lost all my fish except puffer. now what?

[chris5523]

I lost my blonde naso to black ich. Lost my yt, sailfin and clowns to what i believe was brook, all this happened very fast.

Only survivor is a blue spot toby puffer. So i will wait 6 weeks before adding any new fish but could the puffer still carry one of these parasites and kill off new fish down the road? Should i qt and treat him as if he was sick and leave the dt fallow for the 6 weeks? Thanks

 

[paradoxg]

I lack experience compared to lots of other people on this forum, but from what I understand the parasite will continue to exist continuously until the tank is fishless for 72 days.

There is a few exceptions, from what I've read, where a fish who remains resilient against the parasite for the whole time can cause the parasite to die off, but this is both rare, and difficult to achieve. It's much more prudent to just leave the tank fallow for 8 weeks. That way you can be sure it's parasite free going into the future. Assuming you quarantine properly of course.

 

[paradoxg]

I think the general rule is if one has the parasite, they all have it. Even if they are not showing symptoms. So, you would also treat your pufferfish for the parasite regardless if he looks like he doesn't have it.

 

[The_Blenny357]

lost all my fish except puffer. now what?

I think the general rule is if one has the parasite, they all have it. Even if they are not showing symptoms. So, you would also treat your pufferfish for the parasite regardless if he looks like he doesn't have it.

Not always true, a few years ago when i was just starting i got a fairy wrasse who came down with a bad case of ich, my valentini puffer never got it and is still with me today. The wrasse was put in QT and eventually died. +1 to part two of paradoxg's post, always want to make sure your clear before adding new fish!

 

[rssjsb]

To The Blenny: Yeah, that doesn't mean the puffer wasn't infected. It might have just had a tolerance. If so, any new fish you add are at risk.

To the OP: You actually should assume that all fish in a tank with one that had it also have it. Since you've only got the toby left, you should take him out and treat him (tank transfer sees to work well, and is recommended because puffers are sensitive to copper). Allow your tank to remain fish-free for 72 days.

If you want to add new fish and do TT with your puffer that would be ok as long as your QT can handle the load.