)
4. Get cuprasorb to get rid of any copper levels

Open to advice...

 

[coral_garage]

But are you using the right medicine? Is it ich or velvet that’s bothering him? You need to describe more of his symptoms and upload a video or whatnot. If it’s flukes then cupramine isn’t helping one bit. Puffers don’t deal with cupramine well to begin with IME. Coppersafe or power is a much better choice for ich & velvet.

Well I don't know, hence the thread. He has no visible signs of anything. He just hasn't eaten for almost 2 weeks. That's the real only symptom. He was was always on one spot til I dosed polyplab medic , which seemed to improve his behavior a little... noticed he swam a bit more and now has a different spot he likes (both spots seemed to be near my heater) not that that's relevant.

I'm going to go out a limb, not being a "disease expert" that he does have internal parasites. While prazi pro can be effective for some parasites, it does miss many, and many of the ones I see today. General cure is the most effective treatment, it is not considered reef safe so read up on it, and dose to water volume not tank size. I do have a ton of experience with puffers and this happens frequently.

There is no need for copper and copper will not address this issue.

Its a Fowlr, as I stated in a recent comment, I actually have traces of copper looks like 0.5? Don't have too much experience reading it don't know whether to read it from the side or from the top, the last time I dozed the recommended amount was over 3 weeks ago. But I did not use any successful methods to remove it so this may explain the levels. I can test w prazi on Mon. I can use curprisorb tonight to remove the copper... probably will dose medic at the same time to be sure. Copper seemed to work real well at first..but considering that I still have copper in my system, at this point I don't see a point in adding anymore.

 

[sc50964]

Well I don't know, hence the thread. He has no visible signs of anything. He just hasn't eaten for almost 2 weeks. That's the real only symptom. He was was always on one spot til I dosed polyplab medic , which seemed to improve his behavior a little... noticed he swam a bit more and now has a different spot he likes (both spots seemed to be near my heater) not that that's relevant.

Its a Fowlr, as I stated in a recent comment, I actually have traces of copper looks like 0.5? Don't have too much experience reading it don't know whether to read it from the side or from the top, the last time I dozed the recommended amount was over 3 weeks ago. But I did not use any successful methods to remove it so this may explain the levels. I can test w prazi on Mon. I can use curprisorb tonight to remove the copper... probably will dose medic at the same time to be sure. Copper seemed to work real well at first..but considering that I still have copper in my system, at this point I don't see a point in adding anymore.

Seems like you have three good size eels plus a 4-5” puffer in a 29G, that has a sump with LR.

TBH, this bare bottom tank is really set up to be a QT but the sump made that impossible.

I think you need to really stop dosing anything more and find a way to get them to a nicer situation.

the puffer is not comfortable in a small bare tank, especially when it has been weakened by ich and have 3 large eels lurking for food. Not saying the puffers are typical food for eels but it can’t be a sign of comfort for him.

pls…, no more meds in this tank& sorry to say this - You need to start thinking about rehoming them, or get them into 3 separate 20G long and good and fresh water to settle them down first.

BTW, your copper is near zero as I believe reading it from top down is the way to go.

 

[lion king]

Please stop messing around, he hasn't eaten for 2 weeks, is lethargic and has stringy poo. People make it so complicated and let time go by, and by the time you figure it out, it will be too late. Treat with general cure, it's a relatively safe medication, pit's even safe to use prophylactically, just figure it out and get him started. He'll be eating again in a couple of days.

Combining with any other meds is not my recommendation, so you'll have to figure that out, but if you don't treat for internal parasites, the day will come to the point of no return. Prazi pro is better than nothing, but not optimum.

 

[coral_garage]

Seems like you have three good size eels plus a 4-5” puffer in a 29G, that has a sump with LR.

TBH, this bare bottom tank is really set up to be a QT but the sump made that impossible.

