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FLFishChik’s Pea Puffer Journal


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On 5/5/2023 at 8:53 AM, FLFishChik said:

I’m going to try that. I’ve given them Mysis and Brine shrimp on quite a few occasions, but they don’t seem interested. Maybe fast them a day or two and then try?

 

 

Yeah, I think it can’t hurt them to go a few days without food and then bomb them with a bunch of tiny bladder snails. 

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Well, the Bladder Snail tank is going full steam. Teeny babies everywhere, egg clusters in every corner and on every leaf and a full on Snail party with adults entangled in groups everywhere I look. I can only assume there’s some sneggs happening every second. It’s madness, I tell you…. MADNESS!

Ramshorns are trucking along.. a little behind the Bladders, but multiplying well. I’m pretty sure a few MTS made it into the bladder tank, so… BONUS SNAILS!

Edited by FLFishChik
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Step 0: I had some snails for the puffers
Step 1: I got some pea puffers
Step 2: I couldn't get the puffers to eat the snails.
Step 3.....

On 5/10/2023 at 5:11 PM, FLFishChik said:

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 This is exactly what happened to me and why I really am hesitant with the snails. 😞

On 5/10/2023 at 5:11 PM, FLFishChik said:

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On 5/10/2023 at 11:48 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Step 0: I had some snails for the puffers
Step 1: I got some pea puffers
Step 2: I couldn't get the puffers to eat the snails.
Step 3.....

 This is exactly what happened to me and why I really am hesitant with the snails. 😞

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😂 thankfully, snails have their own tank! I’ve been crunching the snails as I give them to the Beanz… they eat them that way. I am not brave enough to just drop them in as is, in case they don’t hunt them and they start breeding in the 29g!

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I don't have personal experience with puffers but I've heard that sometimes snails aren't actually that great because the puffers will kill them, eat what's easy to reach, and then leave most of the rest to rot. But that was just one person and it may not be as big of deal in a bigger community like you have.

They're such adorable little murder beans!

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On 5/11/2023 at 11:43 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Ah. This is your life now. Daily snail crunching.

@FLFishChik when you capture your snails, do you capture them on a vegetable or something?

As for the daily Snail crunching… I kinda had to pledge my life to the Beanz food supply… there was no escaping this.

catching the snails… Nope, long pair of tweezers and a plastic cup. If they are near the surface, then I just pluck ‘em out with my fingers, lol. They’re in a 5g tank by themselves, so not like I have to go looking too hard for them 😂

Edited by FLFishChik
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@FLFishChik The Dennerle snail catcher works reasonably on bladder snails as long as they aren’t giant, granddaddy sized, not quite as well on rams unless they are juuusssst the right size or smaller, but that size happens to be the favorite size for the beans.  Crushing the snails does somewhat minimize the leftover meat in the shell issue as long as you don’t get carried away with feeding.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/dennerle-snail-catcher

Above that favorite size, the rams are easier to hand catch.

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On 5/12/2023 at 5:27 PM, Odd Duck said:

@FLFishChik The Dennerle snail catcher works reasonably on bladder snails as long as they aren’t giant, granddaddy sized, not quite as well on rams unless they are juuusssst the right size or smaller, but that size happens to be the favorite size for the beans.  Crushing the snails does somewhat minimize the leftover meat in the shell issue as long as you don’t get carried away with feeding.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/dennerle-snail-catcher

Above that favorite size, the rams are easier to hand catch.

Apparently, The Beanz aren’t the only ones who enjoy a good smushed Bladder snail. 7FC3DD53-CAF0-4E4B-89CF-902DF5C443FA.jpeg.bb0a40d0d21d714660017032d9b442ca.jpeg7FC3DD53-CAF0-4E4B-89CF-902DF5C443FA.jpeg.bb0a40d0d21d714660017032d9b442ca.jpeg7FC3DD53-CAF0-4E4B-89CF-902DF5C443FA.jpeg.bb0a40d0d21d714660017032d9b442ca.jpegC2E3B4B8-59FB-4800-A96F-0C45E6F42C70.jpeg.d3473b32c486dfabe460e1e0f18ceb41.jpeg

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My newly hatched Ramshorn Snails

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On 5/15/2023 at 5:19 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Are you feeding them? Swirling Repashy powder into the water or something to coat the walls?

