The Puffer Forum

Just recently set up a nice 90 gallon aquarium to get my dream fish, a porcupine puffer!
He's about 4" long and his name is Toby.

I only got Toby a few days ago, but he hasn't eaten since then. I've tried clams, frozen shrimp... but then I tried a piece of freeze dried krill, and of course he gobbled it up.

I'm thinking my lfs was only feeding him krill and now he's on a hunger strike. I don't want to be feeding him krill only because of lock jaw, so what should I do?

Should I wait it out until he realizes he's no longer getting krill, or should I soak krill in vitamins and let him eat them?

Thanks in advance!

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Sun Mar 03, 2019 10:10 pm library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/

I've read that multiple times and have tried all of that!
Unfortunately nothing has really worked.
I gave him some peas soaked in vitamins, and he ate that for a few days, but now he won't even eat those.
Thing is, when he sees me he gets excited that Ill give him food, but never even tries to go after it. Hmm..

You tried garlic?
Does it appear he may have lockjaw?

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:48 pm You tried garlic?
Does it appear he may have lockjaw?

Tried garlic and he still wont go after it unfortunately.
Definitely not lockjaw either, he can open and shut his mouth well.
Is it possible he's still just getting used to his new home? I did only get him a week ago.

Moved to Hospital forum, so you can answer ALL the Qs above, in red.

Water perameters:
PH - 8 Ammonia - 0ppm Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrate - 20ppm Salinity - 1.21

Tank is 90 gallons, houses a 5 inch porcupine puffer and a lawnmower blenny.

Have tried feeding peas, squid, raw shrimp, clams, bloodworms.
Water change 25% every Monday.
I use Prime, and a beneficial bacteria made by my lfs.

No changes made in the last week.

Tank has been up for about a month. Cycled it with beneficial bacteria, live rock, and live sand with a couple blennys in the aquarium. Did 50% water changes every day while it was cycling and added in more beneficial bacteria every water change.


He still seems eager to get food. Whenever I stand up he gets excited. He's now starting to look around for food, but the clam that's in there has not been touched. He looks at it and simply swims away.

Do you make your own SW? If the tank is cycled (seems to be), then you don't need to be adding any bacteria. SW is made up of RODI water, so you don't need to add Prime, either. Just saving you some $$$.

He's pretty young & coming from the wild, is used to eating live foods. Try gut-loaded ghost shrimp or earthworms.

I don't add the bacteria any more!
Ill do that! Do you think he just needs to 'starve' long enough that he will take anything?

Possibly

Update: Gave him some live worms, and he snatched them up! A couple of days later I put a large raw shell on shrimp on a clip in the aquarium and he demolished it!

YAY!!!