puffers not eating?
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.
puffers not eating?
my puffers seem to have no interest in food at all? tried flakes, pellets, plankton, bits of prawn... they seem very happy and active, bright, flaring their tails and playing in the powerhead flow... and are quite fat. could it be there is still enough benthic fauna and flora in my tank to keep them well fed ? there is quite a bit of liverock, and its literally encrusted with all kinds of stuff... they pick at it all day long but its hard to see if they are actually eating it or just scraoing their teeth on it?
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ironbone
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 113
- Joined: Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:51 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 1xgsp---Puff-N-Stuff
- Location (country): north america
- Location: grand rapids michigan
Re: puffers not eating?
what kind of puff?they seeem to go in finiky stages
couldnt get my gsp to eat a snail got some advice smoooshed it put it in krill he chowed it,bit deceptive but
couldnt get my gsp to eat a snail got some advice smoooshed it put it in krill he chowed it,bit deceptive but
Re: puffers not eating?
papuan and valentini
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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: puffers not eating?
We really need more info. I'm moving this to the Hospital forum, so you can answer ALL the Qs in red.
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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purplecandle
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 2019
- Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 2:18 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Currently
2 Adult Green Spotted Puffers
1 Fangs Puffer
1 Baby Green Spotted Puffer - Location (country): USA (NC)
Re: puffers not eating?
I have seen some of these puffers on the internet being feed sea weed...or those sheets of green that you use for sushi??? IDK
But, it is odd that both won't eat..
But, it is odd that both won't eat..
Re: puffers not eating?
going to make me bust out the old test kits eh 
papuan tank ... 130L with a large mantis shrimp and a 2" jewel damsel
salinity -1.0256
temp -26C
NH4 -0
NO2 -0
NO3 -10
pH -7.9
i do about a 20% water change weekly. i have been adding some seachem additives to keep the alk up, and trace elements, calcium, iodide
valentini tank ... 80L with a small mantis
salinity -1.0265
temp -26C
NH4 -0
NO2 -0
NO3 -5
pH -8.1
do about 20% fortnightly on this tank, as it has had just the mantis in it until a few days ago. will onviously be stepping this up as a messy puffer has moved in...
i have had the chance to watch them today, and saw the papuan totally DEMOLISH a large bristle worm, and the valentini has been chewing on bits of mantis molt... the pH is a bit low i guess? but cant see anything else obvious with the water chemistry... they are eating stuff, just not the stuff that im feeding them !!
papuan tank ... 130L with a large mantis shrimp and a 2" jewel damsel
salinity -1.0256
temp -26C
NH4 -0
NO2 -0
NO3 -10
pH -7.9
i do about a 20% water change weekly. i have been adding some seachem additives to keep the alk up, and trace elements, calcium, iodide
valentini tank ... 80L with a small mantis
salinity -1.0265
temp -26C
NH4 -0
NO2 -0
NO3 -5
pH -8.1
do about 20% fortnightly on this tank, as it has had just the mantis in it until a few days ago. will onviously be stepping this up as a messy puffer has moved in...
i have had the chance to watch them today, and saw the papuan totally DEMOLISH a large bristle worm, and the valentini has been chewing on bits of mantis molt... the pH is a bit low i guess? but cant see anything else obvious with the water chemistry... they are eating stuff, just not the stuff that im feeding them !!
Re: puffers not eating?
and the papuan tank has been running six months now, the valentini tank 2-3 months. cycled with liverock.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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: puffers not eating?
Do you have corals in those tanks? How long have you had the puffers? What have they previously been eating? How often?
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!"
Re: puffers not eating?
papuan tank has morphs, zoas (dying from zoa pox), and some random LPS and SPS corals that were hitchhikers.
valentini tank has some zoas i moved there to try and save from the pox, and some kind of leather coral i think that was another hitchhiker.
had the puffers for a week now and they havent really eaten anything ive given them at all, just a nibble on some plankton, once each. i guess they decided they didnt like it?
i cant really say what they ate before i bought them? tho i assume they would hae eaten something or other!
valentini tank has some zoas i moved there to try and save from the pox, and some kind of leather coral i think that was another hitchhiker.
had the puffers for a week now and they havent really eaten anything ive given them at all, just a nibble on some plankton, once each. i guess they decided they didnt like it?
i cant really say what they ate before i bought them? tho i assume they would hae eaten something or other!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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: puffers not eating?
Try live blackworms, soaked in Selcon & VitaChem.
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!"
Re: puffers not eating?
couldnt find blackworms so i went to the supermarket. they went crazy for bits of fresh mussel. also bought an octopus to try that too! i guess they just dont like prawns or plankton? lol
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32975
- 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: puffers not eating?
Yippee!!!
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!"
-
jdak
- Green Spotted Puffer
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 2:25 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Stars & stripes
- Location (country): USA
Re: puffers not eating?
Yes, i was going to say shellfish until i read the end where you already did... great job