Yassss. I drop in a sinking wafer or cube of Repashy a couple times a week. Also leave the lights on full blast for about 14 hours a day to encourage algea, but they quickly rid the tank of all traces. They are multiplying at an extreme pace. Soon, I will have enough snails to complete the Beanz evil plan. *rubs hands together in villainous glee*

Edited by FLFishChik
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Today I introduced a live (unsmooshed) baby Ramshorn to the tank along with the crunched Bladder snails. I kept a close eye on it with long tweezers in hand ready to fish it back out lest the Beanz ignored it in favor of the “ready meal snails”. I’m happy to report that Cheddar (of course it was) quickly located, targeted and successfully extracted said snail from their shell. Woot! Still not brave enough to yeet a live Bladder Snail in the tank just yet for fear I will blink and have a tank full of them. But… here’s to small Murder Bean victories!

 

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Edited by FLFishChik
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I am trying very hard to trust the process… I chucked 4 baby Ramshorn into the 29g tank, trusting that the Beanz will eventually hint them down. So far, they are hovering over them very intently… but no one has made a move yet. Oh please, PLEASE, dear Beanz… do not let them multiply in this tank!

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Well, todays update is a stressful one. The Beanz don’t seem to be interested in food of any kind (except Cheddar, she’s the only one). For the last day and a half, they’ve ignored EVERYTHING I’ve offered. Bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen mysis shrimp, even crushed snails. Even tried soaking in garlic juice (as I read it stimulates their appetite), but to no avail. I don’t know what else to do. Instead, they spend the day floating around the tank, gazing up at the surface of the water… like little zombies. Im near ready to cry…I’m at a loss 

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I’ve been concerned about your kiddos from the beginning but didn’t want to harp on it since they were eating.  They’ve looked a bit hollow-bellied from the start.  I would recommend deworming with levamisole (Expel-P).  Since you have some snails in the tank, I would put them in a temporary quarantine to treat, even if you only do it overnight.  Levamisole likely does most of its work in the first hour or so after treating.  So you can move them, treat them, leave the tank dark/covered overnight, then move them back.  Repeat that weekly for at least 4 treatments.

Otherwise you have to treat their whole tank and any snails present are highly likely to die, risking an ammonia spike.

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On 5/19/2023 at 7:17 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’ve been concerned about your kiddos from the beginning but didn’t want to harp on it since they were eating.  They’ve looked a bit hollow-bellied from the start.  I would recommend deworming with levamisole (Expel-P).  Since you have some snails in the tank, I would put them in a temporary quarantine to treat, even if you only do it overnight.  Levamisole likely does most of its work in the first hour or so after treating.  So you can move them, treat them, leave the tank dark/covered overnight, then move them back.  Repeat that weekly for at least 4 treatments.

Otherwise you have to treat their whole tank and any snails present are highly likely to die, risking an ammonia spike.

Actually, there aren’t any snails in the tank. I removed the nerites that were in there. I have the Puffers, Cardinal Tetra, otocinclus, Corydoras and some ghost shrimp. Will those all be ok if I just treat the tank?

 

they were eating very well until Wednesday. Gaining wait. IDK what happened 

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The fish should all be OK.  I’ve not personally treated a tank with all those species of fish, but I’m sure others have.  I can’t right now remember for certain about the shrimp but I believe it’s OK.  I wasn’t sure how many bladders or rams might be in there since they didn’t eat the last couple days.  

Pea puffers should have softly bulging bellies even before feeding time and yours have been flat to very slightly hollow in all the pics (not your fault at all).  I know you were told they had been dewormed but I suspect they weren’t from seeing your very first pics.

Quick search says the shrimp should be OK with levamisole.

If you treat in your main tank you have to vacuum as much debris out as possible, treat, then vacuum thoroughly again since the worms and eggs would be expelled into the water, therefore go down into the substrate.  I’ll link my deworming recommendations but I’d start with only the levamisole for now since they’re thin and off food now.  Do the levamisole deworming, give them a couple weeks break, then do the praziquantal later if they still aren’t at peak condition.

Deworming

Siphon out debris from the bottom before and after dosing to remove any expelled worms, eggs, debris, etc.  Levamisole is inactivated by organic debris and by light, so dose after lights out and black out the tank for 24 hours, remove organics via water changes and cleaning the bottom of debris as much as possible.

It’s likely that levamisole does what it can do within the first hour, but best to follow directions precisely.  If you have a bare bottom hospital tank available, it might be best and easiest to transfer the fish to that tank for the duration of treatment - up to 5 weeks total treatment time if doing 3 doses of praziquantal.

Levamisole treatment should be weekly for 4 treatments.  Praziquantal treatment should be every other week (at least) for 2-3 treatments and it is left in for a week at a time.  It can be dosed the day after levamisole treatment.  Remove any carbon or Purigen from filters before dosing.

Have enough dechlorinated water to do a 50% water change immediately if any adverse symptoms are seen in the fish.

A typical treatment regimen: 

1. 50% water change with careful siphoning of debris from the bottom of the tank.

