dogface puffer acting strange
Forum rules
Read this before posting!!
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.
Read this before posting!!
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.
- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
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- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
dogface puffer acting strange
hey guys, does anyones dogface puffer act strange before they go to the bathroom? Today mine darted about the tank, puffed up and then went into his cave, came out and then went to the bathroom. It was really odd, do u guys think there might be something going on or am i being paranoid because i lost a whole tank of fish?
- The Bruce
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
i've never seen mine do that, but i wouldn't be too worried just yet, maybe something spooked him and he poo'd as a result of being scared, watch out for other strange behaviors
- Pufferpunk
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
My dog runs around the house like an insane beast, after he's pooed.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 219
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- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
so thats normal then, ok, whew!!
- t1gerbee
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
our cats do the same thing... they run round like mad for 5 minutes yowling then go find a litter tray..!
dunno about fish though?
dunno about fish though?
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
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- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:36 pm
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- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
how big is your fu manchu?
- Agnate
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
I do the same thing! The relief is just *amazing*.Pufferpunk wrote:My dog runs around the house like an insane beast, after he's pooed.
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- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
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- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
Thats wicked funny!!! 
- yunachin
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
Agnate wrote:I do the same thing! The relief is just *amazing*.Pufferpunk wrote:My dog runs around the house like an insane beast, after he's pooed.
E.Ridgeway
- t1gerbee
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Re: dogface puffer acting strange
dab335 wrote:how big is your fu manchu?
umm... maybe 3 inches.. has been that size for a year..
cool fish, but he lives on gut loaded live river shrimp and the odd bit of prawn that he strikes at by accident.. i've found it impossible to get him eating dead food on a regular basic as he just watches it float straight past him...
nice fishh though.
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
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- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
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- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
We just lost our fuzzy dwarf lionfish and were thinking about the fu manchu, are they that difficult to get to eat dead food? I had a porcupine puffer like that and sometimes it got stressful finding descent live foods for her to eat without using the occassional feeder.
- t1gerbee
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2 x goldfish - Location: london
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
fu manchu supposedly the worst for getting to eat live food... it is a hassle to be honest, beautiful fish, but dunno that it adds enough to the tank to be worth the trips to LFS for live food, or the hours of frustration trying to dive bomb it with dead food whilst it just sits there staring...
occasionally he'll go for a bit, but with puffers in there as well, he's rarely fast enough by the time he's bothered to move...
so it's always back to river shrimp, which he will strike at instantly..
occasionally he'll go for a bit, but with puffers in there as well, he's rarely fast enough by the time he's bothered to move...
so it's always back to river shrimp, which he will strike at instantly..
1 x 90G Juv stars and stripes puffer, Ceylon Puffer + GSP + 2 black clowns
1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish

1 x 30G LPS Reef
1 x 30G 1 x Blind goldfish

- dab335
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 219
- Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:36 pm
- My Puffers: Diodon Holocanthus, Canthigaster Compressa, Canthigaster Valentini, Arothron Nigropunctatus, Arothron Nigropunctatus(yellow-belly), Chilomycterus Schoepfi, GSP, F8
- Location: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Re: dogface puffer acting strange
maybe ill stick with the fuzzy lion, i know what its like to run to the lfs for live food also. Its not fun especially when they run out of fiddler crab orshrimp. 