Mbu Puffer not eating...can somebody pls help!

[manutius]

Yeah I agree something a bit more substantial would be better than bloodworm, but to answer your question I tend to thaw them out for my other fish and he just picks a few off if he fancies them. My wife made the mistake of chucking a frozen cube in and he chomped it only to spray them out of his vents. It was like a party popper but with bloodworm lol. Have you tried prawns soaked in garlic and any luck on getting the PH down?

[boomer]

When Boomer was a baby, I mainly feed him mussels (with no shell). He adored them, still does. I dont know whether its worth offering him yet another alternative food...

I hope he starts to pick up.

[Safari Stan]

I would put some crushed coral in the filter to get your ph stabilised!

[Pufferpunk]

Adding CC, will raise the pH. If anything, I'd add peat. I don't really understand the high pH, since your tap water isn't there.

[Cyclop3000]

Adding CC, will raise the pH. If anything, I'd add peat. I don't really understand the high pH, since your tap water isn't there.

True, I don't understand either. Can fluctuation in pH be caused by Nitrates? I mean i'm usually around 10ppm, but it can go up to 20-25 before a water change, or if I have to delay the water change a few days. I might try the peat, I have a canister filter in there with room for more media.

Ok so I found earthworms...only big ones tho. He seems curious about them, but still hasn't tasted it. They are kinda big so I think he's not sure about them. The wiggling sure interests him tho. So I'll give him time.

I do try to feed him mussels, but he doesn't want that. Not even before he got in this feeding strike, he never liked them. I steamed the mussels before giving them to my puffer...is that what you guys do? I'm never sure if I should give them cooked or raw. Same with shrimps, would it be better giving him raw shrimps?

So thanks again for all the help, keep the suggestions coming Looks like he eats a couple bites a day, he's getting thinner and thinner and I don't know how much longer he can last like this. Hopefully everything will get back on track.

Oh BTW there's no plants in his tank, I see you guys all have planted tanks. Would it be better for him to have some plants in there? Would the plants affect the pH? Would they affect water quality (i.e.: Nitrates)? Sorry for the basic questions, but besides my baby puffer I only have monster fish so plants don't survive in my tanks, and I don't know much about them...

[GekkoGeck0]

Go online to some of the cricket farms. A lot of them sell worms also. My puffs love crickets too!

Mmm...If you're talking about blackworms thanks but that won't work...i'm in Canada. There are no such farms that I know of in Canada, and the ones in the US are not able to ship across the border.

I could try and find some earthworm farms tho I suppose...

Being in Canada can definitely pose obstacles to finding feeders of all sorts. We just got access to blackworms in Manitoba, and I'm not sure too many other provinces have access to them. I feel lucky.

This is a good place to try for all sorts of feeder bugs/worms:

http://canadianfeeders.com/

I haven't ordered personally, but I hear very good things about their service.

No blackworms available at the moment through that site, but I heard that the owner can get them in large quantities. They do have nightcrawlers, however.

Can fluctuation in pH be caused by Nitrates?

Yes, however, nitrates (also known as nitric acid) should cause pH to go down, not up, if they're in excess.

I'm never sure if I should give them cooked or raw. Same with shrimps, would it be better giving him raw shrimps?

Everything should be raw.

Would they affect water quality (i.e.: Nitrates)?

Plants tend to soak up nitrates and other nutrients from the water. Since nitrates don't raise pH, plants aren't really going to help with your pH problem.

[Cyclop3000]

Alright, time for an update. First off thanks GekkoGeck0 for the link, I appreciate. I found a guy here in Quebec that is working towards distributing blackworms to East Canada, so hopefully it works out and we can start getting some too He's supposed to let me know by the end of the month so I will post something here if it works.

I found nightcrawlers last night at a fishing store. Cleaned a big one and dropped it in the Mbu's tank. Success !! He ate half the worm (it was large, twice his size), and had a huge belly after his meal =)

YAY!! So hopefully he keeps eating like a champ. I will try another worm tonight, won't go back to his old food yet. I want to make sure he gains his weight back before I introduce more stuff in there.

So thanks all for all the good advice, it's much appreciated.

