New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Oh no! Sick fish?! Come here and see if someone can help!
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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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Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

Just recently set up a nice 90 gallon aquarium to get my dream fish, a porcupine puffer!
He's about 4" long and his name is Toby.

I only got Toby a few days ago, but he hasn't eaten since then. I've tried clams, frozen shrimp... but then I tried a piece of freeze dried krill, and of course he gobbled it up.

I'm thinking my lfs was only feeding him krill and now he's on a hunger strike. I don't want to be feeding him krill only because of lock jaw, so what should I do?

Should I wait it out until he realizes he's no longer getting krill, or should I soak krill in vitamins and let him eat them?

Thanks in advance!
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Pufferpunk
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Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
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Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
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Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

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!"
Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

I've read that multiple times and have tried all of that!
Unfortunately nothing has really worked.
I gave him some peas soaked in vitamins, and he ate that for a few days, but now he won't even eat those.
Thing is, when he sees me he gets excited that Ill give him food, but never even tries to go after it. Hmm..
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

You tried garlic?
Does it appear he may have lockjaw?
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!"
Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

Pufferpunk wrote: Tue Mar 05, 2019 10:48 pm You tried garlic?
Does it appear he may have lockjaw?
Tried garlic and he still wont go after it unfortunately.
Definitely not lockjaw either, he can open and shut his mouth well.
Is it possible he's still just getting used to his new home? I did only get him a week ago.
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

Moved to Hospital forum, so you can 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!"
Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

Water perameters:
PH - 8 Ammonia - 0ppm Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrate - 20ppm Salinity - 1.21

Tank is 90 gallons, houses a 5 inch porcupine puffer and a lawnmower blenny.

Have tried feeding peas, squid, raw shrimp, clams, bloodworms.
Water change 25% every Monday.
I use Prime, and a beneficial bacteria made by my lfs.

No changes made in the last week.

Tank has been up for about a month. Cycled it with beneficial bacteria, live rock, and live sand with a couple blennys in the aquarium. Did 50% water changes every day while it was cycling and added in more beneficial bacteria every water change.


He still seems eager to get food. Whenever I stand up he gets excited. He's now starting to look around for food, but the clam that's in there has not been touched. He looks at it and simply swims away.
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

Do you make your own SW? If the tank is cycled (seems to be), then you don't need to be adding any bacteria. SW is made up of RODI water, so you don't need to add Prime, either. Just saving you some $$$. ;)

He's pretty young & coming from the wild, is used to eating live foods. Try gut-loaded ghost shrimp or earthworms.
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!"
Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

I don't add the bacteria any more! :)
Ill do that! Do you think he just needs to 'starve' long enough that he will take anything?
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

Possibly
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!"
Squidub
Puffer Fry
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:08 pm
Location (country): Canada

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Squidub »

Update: Gave him some live worms, and he snatched them up! A couple of days later I put a large raw shell on shrimp on a clip in the aquarium and he demolished it!
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: New Porcupine Puffer Won't Eat!

Post by Pufferpunk »

YAY!!!
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!"
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