Attempting to Diagnose Dwarf Puffer - Internal Parsites?

[breakaway]

One of my 6 dwarf puffers (Carinotetraodon travancoricus) was looking very 'tired', sitting on the gravel during the day and not moving. This is not normal behaviour for him. He isn't as extroverted as the other 5 puffers - he likes to hide in the substrate amongst the plants and graze on snails etc. And during feeding time, he'll eat significantly less than the other puffers - he'll eat 1-2 bloodworms tops, while the other puffers will eat 4-6 depending on size.

Then there's also the fact that he hasn't gained much weight (if any at all) since I got him. All the other puffers have fattened up considerably. For the time being I've isolated him into a 40L tank by himself (With filter media + water from cycled tank) and he seems to be doing great - he ate 4 worms (that's almost 3 more than normal) last night, and seems considerably more active (i.e. spends less time sulking on the substrate)

I can get fenbendazole, but don't want to start dosing medicines until I'm absolutely sure. Is there any way I can be sure before I start medicating?

TIA!

[Jennifer]

Hate to say it but those signs are signs of a myriad of disease conditions including bacterial infections, viral infections, fungal infections, protozoal infections and parasite infestations. In the absence of any other signs (or water problems) think what you would do if you had similar symptoms - rest. If you want to start treating, start with what is likely to kill the fish first. You can't treat for a virus but you can treat for some bacteria. Furan is easy to get so you can start with that. Treat for the specified time and then see if the fish is better. If not, you might not have used an effective antibiotic for the bacteria that you have - or it might not be bacterial. :roll: You won't truly know without diagnostic testing.

Deworming is pretty safe, even for mildly debilitated fish, but parasite burdens rarely cause significant clinical signs in healthy fish.

Sorry, I know that is probably not the answer you were looking for.

[breakaway]

Ah yup, I was dreading a reply like that. Again tonight he's eaten 400% his standard intake, so maybe I'll just wait it out for a few weeks and re-assess the situation.