I just tried trimming my fish's teeth for the first time and failed at it... i don't know how long i should keep him out of the water for.....
i read the article in the library here and it says 3 cups of tank water and 3 drops of clove oil, then the fish should turn upside down within 60 seconds... well that was not the case for me, it took almost 4 minutes... he was just lifeless, but still moving... so i really rushed the trimming and didnt get the teeth that good.. the teeth are really bad, at the point where hes not eating..
how soon can i try this again without stressing him out more???
teeth trimmimg
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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.
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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Re: teeth trimmimg
Prolong contact with clove oil even in water seems to cause O2 problems, I'd recommend finquel(ms222) instead next time, should be far less stressful on you. I have seen that most recommend removing the fish from the water to trim, but I see no reason if you can manipulate the fish well enough underwater you could not do it there.
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Re: teeth trimmimg
Did you stir or airate the water, to mix the clove oil?
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Re: teeth trimmimg
i mixed the water really good...... i think hes just a strong fighter... would 4 drops be okay? i really am afraid of how long he should be exposed in clove oil water, i mean 4 minutes seems way to long.. thats why i failed at the teeth.. too much in a hurry to put him back in the tank water to see if he'd recover.....
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Boxermom
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Re: teeth trimmimg
I hope you don't mean you put him back in his tank afterwards. You should have a bucket of declorinated water to put him in for recovery so the clove oil doesn't get into his main tank.
Tina
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Re: teeth trimmimg
oh yes, i had a seperate container of his tank water.. i left him in there for a good 20 minutes before putting him in his tank... it just seems like he wont go upside down in 3 drops of clove oil.. so it really is strange cuz im following the directions right....Boxermom wrote:I hope you don't mean you put him back in his tank afterwards. You should have a bucket of declorinated water to put him in for recovery so the clove oil doesn't get into his main tank.
4 drops maybe? i just dont want to harm him.....
Last edited by weasel on Thu Sep 13, 2007 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: teeth trimmimg
can i try again tonight or is it too soon? they really need to be cut....
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Boxermom
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Re: teeth trimmimg
I think it also depends on how big the puffer is. Larger puffers would need a higher dose, IMO.
I would definitely try again tonight if they are interfering with his ability to eat.
I would definitely try again tonight if they are interfering with his ability to eat.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Re: teeth trimmimg
hes not really that big yet... Maybe 2 inches long, so i think that would do the trick? but if i add another drop would that increase his chances of not recovering?Boxermom wrote:I think it also depends on how big the puffer is. Larger puffers would need a higher dose, IMO.
I would definitely try again tonight if they are interfering with his ability to eat.
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Boxermom
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Re: teeth trimmimg
You definitely need to use more if its taking him 4 minutes to go under. That's a long time for him to be exposed to it.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Re: teeth trimmimg
thats what i was thinking.... thats why i rushed the trimming....Boxermom wrote:You definitely need to use more if its taking him 4 minutes to go under. That's a long time for him to be exposed to it.
4 drops should do it then? will it harm him if i add to much?
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Boxermom
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Re: teeth trimmimg
Well, we use clove oil to euthanize as well, so yeah, too much can harm him. But if you just add one or two drops more, it should be okay.
Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Re: teeth trimmimg
thank you... if he dies i'll blame you... just joking...Boxermom wrote:Well, we use clove oil to euthanize as well, so yeah, too much can harm him. But if you just add one or two drops more, it should be okay.
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Boxermom
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Re: teeth trimmimg
Go ahead, if it makes you feel better, although I will point out that I did say “should.” 
Unfortunately, it can happen where they don’t wake up afterwards, so it’s a nerve-wracking procedure, especially the wait afterwards while they come out of it. But if I can do it, so can you.
Unfortunately, it can happen where they don’t wake up afterwards, so it’s a nerve-wracking procedure, especially the wait afterwards while they come out of it. But if I can do it, so can you.Tina
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Puffers: Auriglobus silus x1, Tetraodon travancoricus x1, Tetraodon turgidus x1, Tetraodon miurus x1, Tetraodon nigroviridis x2, Tetraodon baileyi x2, Tetraodon lineatus x1, Tetraodon palembangensis x1
Re: teeth trimmimg
Hi--
I have a green spotted puffer, tetraodon nigroviridis, and I just trimmed his beak...shaking hands and all. He's about 2.5" long, beak to tail, and I used 4 drops of clove oil/gallon, as recommended in the Puffer chapter in Monks' 2006 "Brackish-Water Fishes" book. I netted him from the tank, put him in a bucket w 1 gallon of tank water + the clove oil, and after 5 minutes I decided he was sedated enough to try. His gills and fins were still moving a bit and he had not rolled belly up as some people reported, but he was calm enough to hold. I pulled him out of the water to do the trimming, so that I could see what I was doing.
I was surprised that his beak was as thick as it was! I planned to use a pair of baby nail clippers, but in the end I used a normal sized pair because they opened wider. It took several clips before I got the beak to the size I wanted it. Also... I had not realized that there is a beak on the lower jaw, inside the mouth, that was even longer than the outer beak! No wonder the poor guy wasn't eating... So I trimmed the lower beak too.
After I finished I put him in a second bucket w a gallon of tank water (wo the clove oil), and after ~10 min he was swimming around merrily, just as Monks predicted. He's now back in his tank and looks just fine, except that I didn't trim his beak straight, it's a bit lopsided just like the way my mom cut my bangs when I was a kid...
I have a green spotted puffer, tetraodon nigroviridis, and I just trimmed his beak...shaking hands and all. He's about 2.5" long, beak to tail, and I used 4 drops of clove oil/gallon, as recommended in the Puffer chapter in Monks' 2006 "Brackish-Water Fishes" book. I netted him from the tank, put him in a bucket w 1 gallon of tank water + the clove oil, and after 5 minutes I decided he was sedated enough to try. His gills and fins were still moving a bit and he had not rolled belly up as some people reported, but he was calm enough to hold. I pulled him out of the water to do the trimming, so that I could see what I was doing.
I was surprised that his beak was as thick as it was! I planned to use a pair of baby nail clippers, but in the end I used a normal sized pair because they opened wider. It took several clips before I got the beak to the size I wanted it. Also... I had not realized that there is a beak on the lower jaw, inside the mouth, that was even longer than the outer beak! No wonder the poor guy wasn't eating... So I trimmed the lower beak too.
After I finished I put him in a second bucket w a gallon of tank water (wo the clove oil), and after ~10 min he was swimming around merrily, just as Monks predicted. He's now back in his tank and looks just fine, except that I didn't trim his beak straight, it's a bit lopsided just like the way my mom cut my bangs when I was a kid...