Urgent - please help to save my puffer!

[Seafan]

I’ve had this 3” blue-spot sharpnose puffer in my 10g quarantine tank for 3 weeks. 2 days after I got him I saw him scratching on the rocks many times. I didn't see any spots to think it was ich. His dorsal fin is not clear, there are some whitish stuff on it, but I'm not sure if it is lymphocystis. I fed him garlic soaked shrimp and scallops, and the scratching reduced to only a few times a day, but the dorsal fin cloudines seemed to get worse. He has a small red patch about 0.25” by 0.25” where the scales were “lifted” or “erected”, he also lost a strip of skin about 0.75" long near the dorsal fin, I assume these were caused by the scratching.

I have been treating the Q-tank with Melafix for 10 days. I don’t see him scratch any more, and the red patch got smaller. But he has been eating less and less, especially in the past 3 days, and got thinner visibly. I have been feeding shrimp, scallop and such, he was still eating them, and gorging live black worms. But tonight, for the first time, he didn’t eat any food, not even the live worms. This really got me concerned. I am afraid this is the critical point.

What could I do at this point? Should I continue Melafix treatment? Should I use copper (I’m not sure if it was parasite though)? Should I use antibiotics (I have Furan-2 at hand)?

Please help to save the puffer!

[Grouper]

You're right to be concerned. A healthy puffer is always hungry.

However, you seem to be doing all that can be done in this situation.

I have had a porcupine puffer for close to two years. My experience has been that although he may be prone to get ick more so than other tank inhabitants, he is much more hardy to begin with and thus much less likely to die from the ick. So, chances are he will pull through. You don't hear about too many puffers dying from ick.

When my puffer has gotten ick, it has always been related to stress factors. He's gotten ick EVERY time I've added a new inhabitant to the tank. I usually then feed garlic and vary the types of food I give him, sometimes fortifying the food with Selcon. I don't quarantine him, believing this adds even more stress. After a week or two, he has always recovered.

Other than what you've been doing, I can't think of anything else except perhaps a freshwater dip to get rid of the parasites (make sure ph and water temperature match the tank he's currently in). I would do this only if he looks really bad though, as this procedure is stressful and will most likely cause him to puff up (which is not really harmful when he's healthy, but probably not good for him when he's got ick).

HTH, Group