Medicating a Dwarf Puffer??

[sleepybirde]

My little DP has come down with something, im guessing internal parasites since that's common in them. His breathing has been off but not concerningly hard until today; he's just been resting on some of his ornaments and had a bit of red eye going on and a lumpy belly. I've already put some Paraguard in the water, but I was wondering how to soak his food. He only eats snails and frozen bloodworms. I tried soaking the bloodworms in Parasite Guard (tetra brand, little tablets) and he reluctantly nibbled on one but didnt take the others. He still tore into some snails that I gave him though, so it's not that he doesnt want to eat at all, just didnt like the taste the meds gave the bloodworms I guess.

My main question is can I successfully soak the snails? Will they absorb enough meds to be effective? How long should I try to soak them? Do you think adding some garlic to the soak will help him get over the taste?
Another question is, is there a better med I can buy for just dosing the tank? Paraguard seems to be mainly for external parasites from what I gathered from the bottle, though I've heard it be used for internal as well. Is there anything specifically for internal parasites, or should I just stick to a general med for now?

He's in a 10 gal with one ghost shrimp, parameters are 0/0/40,
Sorry this is so long, I'm trying to get out as much info as I can
I really hope im not too late, he's honestly the best fish I've ever kept

 

[coralbandit]

I have not kept puffs before ,but I think you are looking for this ?
Seachem - MetroPlex
Good luck and hopefully a puff/disease person will help us.

 

[TMaier]

Prazipro

 

[Brookster123]

I was going to say metro and prazi. You may be better isolating in a smaller tank and do a bath for a few hours. Those meds may wipe out inverts and bb??

 

[54seaweed]

Never treat inverts with any type of medication it will instantly kill them

 

[Brookster123]

Never treat inverts with any type of medication it will instantly kill them

Thats a broad statement. There are a couple/few meds that will not kill inverts.

 

[54seaweed]

Thats a broad statement. There are a couple/few meds that will not kill inverts.

I was not aware of any meds that were invert safe , keep forgetting freshwater meds are different from salt , and thank you for correcting me .

 

[sleepybirde]

Bought Metroplex, LFS didnt have Prazi. Considering giving him a dip as well as treating the tank and soaking his food. Would that be going overboard/not be effective? Still not sure if soaking the snails is really working as far as absorbing the meds, but I can try bloodworms again I suppose.

 

[sleepybirde]

Tried a dip with bizarre/distressing results. I had already treated the tank and had let him be in it for a few hours, before I put some tank water in a gallon container and mixed stress coat, aquarium salt and less than half a measure of metro for the dip. When I put him in he started losing balance, he could swim but when he would rest he would go vertical; face to the ground, tail to the surface. This freaked me out so I took him out early and when I put him back in the tank he went completely belly up on the bottom of the tank!! He fixed himself now and doesn't seem to be having problems, he's just resting on the sand. Poor guy, I hope I didn't make it worse by stressing him out.
Is this a sign I used too much meds or something else entirely?? I'm confused on what could make him do that, if it really is internal parasites. Maybe its something else altogether?? We'll have to see if he makes it through the night I guess :c

 

[sleepybirde]

Little Franklin finally passed away :c
Thank all who replied in trying to help, he fought for a long while.