# my dwarf puffer got bit



## Guest (May 26, 2010)

i have moved her from the main tank and into a small tank ... the area between her tail and body is very red ... what should i treat with ??? aquarium salt, melafix, any suggestions ???


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Unfortunately I am not very adept around piscine bites and heater burns. I'd imagine the treatment would be similar. I hope someone chimes in soon.

Warm regards,

Stuart


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Try PMing Charles, Cheryl. I'm sure he will have some insight.

I can't believe no one else responded yet !

Stuart


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hoolagal, do you know for sure that your puffer was bitten? I've never dealt with a bite on a fish so I don't know how to help, though I imagine (in an unqualified to prescribe way) that salt might help a superficial wound.

The reason that I'm asking if you know for sure is that OCD Fishies just lost a tiger barb to a bacterial infection that also made the fish appear red -- I can't remember whether the red was between the body and the tail or the body and the dorsal fin, but it was visible in a pic. I think that it was some kind of bacterial infection.

Are you able to take a pic and post it? A photo would probably help people here who have had similar problems with their fish, come up with a suggestion. If it were me and I didn't know whether it was a bite or a bacterial infection, I'd treat with Jungle Labs Lifeguard. I've had some success with it in the past and it treats a broad range of conditions, including bacterial and fungal. http://www.junglelabs.com/pages/details.asp?item=TT101


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

Pics would definitely help  Do you think he was bitten by another puff? 
If so.. the bite should be round. Also be very, very careful with meds, and be sure to dose at half or less then full dose because puffers have slime coats.. and they are very,very sensitive to meds!!


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

she is in a tank by herself and i have added a bit of melafix ... i think it is a bite because she is the littlest and i have seen fatty patty bite her ... both of the other girls chase her ... and then this morning i noticed the red patch ... i will try to get a picture ... the fish is swimming and acting normally, ate worms with the rest, it was just that red patch ... i will google red bacterial infections and see what i can come up with ... thanks for the replies


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## Guest (May 27, 2010)

i have been trying to get a picture but as always, not cooperating  i have read up some on bacterial infections that are red and most described it as streaks, this is definitely round ... she has just been swimming around, kinda slow but probably because it is the first time in a while she isn't being chased ... i have turned the filter off, should i add some air bubbles with the filter being off ??? the tank does not have a cover


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

okay, so it has been two weeks ... i have treated a week with melafix and now a week with both melafix and pimafix ... it is reddish and i do think it is a bacterial infection resulting from the bite ... the red part has got smaller but definitely not healed ... the tank is only 78 degrees, should i warm her up a bit more ??? her appetite is fine, she comes to check me out ... she still kills snails ... but it has been two weeks !!! should i just keep treating ???


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

here is what she looks like ... it is way less red and smaller but still significant in my opinion ... the red part is between the body and the tail ... easier to see when larger format


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## Sandy Landau (Jun 4, 2010)

That looks serious. Have you tried antibiotics?


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

i was just looking online for something ... do you have any suggestions ... someone suggested jungle cure but i can not find that ... and when i look online at big als i do not see antibiotics and the only jungle cure is for internal parasites which i am pretty sure it is not


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

no need for anti biotics or any meds if its just a flesh wound. The most important thing is to keep pristine water conditions. If its just a superficial wound it will heal naturally.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

it is very hard to know what to do because first the suggestion was melafix, then to add pimafix ... and because it was a 2.5 gallon tank i was changing out part of the water daily to keep it fresh because melafix and pimafix said to take out the cartridge with charcoal ... so in my mind the water was not being filtered so needed freshening daily due to the small size of the tank ... so then the pet store people told me because i did not medicate with both melafix and pimafix for 10 days without changing the water, i diluted the strength of the meds which is why the fish was not getting better ... i know that she got bit ... and i know it was fine for a bit but then turned red in the spot and the red spread all around her tail ... another puffer was bit and she puffed up and the other puffer was locked onto her like a pitbull and she did have a bit mark on her but i did nothing and she healed fine ... so i am not sure what to do .... do i stop giving melafix and pimafix which has helped a bit in the last week or do i add broad-spectrum antibiotics (and i have no idea where to find those), someone has suggested a fungal cure ... or do i just slap a cartridge in the filter and do a good size water change ??? so i really do not know myself and probably people don't know either but i wish i knew how to fix her, i mean you saw the video, she is fricken cute  stressed, gotta go to bed


