Fahaka Puffer Inactive, Not Eating

[bertie 83]

He will be fed up with you for messing with his tank, once you have it how you like it, expect him to move some stuff but leave it. He will soon come round, normally takes a week or so

[Pufferpunk]

What pH is your tap water? pH of 6 is close to urine!

[bertie 83]

+1 didn't spot that. Ph 6.5 is min really, that being said no chemicals should be used as this would be a nightmare, if your tap ph is higher you need to do multiple small changes very close together to get the tank in an acceptable range

[lifemisled]

I noticed through googling similar queries to those that I started here that this thread does have a Google-search impact. That being said, I want to be as detailed as possible in the event someone else ever has similar problems. That being said, adding more decor to my formerly relatively sparse aquarium did have some immediate reactions from my Puffer. He now spends most of his time near the clay pot. He ate a small amount of frozen bloodworms today but did not accept any other food and made no effort to "hunt" them down. I had to drop them very near him and he ate those that landed near him. He does still spend a lot of time hiding but it did obviously help. Here's a photo of the tank before and after that gained some results:




@PufferPunk- I didn't think to check the pH of the tap water which is pretty stupid on my part. The pH was closer to 7.2 coming out of the tap. Subsequently, I performed a 40% water change today. I'm going to allow it time to settle before I test the pH again. The active monitor I have shows no change in the pH, which is frustrating.

Thank you all for the continued feedback. I'll be happy when I can report that he's active and hungry!

[bertie 83]

You need to do multiple small changes to avoid ph shock. Do not do such large changes till your water has levelled out. 20% 3x daily till your ph has stabilised. Insufficient changes have caused this

[Pufferpunk]

How much can a 1 1/2 fish pee in a 135g tank?

[lifemisled]

Okay, my in-tank active monitor started to change which prompted me to do the water tests again.

At this point, all things seem within reason:

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Ammonia: 0
GH (Hardness): 75
Chlorine: 0
KH (Alkalinity): 80
pH: 7.2

I always vacuum/net out the detritus and remove uneaten food. The filters are constantly cleaned and checked. It would seem at this point I just continue to wait?

[Nuclear_Glitter]

First off, I just wanna say, you're awesome for getting the right size tank for your Fahaka. Now, continuing on, you definitely seem like a very concerned puffer parent, and that's a good thing, just try not to stress yourself out too much in the mean time lol.

So, anyway, I would say a lot of the advice that's been offered so far is very good. I'm curious about something though, were those filters that you used already cycled? Since your puffer is so small he isn't going to poison himself quickly in a tank so large, but eventually cycling will start happening if it's not already done.

[Pufferpunk]

I was waiting for someone to say something about that. A 1 1/2" puffer with regular WC on that tank is in no danger of being poisoned by it's wastes.

[kcartwright856]

I keep a few tablespoons of crushed coral in a media bag next to my filter media.

My tap comes out at 7.2 pH and, once inside the tank, had a tendency to plummet to <6.0!

Once I placed enough crushed coral in, though, I was able to keep the pH steady and avoid that steep drop between water changes.

[lifemisled]

The crushed coral would be a good idea, nice suggestion.

Today, he seems to have completely rebounded from previous patterns of behavior. I just received an order of snails in. I held a small one up to the glass and he swam over to it with interest. Once dropped in, he was attacking it. I noticed he had difficulty breaking its shell (a problem with Ramshorn Snails, I understand?). However, he also had no problem with frozen Brine Shrimp, Blood Worms, and even a frozen Krill (though he seemed less enthusiastic about them). He seems to hide a little less though is obviously timid with my presence. I assume this is something that will get easier as he's exposed to more interaction.

I'd like to thank you all for your various suggestions and expertise. Today, I'm a much happier owner of a new Fahaka Puffer!

[sgtmyers88]

Get fiddler crabs and ghost shrimp. My GSP's love to chase them around the tank before making the kill. It provides good exercise and prevents the puffer from becoming fat and lazy.

Sometimes when my GSP's fail at making a kill they sorta look up at me and seem to give an expression like:

"What gives!? You're actually making me WORK for my food today!?"

[lifemisled]

Today he seems completely normal. I pre-cracked the snails so he could get at them easier. He seems to chase frozen and live food alike. He swims about a lot more. It's really great to see him the way I understood the species to be. Absolutely amazing aquarium fish.

Thank you all. This is an excellent and enlightening resource. That said, do you guys mark threads solved or closed? This one is definitely solved.

[Flutter]

That's excellent Great job.

[Nuclear_Glitter]

The snails you feed him should be no bigger than his eye, and if they are, crush them. Great job on getting everything with him back to normal! =]