I think you need to really stop dosing anything more and find a way to get them to a nicer situation.

the puffer is not comfortable in a small bare tank, especially when it has been weakened by ich and have 3 large eels lurking for food. Not saying the puffers are typical food for eels but it can’t be a sign of comfort for him.

pls…, no more meds in this tank& sorry to say this - You need to start thinking about rehoming them, or get them into 3 separate 20G long and good and fresh water to settle them down first.

BTW, your copper is near zero as I believe reading it from top down is the way to go.

It's a 110 not a 30!!!! Plenty of hiding space..and the eels never bother him..(unless at night but I doubt that's the case) the sump is a 29 full of bio bricks and skimmer. Adding a uv Mon(totally skipped my mind, but may help long term and will definitely help w the algae) he is definitely more active in the past few days. I would not say the copper is at 0! Maybe it's the pic. I prefer top down as well and it reads close to .1 that way. Tested my reef after which read a clear 0. Someone mentioned how it's relevant that he seems to like hanging by the heater, although that person hasn't responded what that would indicate, I have increased tank temp to 79. Also decided to continue MEDIC for the min of ten days and will probably start prazi Mon if he doesn't start eating.

 

[Celestion]

Marine reef Fish like warm water , yes I've tested this lol

 

[sc50964]

It's a 110 not a 30!!!! Plenty of hiding space..and the eels never bother him..(unless at night but I doubt that's the case) the sump is a 29 full of bio bricks and skimmer. Adding a uv Mon(totally skipped my mind, but may help long term and will definitely help w the algae) he is definitely more active in the past few days. I would not say the copper is at 0! Maybe it's the pic. I prefer top down as well and it reads close to .1 that way. Tested my reef after which read a clear 0. Someone mentioned how it's relevant that he seems to like hanging by the heater, although that person hasn't responded what that would indicate, I have increased tank temp to 79. Also decided to continue MEDIC for the min of ten days and will probably start prazi Mon if he doesn't start eating.

Good that it’s a 110G. Hard to tell in the video.

the PVS’ are occupied by the eels. He won’t go in there.

you need to give him something to hide to feel safe & comfort. He is prob using the heater to hide by since that’s the only thing not occupied by the eels

eyes, fins, tail all appear to be clear. Belly appears to be still full enough. His breathing isn’t labored. All these are good signs and I suggest no more meds until you see a symptom.

he is swimming and turning slowly so it’s either meaning he is weak or still very cautious with you standing in the front. Wonder how he is like if you aren’t around or much further away.

still need to know the ammonia and ph in this tank.

0.1ppm of cupramine is likely. Either way, it’s low and pls don’t mix UV with cupramine. That’s not a good mix at all.

 

[Celestion]

Yes the fish looks clean healthy clear eyes

 

[Jay Hemdal]

My options seem to be so far:
1. Start a 2nd dose of curpramine (but levels already show the recommended amt at .5 so maybe dosing would be a bad idea)
2. Start dosing medic again (consistently)
3.dose prazi pro Incase it's internal (already ordered will arrive Mon)
4. Get cuprasorb to get rid of any copper levels

Open to advice...

The video shows normal breathing and swimming. That rules out a bunch of issues.

There is a 5th option that I think @lion king mentioned - General Cure. I would opt for that as it contains a full dose of prazi but also has metronidazole that can help against internal protozoans. That’s what I would do unless you can’t get the general cure tomorrow.
Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

The video shows normal breathing and swimming. That rules out a bunch of issues.

There is a 5th option that I think @lion king mentioned - General Cure. I would opt for that as it contains a full dose of prazi but also has metronidazole that can help against internal protozoans. That’s what I would do unless you can’t get the general cure tomorrow.
Jay

Late in the picture but Agree too with lion King. I suspect internal issue and No copper or Metro- General cure both safe and accessible.

 

[coral_garage]

**UPDATE**
thru the advice from a frnd, I used "rally pro" from ruby reef. It's a 3 day treatment, currently on the 2nd day. After the first dose, his attitude changed. Became finally curious about food. 2nd day he took 3 smàll bites of a silver side. First time in over 2 wks!!