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## taureandragon76 (Apr 21, 2010)

Don't worry about there being no charcoal in the filter. The only real benefit of charcoal in the filter is to remove medications. I don't ever use it in any of my filters. If it is just a flesh wound you shouldn't need to medicate. At the most add a bit of salt to the tank.


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## kelly528 (Apr 21, 2010)

Most people would probably suggest something like melafix or pimafix because it worked for their _fish_, not for their _puffer_.

As I understand, puffers are extremely sensitive to medications. I would consult a puffer forum (or even better, a DP forum) to determine which meds you can and can't use.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

thanks kelly528, i just posted on the puffer forum, we will see what they have to say


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

medications are used for *DISEASES* or parasites, fungus, bactieral infections etc.

If I'm reading correctly, your fish just has a flesh wound and has *NO* disease. No need for any meds.

When you get a cut, do you take antibiotics or any other medicine? Probably not. I just clean it and put a band aid on it. Same idea for your fish, just give it clean water and it will heal.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

jkam - i believe it was a flesh wound that has become infected ... when my other puffer was bit, there was a small mark and she puffed right up and then healed fine ... this puffer got bit and i left her and then it became all red ... and in my research, and i am in no way saying i am right or anything, but i think it has become a bacterial infection ... and considering it has been three weeks since the bite, two weeks on her own in the hospital tank, if it was going to heal, it would look like it was healing but it doesn't ... and i get what you are saying about a cut and just keeping it clean but if you had a cut that got infected it would need treatment ... i just have yet to find anyone who knows how to treat it ... and since i myself have never seen or dealt with this i am trying to find info on how to treat ... i have posted on this forum, on fishgeeks.com, the puffer forum and even yahoo answers !!! and no one on four forums can answer how to treat


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## L!$A (Apr 21, 2010)

I personally would have her in a hospital tank, and treat the tank with salt. Use a 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons. Disintegrate salt in a jug or cup before you pour it into the tank. If you feed you need to do a water change, do one. More the better, if you take out say 50% of the water, put back the amount of salt that you removed while doing a water change.. ie: 5gallon tank, gets a 50% water change, put back half a teaspoon into the tank (disintegrated of course) .. since you've already tried using melafix & pimafix, then salt is your best bet. Be sure to also keep the tank around 80 degrees. Warmth should speed up her metabolism, hopefully speeding up recovery.


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## Guest (Jun 14, 2010)

L!$A - she is alone in a hospital tank and i am going to try what you suggest ... the tank is 78-80 degrees ... and you are right, the melafix and pimafix have not worked so i will try the aquarium salt ... sorry to hear about your puffer


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2010)

three months and 60 dollars in fish medication to heal one five dollar fish :O) i used melafix, then pimafix, then melafix and pimafix together, no help ... i added salt and put in a second heater to warm the water to 82 ... still no healing ... got some API erythromycin, two rounds of treatment with that ... clean water changes, indian almond leaves and i am happy to say runt has been back in the big tank for a week now and is doing great :O)


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

I am so happy your puffer got better. I tryed different things and my tiger barb just kept getting worse. I bet the 60 was worth it to you though others may not feel that way.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2010)

oh, i have already been ridiculed for the cost of my fish medication but just to see her back in the big tank and doing so well, i would do it again :O)


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## eternity302 (Apr 22, 2010)

=) Agreed!
I now have 5 types of different medicine... LOL! Just in case, i didn't even need it, but wuz worried that it'll become too costly to buy it all at once later on! So I slowly picked up one bottle at a time to ease the cost LOL! =)
Glad your fishy's okay now!


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## Sandy Landau (Jun 4, 2010)

It's good to read a story with such a good outcome. Thanks for giving the rest of us hope that medications can work!


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