Kinesthesia Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 I bought amazon puffers about a week ago. They go ick (I assume) almost immediately. Ichx wasn't doing much at all, so I stopped ich x and I did round of API General Cure and API Erythromycin. Now they look worse than ever. I have resumed Ich x but I'm concerned (perhaps overly) that it's something else and perhaps I should be doing something else. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 16, 2021 Share Posted April 16, 2021 If you did a proper course of ichX, and it didn't clear it, you are most likely dealing with Epistylis. You will need to dose Kanaplex or Maracyn 2 orally. I prefer Kanaplex coupled with Focus. https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/10-2-4-epistylis/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 Judging by the pictures in that article, it's quite possible that they have Epistylis. A little extra information: I have 5 amazon puffers, 3 flag fish, 1 otocinclus, 1 butterfly loach and 1 ornate goby. Only the puffers have symptoms and the poor things swim around constantly brushing against things even rocks trying to get it off. Environment: I have a 40 breeder with 2 medium co-op sponge filters and one Tidal 35 HoB. And after reading that article, I think it's reasonable to say that I feed too much. I will try to acquire Kanaplex or Maracyn 2 today. I will continue Ich-X in the meantime but instead of doing 50% water changes, I will increase that to 95% and thoroughly clean the tank. Should I consider picking up a 10 gallon and treat the puffers in that, or are they better off remaining in the 40B? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 34 minutes ago, Kinesthesia said: Judging by the pictures in that article, it's quite possible that they have Epistylis. A little extra information: I have 5 amazon puffers, 3 flag fish, 1 otocinclus, 1 butterfly loach and 1 ornate goby. Only the puffers have symptoms and the poor things swim around constantly brushing against things even rocks trying to get it off. Environment: I have a 40 breeder with 2 medium co-op sponge filters and one Tidal 35 HoB. And after reading that article, I think it's reasonable to say that I feed too much. I will try to acquire Kanaplex or Maracyn 2 today. I will continue Ich-X in the meantime but instead of doing 50% water changes, I will increase that to 95% and thoroughly clean the tank. Should I consider picking up a 10 gallon and treat the puffers in that, or are they better off remaining in the 40B? Thanks for your help. Going forward, I would definitely grab a cheap 10 gallon for QT purposes, but I would treat the whole tank. The beauty of orally treating fish is that you target fish versus slamming the whole tank and killing off your BB. Kanaplex is my go to. It's designed for oral dosing when coupled with Focus. It's very easy to measure. Maracyn 2 will want you to dose the tank and it will cause a recycle. This can be tricky to manage while you have a sick fish. Try to hury, if it's Epistylis, you might be on borrowed time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 I'm about to leave for the LFS to get Kanaplex and Focus. I'm concerned about how to get the puffers to eat the medicine. The LFS suggested mixing it with Repashy, feeding the Repashy to snails and giving the snails to the puffers. Seems reasonable but I'm not sure I have that kind of time. I just had a Flag Fish die without a visible spot or other sign of illness. She did have very nipped fins, maybe the puffers are pissed off now and killed her. The puffers have never gone after another fish before. I have a new empty 5 gallon tank that I could treat the puffers in but that seems too small. I also have an established but currently empty 20 gallon but I don't see the point in moving them right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 8 minutes ago, Kinesthesia said: I'm about to leave for the LFS to get Kanaplex and Focus. I'm concerned about how to get the puffers to eat the medicine. The LFS suggested mixing it with Repashy, feeding the Repashy to snails and giving the snails to the puffers. Seems reasonable but I'm not sure I have that kind of time. I just had a Flag Fish die without a visible spot or other sign of illness. She did have very nipped fins, maybe the puffers are pissed off now and killed her. The puffers have never gone after another fish before. I have a new empty 5 gallon tank that I could treat the puffers in but that seems too small. I also have an established but currently empty 20 gallon but I don't see the point in moving them right now. I use garlic guard. Hasn't failed me yet. But the snail idea could work. Just do whatever it takes to get it in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 I picked up Kanaplex and Focus. I soaked some blood worms and mysis shrimp in panaflex and focus per the instructions and fed them to the puffers. I gave them about half an hour to eat (3 gorged themselves, the other two just had a little). Then I did about an 80-90% water change, leaving the puffers about an inch to swim, while vacuuming the tank esp the left over food. I've been running the tank at 82 degrees because I thought it was ich. Should I continue to run the tank warm and add Ich X just in case I'm wrong and it really is ich? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 1 minute ago, Kinesthesia said: I picked up Kanaplex and Focus. I soaked some blood worms and mysis shrimp in panaflex and focus per the instructions and fed them to the puffers. I gave them about half an hour to eat (3 gorged themselves, the other two just had a little). Then I did about an 80-90% water change, leaving the puffers about an inch to swim, while vacuuming the tank esp the left over food. I've been running the tank at 82 degrees because I thought it was ich. Should I continue to run the tank warm and add Ich X just in case I'm wrong and it really is ich? How many days have you dosed ichX? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 17, 2021 Author Share Posted April 17, 2021 I dosed about 4-5 days and it didn't seem to be doing anything, so I stopped with Ich-x and ran a course of General Cure and EM. All the while the puffers seem to get worse, more white spots and itchy, though they seemed more energetic and hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 17, 2021 Share Posted April 17, 2021 26 minutes ago, Kinesthesia said: I dosed about 4-5 days and it didn't seem to be doing anything, so I stopped with Ich-x and ran a course of General Cure and EM. All the while the puffers seem to get worse, more white spots and itchy, though they seemed more energetic and hungry. I would stop any other meds and slowly, slowly drop temperature back to normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 I have fed them this morning with food (Vibrabites and Bloodworms) soaked in Panaflex and Focus, but one won't eat at all and doesn't move much. Which sadly allowed me to get better pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 18, 2021 Author Share Posted April 18, 2021 Later I'll do another 80+% water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 18, 2021 Share Posted April 18, 2021 2 hours ago, Kinesthesia said: I have fed them this morning with food (Vibrabites and Bloodworms) soaked in Panaflex and Focus, but one won't eat at all and doesn't move much. Which sadly allowed me to get better pictures. Bummer, lets hope the others respond well. Mine showed improvement in 24 hours from the first dose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinesthesia Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 I hate to say it but I think I've lost. I'm down to 3 puffers and I don't think they'll make it. I've been doing 80-90% water changes for six days and have been feeding various foods with Panaflex and Focus. Last night, in desperation, I also added General Cure, EM and Ich-X. This morning they continue to look worse. None of the other fish in the tank have been affected from the start, they all look 100%, it's just the puffers. It's very discouraging, I don't think I'll try Puffers again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 24 minutes ago, Kinesthesia said: I hate to say it but I think I've lost. I'm down to 3 puffers and I don't think they'll make it. I've been doing 80-90% water changes for six days and have been feeding various foods with Panaflex and Focus. Last night, in desperation, I also added General Cure, EM and Ich-X. This morning they continue to look worse. None of the other fish in the tank have been affected from the start, they all look 100%, it's just the puffers. It's very discouraging, I don't think I'll try Puffers again. Bummer. I've been there and it's discouraging. I will never buy Cory cats ever again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWilson Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 I am so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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