Porcupine Puffer with Ich?

[rfischer]

We've had this puffer for about a year and it has been a voracious eater up until about a month ago when it stopped eating. It's favorite food is frozen table shrimp, but we varied its diet with clams on the halfshell, crabs, and the occasional snail.

The tank is a six foot 125 with a 55 gallon sump. There is a good amount of rock in the DT, but there are no other fish in the tank. Nitrates have been high, but I have brought them down to around 30 with water changes.

The puffer isn't breathing heavy and it is very active (and interactive) around the tank. I recently noticed small white specks on its fins, but I cannot find anything on the rest of it. I've taken many pictures and zoomed in on them fairly close, but only the fins have the specks. One other odd thing I've noticed is the puffer's vision doesn't seem to be as sharp lately. It can spot us when we are watching it, so it swims back and forth for us, but sometimes the puffer doesn't seem to notice rockwork or the tank glass and will bump into it. I notice no fogging or discoloration of the puffer's eyes- just the normal blue speckles.

My LFS suggested flukes might be the cause of the appetite change when I spoke with him a few weeks ago, so I dosed PraziPro last Friday and was going to dose round two tomorrow or Friday. I have Cupramine and Copper Power on hand. I have an API copper test and today I received a Hanna copper checker.

I have been reading porcupine puffer ich treatment posts for a week now, but I thought I would ask the forum for advice before I proceed. This puffer does not like being netted or removed from its tank, and I will be leaving the tank fallow to rid it of ich, so my preference is to place the puffer in a QT, slowly ramp up Cupramine or Copper Power to a therapeutic level, and allow the puffer to remain in there for 30 days. After that, if there are no signs of ich, I would monitor the puffer until the fallow tank is ready for the fish to return home.

Any thoughts regarding Cupramine vs Copper Power, and would you please check out the attached photos to see if you concur that it is ich on the puffer's fins?

Thank you.

 

[Big G]

Are the white specs in the same spot the next day?

 

[soflmuddin]

Any way you can source live shrimp to entice him to eat. Mine seams happiest when he is hunting down shrimp. Did I read right and you said he hasn't eaten in a month?

 

[rfischer]

Yes, the white spots haven't moved since Sunday. I noticed a new one on another fin tonight.

 

[rfischer]

I have tried live ghost shrimp but no interest. I will get some live shrimp from a bait shop and see how that goes.

 

[rfischer]

Thoughts on the spots anyone?

 

[soflmuddin]

Thoughts on the spots anyone?

I would just keep watching, the spots don't look like an immediate concern. I would focus on enticing him to eat. I heard a while back how a diet heavy in krill can give them lock jaw, don't know how true that is. If you don't feed them food that wears down their beak they can have problems and stop eating. When you get to the bait store try to get a small blue crab and take of the pitchers. Also head earth worms(?). There was a rumor that sliced roast beef entices them but I highly doubt this, can't hurt to try. After a month of not eating I would not medicate unless you are positive what you are trying to treat.

 

[rfischer]

Probably good advice, but if the fish isn’t eating because of stress caused by ich doing nothing might lead to the fish’s death. Since there are no responses regarding ich or copper, perhaps I’ll try TTM. This guy just really hates being scooped up, so I wonder if that is better or worse than moving it once and slowly ramping up copper for 30 days.

 

[soflmuddin]

Probably good advice, but if the fish isn’t eating because of stress caused by ich doing nothing might lead to the fish’s death. Since there are no responses regarding ich or copper, perhaps I’ll try TTM. This guy just really hates being scooped up, so I wonder if that is better or worse than moving it once and slowly ramping up copper for 30 days.

My porcupine ate all throughout his ich infestation which were hundreds of spots for close to 3 weeks. With only a couple of spots showing on his fins yours would need to be pretty infected in his gills to cause him to stop eating. Is his breathing labored or do you see his gills spasm occasionally. I never saw my puffer flash when he was infected but I think i heard of them trying to lunge forward when gills are infected. When the gills are heavily inflected the eyes will cloud up from lack of oxygen, this is where that most definitely will stop eating. Remember all fish can live with ich, especially if they are the only fish in the tank and are not stressed. I would avoid stressing him and if he eats he will pull thru on his own. There was a study that shows ich dies out after 6 or so generations (under a year) without diverse selection of hosts. I have heard of them stop eating because of bowel obstruction. I am no where near an expert on puffers or ich but I do know for a fact that healthy fish can fight off ich.

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[rfischer]

Thank you for your insight. I tried deli meat last night and I will continue to try different foods. The poor thing doesn’t seem to see the food in front of it and won’t take it when I gently nudge it against its mouth. The eyes are not cloudy and the blue shimmer is present on them as always.