teeth to long
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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ProPuffyFish
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 figure eight puffers
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Canada, Alberta
teeth to long
My 1 figure eight puffers teeth are getting way to long because he can get the snails I'm giving him without having to touch the shells. I really don't want to have to cut his teeth myself so is there anything else I can try? Maybe a different type of snail, right now I've been trying ram horn snails because they're free to get but if there is a better one that arent so easy for the little puffer to pluck out I'll get it.
Re: teeth to long
You can use ramshorns but try crushing them first. This way the puffer has to bit the shells too. Have you read our dentistry article? Crunchy foods are for keeping teeth at the right length but don't work well to wear them down once they're too long.
It is absurd to talk of one animal being higher than another. We consider those, when the cerebral structure/intellectual faculties most developed, as highest. A bee doubtless would when the instincts were.
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
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Re: teeth to long
There is no amount of crunchy foods that will trim the teeth after they are overgrown. You must clip them yourself: library/hospital/dentistry/
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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greenspottedlover
- Fahaka Puffer
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Re: teeth to long
Wow that looks scary! I hope my puffer never needs his teeth trimmed. I think I would be to afraid I would kill him to do that my self. Then again the alternative is worse.
Re: teeth to long
Hi folks,
I'm new here, but I wanted to add a trick I used a quite a few years ago before I knew of such helpful articles on puffer dentistry.
My poor little puff had quite the overbite and it was starting to affect his eating and I had no idea what to do, so I mashed up some bloodworms on both sides of a metal nail file (the type without a powder coating) and let them dry overnight. I then dipped the worm-coated nail file into the tank and the puffer bit down and thrashed a little from side to side like he was trying to rip off a chunk of krill meat. A few feedings like this and his teeth were back under control.
That was more of a temporary measure, and it's probably a good idea to eventually try to get used to the clove oil method, which isn't so bad after a while. But I admit to having my hands shake so much I was worried about the precision of my tooth clipping! I kept envisioning "oh god, there goes a puffer lip" but my SAPs are puckery as ever. And their mouths are *tiny*!
I'm new here, but I wanted to add a trick I used a quite a few years ago before I knew of such helpful articles on puffer dentistry.
My poor little puff had quite the overbite and it was starting to affect his eating and I had no idea what to do, so I mashed up some bloodworms on both sides of a metal nail file (the type without a powder coating) and let them dry overnight. I then dipped the worm-coated nail file into the tank and the puffer bit down and thrashed a little from side to side like he was trying to rip off a chunk of krill meat. A few feedings like this and his teeth were back under control.
That was more of a temporary measure, and it's probably a good idea to eventually try to get used to the clove oil method, which isn't so bad after a while. But I admit to having my hands shake so much I was worried about the precision of my tooth clipping! I kept envisioning "oh god, there goes a puffer lip" but my SAPs are puckery as ever. And their mouths are *tiny*!
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- 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: teeth to long
That might do if they are slightly overgrown but it's a good way to break off the teeth or even rip them out by the roots, if they are severely overgrown, as the puffer in the pic of my article.
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!"
-
ProPuffyFish
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 figure eight puffers
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Canada, Alberta
Re: teeth to long
So far he can still eat but they are getting pretty long, so how much clove oil do I add to 1 cup of water?
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Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- 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: teeth to long
You'd be better off using Finquel (MS-222), as CO can will stop their breathing & cause brain damage. It's probably OK to use in a pinch but if it's not an emergency, try to find the better tranq for him. Can you post a pic of his teeth?
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!"
-
ProPuffyFish
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 figure eight puffers
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Canada, Alberta
Re: teeth to long
He's never been one to sit still for a camera so I doubt I could get such a detailed pic, both little puffers I have are still only an inch and a tiny bit long. One just uses its teeth more than the other.
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J-P
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 5626
- Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:21 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Japan
- Location: Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
Re: teeth to long
If I can find a little baggie, I might be able to send you some. If it is a larger amount I could sell some.
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
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ProPuffyFish
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 figure eight puffers
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Canada, Alberta
Re: teeth to long
Of the clove oil or the new recomended stuff?J-P wrote:If I can find a little baggie, I might be able to send you some. If it is a larger amount I could sell some.
-
Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32976
- 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: teeth to long
Clove oil is a liquid & can be found at most drug stores.
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!"
-
ProPuffyFish
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 1:30 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: 2 figure eight puffers
- Location (country): Canada
- Location: Canada, Alberta
Re: teeth to long
Well I really don't want to give him brain damage 
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J-P
- Former Staff Member
- Posts: 5626
- Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 12:21 am
- Gender: Male
- Location (country): Japan
- Location: Sasebo, Nagasaki, Japan
Re: teeth to long
I've got MS-222 You can also order some out of BC but you'll need a vet to fill the prescription.
if you follow me, you avoid stepping in the crap that I just did...
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZR55G ... pqlgec1A2Q