Puffer with ich?

[Awolartist]

Hello, I have a tank that has been struggling with ich for months, there are fish in it that seem unaffected and are doing fine (hippo, wrasse, clownfish, eel), but other fish have terrible outbreaks. I moved this porcupine to a hospital tank and have been treating him with paraguard. He was getting better and seemed almost clear and then suddenly got way worse. I did an hour dip at a higher level according to the bottle yesterday and now he seems even worse. Am doing daily water changes at least 50% and monitoring ammonia. Is this ich or something else? I read today ich rarely affects the eyes. How can I help him quickly? Please help.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello, I have a tank that has been struggling with ich for months, there are fish in it that seem unaffected and are doing fine (hippo, wrasse, clownfish, eel), but other fish have terrible outbreaks. I moved this porcupine to a hospital tank and have been treating him with paraguard. He was getting better and seemed almost clear and then suddenly got way worse. I did an hour dip at a higher level according to the bottle yesterday and now he seems even worse. Am doing daily water changes at least 50% and monitoring ammonia. Is this ich or something else? I read today ich rarely affects the eyes. How can I help him quickly? Please help.

Yes, porcupine puffers are prone to developing ich.

Paraguard just doesn’t work well against marine ich, I wouldn’t use that.
You best bet would be coppersafe at 2.25 ppm or hyposalinity at 1.009. Both for 30 days. However, with ich in your main tank, you may see other fish getting sick, and unless you clear the ich out of the main tank, you likely won’t be able to return the puffer.

 

[Awolartist]

Thank you! I bought some cupramine, it's that a good choice? I'm setting up a completely fresh tank for him, just waiting for it to finish cycling.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Thank you! I bought some cupramine, it's that a good choice? I'm setting up a completely fresh tank for him, just waiting for it to finish cycling.

Coppersafe is milder, safer, but you can use Cupramine at 0.50 ppm

 

[Awolartist]

Great, I just started him on coppersafe, but I couldn't find any test kits to determine levels. Any suggestions? Does the level build up? I'm afraid of overdosing if I give the recommended amount in clean water changes.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Great, I just started him on coppersafe, but I couldn't find any test kits to determine levels. Any suggestions? Does the level build up? I'm afraid of overdosing if I give the recommended amount in clean water changes.

You can do the initial dose following instructions on the bottom, but to keep the level adjusted, you need a high range copper test. The one I know works is the Hanna HR copper checker.

 

[Awolartist]

You can do the initial dose following instructions on the bottom, but to keep the level adjusted, you need a high range copper test. The one I know works is the Hanna HR copper checker.

Great, thank you!