dwarf puffer not eating :(

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Since this board has been up, we have found there are several questions that routinely get asked in order to help diagnose problems. If you can have that information to begin with in your post, we'll be able to help right away (if we can!) without having to wait for you to post the info we need.

1) Your water parameters - pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrates and salinity (if appropriate). This is by far the most important information you can provide! Do not answer this with "Fine" "Perfect" "ok", that tells us nothing. We need hard numbers.

2) Tank size and a list of ALL inhabitants. Include algae eaters, plecos, everything. We need to know what you have and how big the tank is.

3) Feeding, water change schedule and a list of all products you are using or have added to the tank (examples: Cycle, Amquel, salt, etc)

4) What changes you've made in the tank in the last week or so. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference.

5) How long the aquarium has been set up, and how did you cycle it? If you don't know what cycling is read this: Fishless Cycling Article and familiarize yourself with all the information. Yes. All of it.

We want to help, and providing this information will go a LONG way to getting a diagnosis and hopeful cure that much faster.

While you wait for assistance:
One of the easiest and best ways to help your fish feel better is clean water! If you are already on a regular water change schedule (50% weekly is recommended) a good step to making your fish more comfortable while waiting for diagnosis/suggestions is to do a large water change immediately. Feel free to repeat daily or as often as you can, clean water is always a good thing! Use of Amquel or Prime as a dechlor may help with any ammonia or nitrite issues, and is highly recommended.

Note - if you do not normally do large water changes, doing a sudden, large water change could shock your fish by suddenly changing their established water chemistry. Clean water is still your first goal, so in this case, do several smaller (10%) water changes over the next day or two before starting any large ones.
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susiejames101
Figure 8 Puffer
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dwarf puffer not eating :(

Post by susiejames101 »

Hi
I have posted this message on the dwarf puffer forum too, so apologies if you read it there as well, but I am getting a bit worried now as I have just read a similar post and the puffer didn't make it :(

I have had 3 dwarf puffers in an 18G tank together for about 6 weeks now and apart from a bit of territory marking in the early days all has been well, the tank was fishless cycled with ammonia, is cleaned weekly and water is ammonia 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate 10.
All three have been eating well and have had nice round tummys but since yesterday one of them hasn't been eating, He still gets excited when he see's food is coming and is enjoying the chase but he won't eat! I saw him bite a couple of brineshrimps in half and then spit them out. The other 2 are eating well ( too well as I keep trying to get the male to eat!!!) I have tried all his usuals, bloodworm frozen and live, brineshrimp frozen and live, live daphnia, small snails, a larger partly crushed snail and some tiny bits of cockle!
He still seems happy enough,his tummy isn't well rounded like the others but it isn't sunken in either and he is still playing with and chasing the other two fish but it seems odd that although he has always eaten less than the 2 ladies in the tank, he doesn't seem to want or maybe be able to eat at the moment!!
Any ideas gratefully recieved, we do so love our little guys
Thank you
Sue
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Bred
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Post by Bred »

Puffers can and do go off their food without apparent reason... I would give it another day or two before worrying.

It is a male puffer, then? Have you seen any courtship behaviour? Following the females, bumping up against them? Has the stripe down his belly gotten darker lately? Male dwarf puffers will go days, even a week at a time without eating once courtship begins.

I would hold off on feeding brine shrimp as they are filling but not nutritious.
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susiejames101
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Post by susiejames101 »

They are still young but we can definately see wrinkles round his eyes so are assuming he is a male although no belly stripe as yet, so we may be completely wrong, the other 2 are much rounder generally. All three puffers sometimes play together or at other times pair up and chase the other one away. Originally the puffer who isn't eating was very aggresive but that seems to have settled now and he seems to circle one or other of the plump puffers so maybe he ( if he is a he) is practising his courtship rituals!
I will try not to worry all the time he looks healthy and happy
Thanks
Sue
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Rocker
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Post by Rocker »

Any change yet? Is he eating?
Image Some call it a product of a mis-spent youth, I call it Rock n Roll ! Image
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Tihsho
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Post by Tihsho »

Before I had to give away my puffers I noticed that my male dwarfs stopped eating as much as the females and a week or so later they would show courtship behaviors, but for my luck no babies. The courtship seemed to last 5ish days with not much aggression by the male. But after the courtship he would eat slightly more then stop again.
<80 gal> 2 GSPs & a Ceylon!
<75 gal> 3 Figure 8s & 1 Butterlfy Goby
<75 gal> *Empty*
<55 gal> 3 Gymnothorax polyuranodon (FW eel)
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<4 gal> 2 Sparkling Gouramis & 3 ottos heavily planted

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Pamela
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Post by Pamela »

Love may be in the air.....or the water. Keep us posted!
Pami.
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susiejames101
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Post by susiejames101 »

The little monkey is eating like a horse again now lol, these fishes do like to make me worry!!
I wonder iff his mouth was sore for some reason as he was taking ithe food into his mouth but was spitting it out again, anyway panic over and he is eagerly looking for food and is chasing his wives away , I even saw him pinch a couple of worms out of thier mouths today much to their disgust lol. He is much sleaker in general than the other 2 puffs, and although we can't be sure we are assuming that the other 2 are little girls so maybe we will have the little pattering of tiny fins soon lol. Mind you what on earth we would do with any babies , heaven knows so maybe I will have to put the girls on the pill lol.
Thanks for your concern, I will wait a day or two before panicking next time!!
Sue
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