# Skinny Dwarf Puffer...



## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i got some Dwarf puffers 5 days ago. one was skinnier than the others, but was just as active.

last night he didnt seem AS active, but still ate.

today he was hiding at the base of a plant, not scared, but just totally out of steam.

he's still really skinny, even tho he was eating bloodworms fine up until yesterday.

when i got him i thought he was skinny because there were so many DPs in the tank, so food was scarce.

but now im starting to think its an internal parasite.

i tried the 'new and improved' search function. but that is no help whatsoever, pretty pointless even searching, because it returns a bunch of crap you didnt want to see.

anyways, ive never had a parasite problem. im just wondering what the best way to treat or cure internal parasites is. or do you think its too early to tell if the DP is sick or not?

he's really skinny. i mistook him for a baby molly at first this morning.

if anyone knows a good medicine for parasites, or if you have any advice, id really appreciate it.

thanks everyone


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Check out the Puffer Forum at its temp location: http://puffer2.proboards37.com/


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i did, and didnt find too much.

you know any good parasite meds, mettle? ive never had to deal with them before.

i now know for sure its internal parasites. concave belly, listlessness... doesnt look too good.

i moved the poor guy to a convalescent home to get some space, and hopefully food.
im gonna try and feed him now.

but i will definitely be going down to Big Als tomorrow, and having a bitch-fest at the manager.

i bought 7 fish, 4 of which have died. 3 otos, and i basically am counting this little DP as toast, altho im gonna try my hardest to nurse him back.

but the fish all died within a couple of days of getting them. the water params are dead on, and ive been doing water changes every other day, because i know how DPs are susceptible to ammonia.

but im seriously pissed off at the store. why sell ppl fish you know arent healthy? and they dont like it when you ask to choose your fish. i got to choose 3 of my DPs, then the guy just snatched another, which ended up being this sick one.

my gf got 2 otos at the same time as me. one is missing an eye (altho she doesnt care).

im just under the assumption that the employees are responsible for selecting a fish that doesnt look F-ed up.

i mean, the DPs are so small, i couldnt tell what this guy looked like in store, it wasnt until i got home that i noticed.

i called them today, and they said their return policy is 1/2 the cost of the fish STORE CREDIT.... WTF?!?! if they sell you a fish, and it dies 2 days later, and it's proven the water is OK, then they should refund the whole fish, no?
every other fish store i go to will refund the whole fish.

i view this place's return policy as bogus. basically it means they can sell you totally crap fish, that they know are crap and will die, and no matter what, they still get to keep half your money.

im a man on a mission tomorrow. im gonna bring that sh!thole down. they wont screw anybody else around here anymore... ill approach as Mr. Niceguy, but if they try to screw me about...Mr. Niceguy will descend into hell...and i will emerge...

by the way, hows that GT mettle???


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Not too knowledgeable about parasites personally. I got called into work for today, so I'll be going there in an hour or so. I'll ask one of my co-workers and take a glance over the meds we have on hand and hopefully have an answer for you this evening.

As for the store... That is messed up. And all around bad the way they deal with their returns. Sometimes we have fish in that are not doing too well. We never obviously say 'these are sick fish' but what we do say is that the fish are new (which they are 99% of the time), they're stressed and we've been keeping an eye on them. If the person really wants to buy them, we say okay, but that we can't make a health guarantee on the fish. Which is usually bells and lights for the customer. It's our way of doing things in the fish department without going against company policy. Not bad if you ask me.

As for the otos... They can be pretty sensitive sometimes. So when introducing them into a new tank with new water chmistry, you can lose them. It's just the way they are. In my opinion they're not overly hardy fish.

The GT is doing good. Starting to show some aggression towards my oscar. Keeping an eye out on that. But for the most part they co-exist pretty well in the 55 gal I have them in now. I was actually thinking about returning him to be honest. But I've started to get attached to him. He was only $5 so I figure I'll keep him around. But if it comes down to deciding between the GT and the oscar, definitely sticking with my oscar... And of course there's that lone zebra danio in there. I think the aggression started over the danio actually. The GT has 'adopted' it and when the oscar was giving chase the GT stepped in and chased the oscar. Pretty amusing... I might get some giant danios once I get paid just to toss in as target fish so the two guys don't let out all their aggression againt each other.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

the the giant danios are great dithers.

the sick puffer was dead this morning when i woke up.

im bringing in his body to show these idiots how bad he was. but ill tell them he died a couple of days ago, and i had him in the freezer.

i couldnt believe it about the return policy. i mean, they sold me crappy fish...and no matter what, im only coming out of there with half of what i went in with, ya know?

at my LFS, the ppl are always totally honest with me about the fish. one time i wanted some danios for my piranhas...they said, "sorry dave, those danios are crap...i bought 100 off this guy...and they're dropping like flies."

he gave me some for dirt cheap...they all died, so i went back in and told him...so he gave me a figure eight puffer...pretty good deal if you ask me...10 crappy dead danios, for an F8









i went back to the store a few days later, and the danios had gone from 80+, to less than 10...pretty bad.

but anywyas, im amped up today to go in there and raise some hell at Big Als. if they really try to f*** me around...it'll be bad for them. i knwo that in the end of it all...ill get what i want out of this...im stubborn like that.

but im for sure calling teh Better Business Bureau, and im gonna get this place written up for poor conditions in tanks, and abhorable service. and im sure the BBB would love to hear about them selling crappp fish, then only refunding half of that.

when i got the fish, i was really sketchy, because the way that they package the fish up, they really toss them around...with no respect for the fact that the fish is a living creature...i had a feeling some might not make it, just from the way the employees handled the fish. so i asked, "what is your policy on dead fish...". all that they said was "oh, its a 5-day guarantee", nothing about 50% store credit...if i knew that, i wouldnt have bought fish from there.

but in the end, i can get mad and worked up really easy. plus im waaaay bigger than any of the guys that work in there :laugh:


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Well... I forgot to ask about the internal parasites at work today. So I guess that works out, lol.