2. Dose with levamisole and black out the tank for 24 hours.  Then 50% water change siphoning the entire bottom of the tank.

3. Dose with praziquantal directly after the second 50% WC.

4. One week later, 50% water change siphoning the bottom thoroughly.  Dose with levamisole following directions in step 1-2.

5. One week later (start of week 3 of treatment), repeat all steps 1-4 over another 2 weeks time.

6. Repeat all steps 1-5, then do last WC one week later after third dose of praziquantal.

Not all snails will tolerate treatments, so best to remove any snails in the tank.

 

Condensed, weekly schedule:

Week 1: siphon debris and do 50% water change, levamisole x 24 hrs, siphon.  Treat with praziquantal and leave in until next week.

Week 2: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon.

Week 3: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi.

Week 4: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon.

Week 5: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi.

Week 6: siphon.

Edited by Odd Duck
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Hopefully things improve for you @FLFishChik.  I had similar issue with my black corydoras and they eat like hogs now.  When I had the pea puffers they ignored the snails, ate bloodworms, and went after each other until there was one left.

The above directions are awesome and got my corydoras on track, they are doing wonderful now.  Fingers crossed!

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On 5/20/2023 at 6:53 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

What if they ate those ramshorns and are now full?

I don’t think it would fill them up for 48 hrs though. They’ve been eating twice daily. And I only dropped in 4 baby Ramshorn and there are 6 puffers in the tank 😢

 

On 5/19/2023 at 11:11 PM, Odd Duck said:

The fish should all be OK.  I’ve not personally treated a tank with all those species of fish, but I’m sure others have.  I can’t right now remember for certain about the shrimp but I believe it’s OK.  I wasn’t sure how many bladders or rams might be in there since they didn’t eat the last couple days.  

Pea puffers should have softly bulging bellies even before feeding time and yours have been flat to very slightly hollow in all the pics (not your fault at all).  I know you were told they had been dewormed but I suspect they weren’t from seeing your very first pics.

Quick search says the shrimp should be OK with levamisole.

If you treat in your main tank you have to vacuum as much debris out as possible, treat, then vacuum thoroughly again since the worms and eggs would be expelled into the water, therefore go down into the substrate.  I’ll link my deworming recommendations but I’d start with only the levamisole for now since they’re thin and off food now.  Do the levamisole deworming, give them a couple weeks break, then do the praziquantal later if they still aren’t at peak condition.

Deworming

Siphon out debris from the bottom before and after dosing to remove any expelled worms, eggs, debris, etc.  Levamisole is inactivated by organic debris and by light, so dose after lights out and black out the tank for 24 hours, remove organics via water changes and cleaning the bottom of debris as much as possible.

It’s likely that levamisole does what it can do within the first hour, but best to follow directions precisely.  If you have a bare bottom hospital tank available, it might be best and easiest to transfer the fish to that tank for the duration of treatment - up to 5 weeks total treatment time if doing 3 doses of praziquantal.

Levamisole treatment should be weekly for 4 treatments.  Praziquantal treatment should be every other week (at least) for 2-3 treatments and it is left in for a week at a time.  It can be dosed the day after levamisole treatment.  Remove any carbon or Purigen from filters before dosing.

Have enough dechlorinated water to do a 50% water change immediately if any adverse symptoms are seen in the fish.

A typical treatment regimen: 

1. 50% water change with careful siphoning of debris from the bottom of the tank.

2. Dose with levamisole and black out the tank for 24 hours.  Then 50% water change siphoning the entire bottom of the tank.

3. Dose with praziquantal directly after the second 50% WC.

4. One week later, 50% water change siphoning the bottom thoroughly.  Dose with levamisole following directions in step 1-2.

5. One week later (start of week 3 of treatment), repeat all steps 1-4 over another 2 weeks time.

6. Repeat all steps 1-5, then do last WC one week later after third dose of praziquantal.

Not all snails will tolerate treatments, so best to remove any snails in the tank.

 

Condensed, weekly schedule:

Week 1: siphon debris and do 50% water change, levamisole x 24 hrs, siphon.  Treat with praziquantal and leave in until next week.

Week 2: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon.

Week 3: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi.

Week 4: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon.

Week 5: siphon, levam x 24 hrs, siphon, then prazi.

Week 6: siphon.

Thank you for this! I’m going to see if my local BBS has expel-p if not, I’ll order from Amazon as I can get it next day!

am I also to get praziquantel? Or am I just doing the expel p for now?

Edited by FLFishChik
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Current state of The Beanz 😢. I followed @Odd Duck ‘s advice (thank you so much for working with me thru this journal and PM’s to help my little guys) and began a dewormer. Tank is blacked out for the next 24 hours. I’m hoping the Harry Potter symbols will add some major mojo !

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