Dogface puffer dying from Ich

My dogface puffer has been fighting Ich for the last few weeks. He has been doing pretty well untill a yesterday. He wont eat and hides all day. His breathing is heavy. When he does come out he is rubbing on the rocks and he is covered with scratches.

I have been dipping his food in garlic, but now he wont eat. Should I take him out and dip him, or move him to a hospital tank ?

 

Dog face puffers usually only suffer from ich if the water quality is questionable, over crowding or bullying from a more aggressive fish, in other words it's stress induced.

If you do not have a QT running and cycled, it may add more stress than the fish can handle as this point. A FW dip may also be too stressful and put it over the edge, and you only relieve the symptoms, as soon as returned to the tank it will become re-infected and more stressed. Please read the link below, it's written by a micro-biologist and expert on the subject.

Marine Ich - Myths and Facts

Good luck

 

I would recommend Marine-Max by Tropical Science. He may not make it while you wait for it to come (if you order it) but at least you can get some and treat the tank as a preventative for the future.

 

what are the details of your tank? params? size? how long has it been extablished?

 

The tank is a 100 gal FOWLR. he is being somewhat intimidated by a fox face. The dont really fight, but the foxface will come close to him and flare his fins. The Puffer usually shys away when he does that.

Water params are good, 0 Amonia, 0 Nitrites, Nitrates 5ppm and PH is 8.3. Tnk has been set up for about 6 years.

 

BTW, I don't have a hospital tank set up. I usually let my fish fight off ich on their own, but he's taken a turn for the worse and I just hate seeing him waste away incase anyone can think or a quick fix to at least get him feeding again.

 

if its a fowlr and you dont plan to make it a reef i would do copper meds. or some herbal med stuff but that doesnt work near as good. sounds your tank is in overall good health aside from this tho so i think hell pull through

 

Copper meds arent good for puffers, but I think other meds would still damage the biological capabilities of my live rock. Wouldn't it ? Any meds thats are safe for FOWLR ?

 

Did you read the link?

 

copper is toxic to most inverts that is true so alot of the things on your live rock will die. and i have never heard that copper meds are bad for puffers? ive treated one of my first puffers with meds and it healed it up fine