Congrats on your new additions and especially your puffer!

Hats off to quarantining and using beta glucan!  Make sure with the hyposalinity that you are monitoring the water parameters as the pH can drop quickly adding stress and can directly affect the fish's ability to cope/heal/fight the parasites.

What are you using to measure the salinty?  What is the salinity?

Can you post any pictures of the fish?

Freshwater dips (10 - 30 minutes) can dislodge some of the parasites on the fish and give some relief if the gills are infested with the parasites (symptom: heavy/fast breathing).

Thanks for sharing/posting.

Congrats again.

Please keep us updated.

I will be bringing a baby porcuppine puffer home today. I will be placing him into my quarantine tank. Since puffers are ich prone I was considering doing hyposalinity instead of takiing a wait and see approach. This would effectively be a pre-emptive strike and a preventive measure against ich or other parasites. I am a newbie and I need to get more informed about the hyposalinity process and how it works. I have heard that parasites cant live in hyposalinity and this may also be why my LFS keeps their salinity rather low. Anyhow, I would greatly appreciate advice as to if I should take this preventive measure.  Thanks!
Gary

Welcome to Marinedepot.com and this forum!

Congrats on becoming a puffer "parent" - it is wonderful

There are certain fish that I treat with hyposalinity prophylactically while in QT - puffers are one of them.  I would recommend doing hyposalinity for at least 4 weeks.

While in QT, I would enrich the food with beta glucan and vitamins to boost the puffer's immune system and promote healing.  Is this the holocanthus diodon (porcupine pufferfish) that has had a bout of lymphocystis while at the LFS?  Is the LFS running copper in the system?

I would also recommend deworming your new little addition.  Puffers are notorious for being worm infested - after all in the wild, they will seize the opportunity to have an easy meal - dead decaying fish.

Please post a pic of your new puffer.

Again, welcome and congrats.

Thanks for the quick response.   Yes, the porc is the one and the same fella that has had lympho at my LFS.  Good news is that he is making a splendid come back and the lympho is on the retreat. I think it was the frequent visits by my wife and I that really buyoed his spirits and gave him the strength and will to live.    Yes, the LFS copper treats their water and they maintain a low sg of 1.017.  The quarantine tank which the baby will be going in is currently at 1.024.  Could you please explain how the hyposalinity process works and how slowly or quickly it should be done?  Thanks!

Sometimes copper will "exacerbate" lymphocystis.  You may see an improvement once the puffer is out of the copper.

Hyposalinity needs to be performed in a bare bottom tank - no live rock.

The salinity needs to be 1.009 - 1.010 per refractometer.

One could argue that this puffer has been treated for parasites since it is coming from a coppered system but there are too many unknown variable - was the copper level at a therapeutic level every day (tested & copper added as needed) ?  Was there a UV running while copper is in use ?  Is there substrate or other porous materials in the system that can leach or release copper?  Were there any new additions to this system?  Are the nets cleaned in between tanks?  Do the LFS employees wash their hands in between tanks?  Was there an irritating child that was going tank to tank putting his/her fingers in each tank?........the list of potential reinfection or spread of disease could go on.

Since the puffer is currently in 1.017, I would have the QT at 1.009 - 1.010.  When acclimating the puffer I would do so over a couple hours with the hyposalinity QT water. You can safely drop it with puffers over an hour to two especially since the puffer is in 1.107.

Hyposalinity will kill cryptocaryon irritans - aka ich.  It is not effective against other parasites like amyloodiunium ocellatum - aka marine velvet.  Copper is the only effective treatment against velvet.

Please keep us updated on your new puffer.

What should the diet of a baby porc consist of?  Blood worms, mysis shrimp, etc?  I was also going to see if I can pick up some beta glucan at a local health food store.  Does this come in a powder or tablet form?  Thanks again!

Gary

Beta Glucan comes in tablet (needs to be crushed) and capsule form.  There is a great beta glucan thread in this forum - stickied on top.  

Porcupine puffer diets need to be varied - scallops, squid, cockles in a shell (Gamma product), shrimp, mysis, cuddlefish, octopus, crabs (frozen ones available at Asian/Oriental markets), frozen prawn (ProSalt), frozen peas, nori, krill (feed sparingly), silversides, smelt, gammarus.....just to name a couple

Could you please give me some guidance on feeding times, serving sizes and food preparation for my little guy.  I bought some mysis shrimp, pawn and silversides along with vita chem and selcon.  I will also be picking up some beta glucan tomorrow.  Thanks for all of your help.  You are truly a blessing!

Gary