Porcupine Puffer Eats but is Losing Weigth
- Thread starter Gmtarsw
- Start date
Newsmyrna80
Active member
Typically when they eat great and keep losing weight it is due to some sort of intestinal worm. Try adding metronidazole to his food.
Prazipro does not treat intestinal parasites - but metro does (as Newsmyrna80 pointed out).
Also, I would not use any copper based med, such as Cupramine, on a puffer.
so your saying flukes cant cause fish to become skinny? tsk tsk
and then youre saying not to use cupramine on puffers? sorry pal but others, as well as myself, have done so without issues.
op metro, prazi, and cupramine are what i would hit the fish with. if not cupramine then hypo or tt but all the methods should help your fish out.
high post count != correct advice.
Deinonych
New member
There's really no need to be snarky.
Cupramine is not an effective treatment for flukes or internal worms. Prazi and metro are the recommended treatments as others have advised.
l2r!!! read post 3 in this thread to see why i mentioned cupramine...you are just reiterating info i already posted?
it was meant to be snarky since there are some misconceptions within this thread that can affect the op negatively.
and to answer humblefish, yes prazi has been effective at helping fish that have become skinny due to internal parasites. or course no one of can actually see what exactly is ailing our fish unless you examine them internally, but it doesnt hurt to try metro or prazi to save them right?
Deinonych
New member
I saw your post. The OP makes no mention of crypto, so why treat unnecessarily?
But you do agree that I advocated the op to use prazi and/or metro to help with the parasite problem right? Based on your first response you made it sound as if I was recommending cupramine for the parasites which is totally wrong.
And now to answer your next question. I, along with many others, advocate prophylactic treatment fish. What leads me to believe this wasnt treated for anything - the fish obviously has parasites and would have been one of the things treated had a regimen been followed. So, to save the fish and op other grief from other diseases, the reason cupramine should also be administered was to prevent these other problems from arising. There, that is why the op should use that on his fish. Unless you can honestly and correctly tell me 100% without a doubt that a fish does not have ich, and other diseases, then cupramine is not needed in this case.
Good morning also!
And now to answer your next question. I, along with many others, advocate prophylactic treatment fish. What leads me to believe this wasnt treated for anything - the fish obviously has parasites and would have been one of the things treated had a regimen been followed. So, to save the fish and op other grief from other diseases, the reason cupramine should also be administered was to prevent these other problems from arising. There, that is why the op should use that on his fish. Unless you can honestly and correctly tell me 100% without a doubt that a fish does not have ich, and other diseases, then cupramine is not needed in this case.
Good morning also!
Any ailment can cause reduced appetite = skinniness. But why would flukes, which mostly targets the gills, be more likely to cause this than intestinal parasites? Skinniness is more a symptom of the latter.
Prazi treats flukes, turbellarians (Black Ich), etc. Metro treats intestinal parasites. Perhaps the best thing for the OP to do is treat with API General Cure, which contains both medications.
Puffers are a known copper sensitive species. I said "I would not use" copper on puffers. But you (and the OP) are free to do as you please.
Once again, more bad information. Here is the prazi pro description:
The first ready-to-use liquid concentrate praziquantel treatment for aquarium use. Controls disease conditions caused by flukes, tapeworm, flatworm, and internal parasites. Use in freshwater or marine aquariums. Offers rapid control without negatively impacting your biological filtration. May also be used as a preventive. Not recommended for reef aquariums with Feather Duster Worms or other ornamental worms. 4 oz treats 480 gallons, 16 oz treats 1920 gallons.
Can you please read out loud the part that discusses internal parasites and tapeworms? And yes, those can cause fish to become skinny. I do agree however to try both metro and prazi since we don't know what nasties fish really have and sometimes one just isn't enough.
You clearly don't understand the difference between internal parasites, and intestinal parasites.
Deinonych
New member
While I am an advocate for prophylactic treatment in general, I treat for known ailments first. In this case, I would treat for the most likely vector causing the weight loss (the known) -- worms or similar internal parasites. Once cured of this, I would then make a judgment call on whether to treat for cryptocaryon based on the fish's history.
Mixing meds should be avoided wherever possible, especially with Cupramine. A known side effect of Cupramine is appetite suppression. With a fish that is already suffering from malnutrition, you could cause additional, or even irreversible harm by reducing its nutrient intake if it reacts negatively to Cupramine. In addition, some meds are less effective when used with Cupramine -- praziquantel in particular.
ok...so where exactly do tapeworms live? yes...
agreed, this is probably the route that should be started on but better safe than sorry my friend.
All I'm gonna say is that IME praziquantel does not effectively clear intestinal worms from marine fish.
Almost every single time (in 35+ years) I've had to resort to metronidazole. And I don't even like metro (nasty side effects).
But, as I said before, everyone is free to do as they wish when it comes to medicating their own fish.