Now all that's left to do is figure out that pH problem. In the weekend I will go buy some peat for my filter, and a bunch of plants. I'm thinking although the plants won't help with the pH, since they won't bother the water quality (that's what I wanted to know), that the puffer might like a few plants to swim around. Give him something to play with I guess.

Edit 2007-01-10: Gee I just read another post and I think I found out what causes the pH to go up. There are a bunch of small pond snail shells in this tank, they have been there for a while as my gravel vac doesn't pick them up...I thought only shells like clams, etc... would raise the pH, never thought snail shells (even small ones) would raise that pH...silly me. I will remove all of them tonight to see if that works. Anybody got a quick way to pickup pond snail shells from a sand substrate?

Thanks again!

[RTR]

I would doubt that a moderate collection of pond snail shell would boost the pH of an mbu's tank. The sand itself is the more likely culprit.

[Cyclop3000]

I would doubt that a moderate collection of pond snail shell would boost the pH of an mbu's tank. The sand itself is the more likely culprit.

I tested the sand and no reaction. So nope that's not it.

[manutius]

Firstly I am glad that you have got some Food in the puffer's tummy. Variety is the key to keeping them happy so offer as many different foods as possible. However I wouldn't rush the next feed as I would wait and see that the other end is working properly, no point overloading his digestive system if he can't pass his poos. Wait till you see a nice big poo and then think about feeding again. Try offering shelled peas and this will help give him some vegetation in his diet.

You say you tested the sand, how did you do that exactly? I would put some in a cup with your tap water and a cup without sand next to eachother and leave for a week then see if the PH has changed

[Cyclop3000]

Wait till you see a nice big poo and then think about feeding again. Try offering shelled peas and this will help give him some vegetation in his diet.

Good point.

You say you tested the sand, how did you do that exactly? I would put some in a cup with your tap water and a cup without sand next to eachother and leave for a week then see if the PH has changed

Simple. I have this "pH Adjust" bottle (Nutrafin I think) that I use. A few drops on a surface and if it fizzles then it's going to raise the pH in the tank. I do this with all my rocks and sand before I put them in any of my tanks.

I just re-tested the sand and rocks in there, just in case. Been doing this for many years and never had any problem, even then, the sand in the tank has been there for 4-5 months and pH was always ok...

[Myaj]

That's great that he's eating!

You really do need to figure out the pH problem though. Nothing in your tank should make your pH jump up like that suddenly, unless someone dumped a bunch of a product like pH UP in your tank?

If you take a bucket of your tap water, and let it sit out for 24-48 hours, does the pH change? That does happen to a lot of people.

What your pH in the tank is right now is pH I've dealt with out of the tap with no problems, but a big jump is never good so there must be a reason for it.

If your tap water doesn't change after sitting out, I would start doing lots of frequent water changes to get your pH back down to "normal" and start taking the decor out one by one.. something in there is making it rise and even though your "testing" of dripping the pH down doesn't have any reaction, it still could be something in there.

[Cyclop3000]

If your tap water doesn't change after sitting out, I would start doing lots of frequent water changes to get your pH back down to "normal" and start taking the decor out one by one..

I wanted to do that, but i'm always afraid to do too much water changes...how much is too much? I usually do 50% once a week, when I noticed the pH I did a couple 50% in the same week. Then I stopped cause I was afraid to lose all my bacterias and stress the fish...

[manutius]

Without stating the obvious that a 100% water change is out of the question unless you want an angry and confused flapping puffer I would suggest you do as many large water changes as often as is needed to help get PH down to normal. That is of course assuming that your tap water is not the problem in the first place.

I had a thought though, do you have any rock ornaments that are man made? These are often made with bits of concrete or cement to keep them together, that could affect the PH too. I had a really cool piece of rockwork and my PH was on the high side too, took it out and after the next water change the problem had gone.

If you could post a picture of you tank one of us may be able to spot the culprit

[Myaj]

I would not be scared to be doing 50% daily changes at all since you already do 50% once a week, but maybe for the first couple wait a few days in between.

Definately test your water in a non-reactive container though (plastic or glass) after its sat out, just to be sure your tap water hasn't changed.

There could also be something in your tank that while it didn't react years ago when you put it in there, its starting to break down and release things into the water now.