Beak Trimming Technique?
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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Puffer_holic
- Dwarf Puffer
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Beak Trimming Technique?
Hey, lately I've noticed that my puffers beaks have been growing. I got advice from my local fish store. I decided I wanted to use food techniques such as feeding it snails or clams. What are your suggestions?
The only thing you should eat that smiles are goldfish crackers.
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yunachin
- Former Staff Member
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Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
Snails, mussels, clams, shrimp with shell on, and small cray fish are all good choices to help wear down puffer beaks. If you feed shell fish then open them just a bit to allow the puffer to break into it on his own and get the teeth down.
E.Ridgeway
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
Hard-shelled foods are only to PREVENT overgrown teeth, not for trimming them down. Excellent article on feeding those crunchy foods in our Library. Once their teeth are overgrown so much it is inhibiting their ability to eat, they muct be hand-trimmed by their owner. Another article describing the procedure, with step-by-step pics also in the Library.
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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zoologist
- Puffer Fry
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Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
Prevention is always better than cure...
OK, I'm a puffer virgin – looking, lurking, and reading before I set up my first puffer tank, so it is probably too early for me to be offering suggestions, but I have loads of small empty ramshorn, apple, and pond snail shells in my freshwater tanks, from those guys who died along the way into full growth. I usually just crush them between my fingers and add them to the substrate.
For puffers, how would it be if I stuffed the empty shells with fresh or frozen soft food – so Mr Puffer would have to chew his way down to get at the good stuff?
As an ex-zoologist I know the value of 'entertaining' any living creature. In addition, helping with dental care would surely be worth an extra minute or two – what do you guys think about this idea..?
OK, I'm a puffer virgin – looking, lurking, and reading before I set up my first puffer tank, so it is probably too early for me to be offering suggestions, but I have loads of small empty ramshorn, apple, and pond snail shells in my freshwater tanks, from those guys who died along the way into full growth. I usually just crush them between my fingers and add them to the substrate.
For puffers, how would it be if I stuffed the empty shells with fresh or frozen soft food – so Mr Puffer would have to chew his way down to get at the good stuff?
As an ex-zoologist I know the value of 'entertaining' any living creature. In addition, helping with dental care would surely be worth an extra minute or two – what do you guys think about this idea..?
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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A modestus
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C coranata
C papuan
C lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Greenville, SC
- Contact:
Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
Plenty of folks do that too.
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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TobiasRieper
- Dwarf Puffer
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Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
I dont want to hijack this thread, but I have just a quik question. Even if you feed your puffer lots of hard foods like snails to help wear down its teeth, will you still need to trim them in the future? Or can trimming be avoided completely?
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Myaj
- Tech Team
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Re: Beak Trimming Technique?
It depends on the individual fish. Some never need trimming, others need it once in a while. Some species, modestus and south americans in particular, generally need trimming every few months no matter how much crunchy stuff you feed them.