As for the return policy... That's just shite. Plain and simple. And a 50% refund sounds so shifty to me. It's a shame that the Big Al's where you are is such crap. The two in town here are great and take pretty good care of their fish from what I've seen. I like where I work for the most part though... But you'd be surprised at how many fish die in even good conditions. It's insane. We lost four arowana today. FOUR. Though they came in in crap shape, personally speaking. But whatever. I digress...

Good luck with your crusade. But I don't think the BBB will really care. Stores are free to set their own return policies. Ultimately it's up to you in the end to decide if you want to shop there and purchase their merchandise... Granted they didn't inform you properly. That's the only issue. But it's also pretty minor.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

well...

mission accomplished









i went in there. and an employee came to help. i told him my predicament(sp?) with my DP and otos. he was pretty straight up that he would only give me 50%. so i got a little worked out and went off about how i havent seen a fish store give half back on fish that didnt even last like 4 or 5 days. he didnt care. so i told him that "it's f***in' bullsh!t for a store policy buddy...rah rahrah..GIVE ME YOUR MANAGER..."
so this auzzie lady came out. and was polite enough. i told her that their store policy was one of the worst business policies ive ever heard of. and this and that is ridiculous, and BS, and im pissed off about being sold 3 fish that all died 2 days after i got them.

i obviously struck the right chord. and came out with profuse apologies, a 100% refund, and a really nice new DP. beautiful yellow markings. it didnt eat when it first went in, but i mean, 10 mins after moving into a new home, the last thing i want to do is eat. but at least it got the other DPs attention off the new arrival, and gave him time to settle in.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Awesome that thinks worked out for you! Glad to hear it. Often if enough rucus is raised people comply. Nothing like a bad scene and a dissatisfied customer storming out.

The only time I've seen that happen at our place is yesterday a lady came in looking for feeder fish and we didn't have any. (See, we don't get in as many feeders as some places because we don't like to brutally overstock our feeder tanks. We also keep them in the back, in quarantine, in our hospital room, before they're sold. So we 'run out' sometimes.) Anyway, she bitched and complained and said she would start shopping at a new store... Crazy woman... Chances are whatever she was feeding doesn't even need feeders.


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

dude if ur gonna waste money buying stuff to cure ur puffer u might as well get a new one there cheap


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

King Piranha said:


> dude if ur gonna waste money buying stuff to cure ur puffer u might as well get a new one there cheap
> [snapback]1045790[/snapback]​


No offense, but I hate people who think like this... No regard for the fish. It's cheap so it's disposable. I say props to Puff for wanting to do something for the lil' guy. Unfortunately he never made it. But the intetions were there.

This is why I think fish should be a lot more expensive. Along with a lot of other animals. If people were dropping $100+ per fish they wouldn't treat them as being so disposable. But maybe that is just me and my over zealousness?


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

King Piranha said:


> dude if ur gonna waste money buying stuff to cure ur puffer u might as well get a new one there cheap
> [snapback]1045790[/snapback]​


go home.


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

King P- i didnt expect something like that from ya. but whatever you believe is your own choice.

the only fish i consider 'disposable' are feeders, that are usually so inbred, that they die anyways. i still maintain their tank like it was any of my other tanks tho. even my snail tank is kept up just like my others.

i knew the puffer wasnt going to make it. but i still tried my darndest to save him, or at least give him some peace and quiet while he lives out his last day.

he had his own place to himself, where he could just relax, and not worry about being found by another fish. at least he went out in (what i suppose could be) comfort.

the new one looks good. its actually a bit longer than my others, with more bright yellow. it's so funny watching a new DP get accepted into the group. swam rigth up to them, and sorta tagged along. 2 of the DPs sorta looked over their shoulder to see who the new one is, then swam up to it, and accepted it.

im never one that enjoys making huge scenes, but i dont put up with any sh!t from anybody. you dont have to do that very much when you're 6'1, 230lbs. you just gotta be straightforward, and let them know you're mad.

i also told the manager that she should watch how her employees bag up fish. one guy holds the top of the bag, and spins the bottom part (with the fish in it) around like a friggin washing machine. im always really gentle with my fish, as i see them being in a bag like us being tossed into a big grocery bag, i wouldnt want to be swung around...so why would they?

mettle- what a bitch, wow lady, you miss out on feeders...time to find a new place??? what an idiot!!haha


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

lol sorry i had a bad day yesterday my oscar bit me lol we went crazy once i opened his tank to feed him


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

its all good man. just didnt expect it from ya









i got bit by my male con a few days ago. i still have the mark on my hand. didnt hurt, just surprised the hell outta me. he jumped OUT of the water to get me.


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## King Oscar (Apr 5, 2005)

o i c it didn't hurt me but it pissed me off i was giving him some frozzen brine shrimp and he jumped and bit me


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