Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
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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borgey
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 1 Tetraodon biocellatus, 3 Colomesus asellus, 4 Carinotetraodon travancoricus
- Location (country): U.S.A
- Location: Providence, RI/Boston, Ma
Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
I had two DPs in my 10 gallon tank for about a week or so. I noticed it was getting very aggressive so I returned one. Now my other DP that is still in my tank is acting strange. He won't eat for 2 days now which is really starting to worry me. He also used to explore his tank a lot and now spends the majority of his time swimming up and down the glass. I dropped some blood worms right in front of him and he did nothing with them. What can I do? I don't want him to starve to death.
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xrayjeeper83
- Mbu Puffer
- Posts: 4167
- Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 9:31 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: Fahaka named Bloat
Abei named Huey
GSP named Bacon - Location (country): USA
- Location: Orange Park, FL
Re: Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
He wont starve, he will eat when he wants to. Puffers are known to go on hungry strikes for unknown reasons. Yours might be depressed that his buddy is gone. He might just be readjusting. GIve him some time, keep trying to feed him regularly
RTR wrote:Fahakas do not have tank mates, they may have swimming food reserves.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32979
- 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: Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
Please answer all the Qs above, 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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borgey
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 1 Tetraodon biocellatus, 3 Colomesus asellus, 4 Carinotetraodon travancoricus
- Location (country): U.S.A
- Location: Providence, RI/Boston, Ma
Re: Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
Water parameters are ph-7 ammonia-0 nitrite-0 nitrate-5. it's a 10 gallon tank with only one dwarf puffer in it and nothing else. I feed him once daily and do 50% water changes every saturday. I have put all new decor in the tank since taking the second dwarf out (had all real plants but decided to go with silk and plastic). Tank is fully cycled and has been set up for about 4 months now (had some livebearers in it until i upgraded them to a bigger tank)
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JRC3
- Fahaka Puffer
- Posts: 904
- Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 4:10 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: F8(55g)
F8 (46g)
4-DP(29g) - Location (country): U.S.
- Location: S.W. OH
Re: Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
Does your tank have a background? This matters and it matters even more with that hanging plant that I recommended in the other forum. I bet you have one though.
There are many knowledgeable fish keepers on this forum willing to help and give great advice...The advice is free; What you choose to do with it gives it value.
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borgey
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Fri Oct 01, 2010 4:08 pm
- Gender: Male
- My Puffers: 1 Tetraodon biocellatus, 3 Colomesus asellus, 4 Carinotetraodon travancoricus
- Location (country): U.S.A
- Location: Providence, RI/Boston, Ma
Re: Dwarf Puffer Won't Eat
Yes, I have a black background on the tank. I used to have one of those "natural" backgrounds with all the plants and driftwood ect. ect. but I switched all my tanks to black.