Teeth Trimming SAP

[Jenniferx]

I did this for the first time today and found it pretty stressful.

I followed the article here.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebInde ... tistry.htm

I took her out when she rolled on her back, though when I was holding her in the net she started moving.

I am not sure I even got much length off at all. She recovered slowly from the clove oil when she was put in the freshwater.

She is back in her tank now and seems OK though was obviously stressed by the procedure.

I hope there won't be any negative lasting effects of this.

Is there anyway to make this procedure easier? I already feed snails and 'load' rocky decor to encourage her to wear the teeth naturally. I don't much fancy doing this again.

[Myaj]

If you have a south american puffer, you'll likely have to do it again. I figure my little guy needed it every 3 months (granted, that's pretty often even for a SAP).

Neale finds his SAP's don't need their teeth trimmed much, the only thing we've been able to narrow it down to is he has sand substrates in his tank. Why that would make a difference? Who knows!

Next time though, order yourself some Finquil, Tranquil or one of the other brands of MS-222 (http://www.drsfostersmith.com carries Finquil). Its a fish tranquilzer that seems much less stressful than clove oil, also much less risky. Some of us have been noticing our puffers seem to wake up from clove oil slower and slower each time.

And its not so bad after the first time. The first time, you don't know exactly what to expect so its pretty nerve wracking.

[Jenniferx]

I see! I have had a better look at her now and I can see I didn't get nearly as much off as I would have liked so unfortunately it could be sooner rather than later.

It's the sedation I am most paranoid about, amongst other things!

Is Finquil available in the UK? Thats where I am.

Any other tips or novel ideas for keeping the beak down without actually taking the clippers to her?

[Jenniferx]

The only other thing is that today I have noticed that my otherwise normal puffer is breathing a bit laboriously after the trimming last night?

Is that normal? I hope she hasn't been damaged.

[Hilly]

Could still be a little stressed out from the ordeal, I have also wondered when the teeth are trimmed whether it causes them a little bruising in the mouth giving them discomfort. Hopefully it'll have all settled down in a couple of days and he'll be back to normal.

[manutius]

I think the bruising idea is very credible but should clear up soon enough

[Pufferpunk]

Here's a bad dental job, where I clipped the upper lip:

Puffer recovered & ate fine.

[manutius]

ouch that looks painful

[Jenniferx]

Thanks for the replies. Eek le chat. That looks sore indeed!

As the day has gone on her activity level is still high and she is eating. I haven't got the chance to see if the breathing has become a bit less heavy. Fingers crossed she will be OK.

If I can't get a hold of this alternative sedation stuff what am I left with for next time? I really hate that clove oil stuff. It stinks forever.

[Myaj]

As far as I know, those are the only two sedations for fish, but I could be wrong.

I'm sure you can find some brand of MS-222 in the UK, I'm over in the US so I couldn't really help you with that. But MS-222 is used worldwide in labs and breeding farms for fish, so it is out there.

[Nick]

Clove oil binds to the gills, so if there was some residue, that might labor breathing for a while until it all works its way off.

[Jenniferx]

Thanks Nick I have watched her and she is breathing normally now in so far as I can tell. The clove oil is a slimey sort of mixture so I figured it was something like that.

I have found MS-222 for sale in the UK but it's £23, thats like $40 odd so a bit steep. I will keep looking and in the meantime keep feeding the crunchy stuff.

I am going to a fish market thing (oh joy, but I can't actually find the crab's legs or cockles anywhere) at the end of the week so hopefully I will be able to stock up.

[groovitudedude]

I used clove oil on my bronze puffer (fw obvioulsy). He seemed to do fine, although it was a little hard seeing him "dead", and I didn't clip his whole tooth/beak. Can you tell me again the name of some safer products to use? They are very slippery little fellows. He is about five inches long.

Other info: He lives in a 55 gallon tank with two tinfoil barbs, two gouramis, three clown loaches, three bala/tricolored sharks, one birchir, one huge pleco, two cichlids, and some other fish. YES, I do know that he shouldn't be kept with the gourmis, and the cichlids will cause problems, but all of them seem to get along fine, and I have had them for over a year now. I plan on moving up to a 100 gallon tank soon, knowing how much the barbs grow, and to reduce aggression.

I have also heard that you should not feed puffers the snails that look like ice-cream cones (they supposedly crack their teeth). Is this true? I have been feeding him krill, but with my fish, I don't know how to get him to eat snails without putting a lot of snails in the tank. I don't think he will get to them before the barbs, loaches, and cichlids.

Thanks!

[Pufferpunk]

If I were you. I'd look into a 125g upgrade instead. Those barbs liken the longer tanks, more than wide.

[groovitudedude]

I already know that. That's why I got one that was 5 feet long, and only 18 inches wide. I tried to convince my parents to let me get a bigger one, but I could only affort a 100G one anyway. Besides, it will already weigh almost 1/2 a ton. I think I will need to re-enforce the cabinet that my 55G is on right now.