I own two figure 8 puffers. I have had them for about 1 1/2 months. I did not treat them for parasites when I got them because the stupid lfs told me they were captive-bred. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I noticed one of them had light stringy poop, instead of their usual "nuggets." I panicked and decided to treat both for parasites. I bought metronidazole in powder and started soaking their food (frozen krill) in the solution. They ate it fine the first couple of days, then they caught on to the fact that it probably tastes awful and stopped eating it. The puffer with the stringy poop was pooping pellets again, so I let it be, since they both looked really healthy and active and were eating a lot.
A couple of days ago, I noticed the same puffer now with what looked like constipation. Blackish stringy poop just hanging from his body. This time he is no longer acting normal. He is hovering on the gravel and not eating. Occasionally, he will try to swim around, darting and then stopping. He seems weak, like the current is too strong for him now. So, I decided to treat the whole tank. I removed the carbon from the filter and started dosing the powder metro straight into the tank. No improvement as of today (I have been treating the tank since Saturday). The bottle says 1-2 parts every two days. Should I do every day? What else can I do? Is this even the right treatment? Now the other puffer seems to sense something because he is keeping the sick one company on the bottom. I need some good advice on how to proceed because I am leaving the country in 2 weeks and my husband will be caring for the fish.
Thank you in advance!
Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
A couple of days ago, I noticed the same puffer now with what looked like constipation. Blackish stringy poop just hanging from his body. This time he is no longer acting normal. He is hovering on the gravel and not eating. Occasionally, he will try to swim around, darting and then stopping. He seems weak, like the current is too strong for him now. So, I decided to treat the whole tank. I removed the carbon from the filter and started dosing the powder metro straight into the tank. No improvement as of today (I have been treating the tank since Saturday). The bottle says 1-2 parts every two days. Should I do every day? What else can I do? Is this even the right treatment? Now the other puffer seems to sense something because he is keeping the sick one company on the bottom. I need some good advice on how to proceed because I am leaving the country in 2 weeks and my husband will be caring for the fish.
Thank you in advance!
Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
