Figure 8 after using clove oil
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.
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aquarius3033
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:36 am
Figure 8 after using clove oil
Hello everyone, I am having some problems with my f8. I have had him/her for over 6 months and the tank has been cycled for over a year. I have tested the water and everything is fine there. The problem I am having is this: this past weekend I clipped his teeth as he was having a hard time eating. I used clove oil. I mixed 2 drops in 3 cups of tank water, clipped his teeth and then put him into another bowl with 3 cups of tank water until he woke up. Waited awhile and put him back in his tank. He is now acting like he has never seen me before and will go and hide behind something whenever he sees me or anyone else. He hasn't eaten anything in almost 3 days (which he was a piggy before) and I have tried thawed bloodworms and mysis shrimp. He is really scaring me, when I first put him back in his tank he was doing some kind of twitching thing but that stopped. Have I done something bad to him??? I feel like I am going to cry everytime I look at the tank because he is so different now, he would follow around his tank and go nuts when he saw me. Please help!! I don't know what else to do. Thanks in advance!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
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Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
Clove oil has been suspected of causing brain damage if the fish hasn't been revived quickly or if used repeatedly. How long was he out for? How long since he ate?
Moving this to the Hosp forum.
Moving this to the Hosp forum.
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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aquarius3033
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:36 am
Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
He was out for about 10-15 minutes total. He ate saturday (1/24) about noon and has not eaten since. Also in lookig at pics of other f8's, my guys mouth after trimming his teeth is still wide open. Could I have maybe dislocated his jaw and now he can't close it and that is why he is acting weird and not eating? I was very careful with him. I don't know what to do at this point, I will try to get a pic asap to show the open mouth but he hides whenever he sees me.
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Nick
- Former Staff Member
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Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
I'm pretty sure 10 to 15 minutes out is about 9 to 14 minutes too long - finishing in a minute or two after the fish goes under is important. I honestly refuse to trust clove oil at all myself - I have one puffer who I have to trim every 4-6 months, and I do it with him awake.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Puffers I have kept:
T lineatus
T miurus
A modestus
T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
Are you aware they are not breathing while under CO? That is definately cause for brain damage.
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!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
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mike_freegan
- Dwarf Puffer
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Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
Removed
Last edited by mike_freegan on Sun Feb 22, 2026 3:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
17 gallon:
Fig-8 puffer
5 Bumblebee gobies
Zebra/Spotted Nerite Snails
Fig-8 puffer
5 Bumblebee gobies
Zebra/Spotted Nerite Snails
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aquarius3033
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Jan 27, 2009 2:36 am
Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
OMG! I hope I didn't mess him up, he is acting a little more normal. I didn't realize that he wasn't going to get any oxygen and that I took to long 
He ate about 2 or 3 blood worms yesterday and about the same in mysis today. I don't know what to do other then just wait it out. Any suggestions since I don't want to euthanize him if there isn't really a reason to. Thanks for all the help!
He ate about 2 or 3 blood worms yesterday and about the same in mysis today. I don't know what to do other then just wait it out. Any suggestions since I don't want to euthanize him if there isn't really a reason to. Thanks for all the help!-
Nick
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 3231
- Joined: Sun Oct 22, 2006 8:47 pm
- My Puffers: Mine:
GSPs - Shakespeare and Jillybean
F8 - Velvet
My fiance:
DP - Emma Goldman
Narrow Lined Puffer - Ulrike - Location (country): Northeastern USA
- Location: Middletown, CT
- Contact:
Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
Puffer fish don't have much in the way of a cortex, so their brains are more likely to fix than ours. Give him time to re-learn things, and he may recover his normal behaviors, once he relearns them.
No matter how magnificent your successes or devastating your failures, the worlds' approximately 5 billion impoverished people could not possibly care less.
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bazil323
- Green Spotted Puffer
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- Location: Northern Wisconsin
Re: Figure 8 after using clove oil
Yeah, give it time. He might not ever be the same again, though. But give him time to relearn things. If he's eating, that's a good sign. I wouldn't use clove oil again though. I used it for my puffer because I was pretty sure that I wouldn't have to do it again. If I had a puffer that was more prone to needing tooth trimming, I would have sprung for the Finquel or whatever it's called.
Try leaving the lights turned off on that tank for a few days. My puffer seems to be a bit more confident with less light.
Try leaving the lights turned off on that tank for a few days. My puffer seems to be a bit more confident with less light.