The Puffer Forum

I got home with my new porcupine puffer on Tuesday night so he has been in the new tank for 2 days. The first day he stayed floating in the back corner of my tank but today he stays laying on the bottom kinda hidden under a rock. He hasn't eaten at all. He never puffed up until today when I tried to feed him. I put in a frozen shrimp first and left it for a while and he didnt acknoledge it so when I went to take it out he puffed up alittle at me but went right back down. Then I tried a piece of scallop and the same thing happened. I also tried a cube of frozen krill and flakes to feed my other fish but he didnt acknoledge that either. I was told he may not eat the first few days but him laying on bottom and not moving about much bothers me. Is he sick or is this normal? And how do I get him to eat?

(while my 125gal is still cycling)
he is in 55gal tank that has been up for about 3mths with 2 damsels, 1 perc clown, a copperbanded butterfly, and 2 peppermint shrimp.
I cycled it with cured lr, then added my damsels after about 2 wks. I do water changes every week.

salinity: 1.022
ph: 8.4
nitrite: 0
Amonia: 0
Nitrate: 20

How was he acclimated? Does have some kind of "cave" to hang out in? Nitrates are a bit high, I'd do a WC to get them down to ~10.

well...I have since found out I acclimated him wrong....but following the instructions of my lfs...I let his bag float in my tank for 30min and then added 1/2cup of tank water to his bag every 10min until bag was full, then netted him out of bag and released him in my tank. He has several places to hide and has already picked one out which is where he lays on bottom of tank under a rock overhang.

For now, just keep an eye on him, It takes a while for puffers to adjust--they sulk. Make sure you defrost all frozen foods--best to add a vitamen to the water it's defrosting too. You can add garlic to enhanced appetite to the food.

Do let him adjust a while first. Is this a reef tank? If not, try lowering the lighting levels so he feels less exposed in the open.

Well....its been a week and he still will not eat any frozen food. I have tried live small guppies and he immediatly gulps them down. I have been told it is not good to feed them live guppies but that is all he will eat. How can I get him to eat frozen? I have tried everything I can get from the lfs or grocer. Frozen shrimp with shell on, scallops, crab legs, and frozen cubes of mysis shrimp and krill. He will not go near any of this..if I put it right in front of him he puffs a little and goes the other way. What do I do? And all of my parameters are the same as first listed. Seem to be fine!

There is an article on how to get your puffer to eat, in our Library.

He will continue to only eat live food as long as you continue to feed him live food. He needs to be trained to eat dead food, he's not going to do it willingly. It is going to take patience and perseverance on your part but its very important for his long-term health. Keep offering him the frozen food, do NOT break down and give him live food. They can go quite some time without food and be fine, even a couple of weeks. He'll eat when he gets hungry enough, as long as you stick to it. But he has to be hungry enough to try tasting it. He doesn't know its food and needs to learn that it is.

ok I will keep trying...the only thing is when I do not feed him live he starts chasing around my other fish..especially my copperband butterfly

Maybe he doesn't belong with other fish then.

You could try soaking the food in garlic to try and entice him to eat. Other then that it just takes time and persistence.

Yes, he shouldn't be with other fish really then.

I bought a burrfish that was supposedly only eating rosy reds (live feeders) at the store. I started her on nightcrawlers the day I brought her home and she learned very quickly that I was bringing her food. Once she knew what to expect, she was a lot more willing to try whatever I put in the tank, but she still has to like it, or she won't eat it.

For more healthy "live" food try freshwater snails (ramshorns, pond, I even feed my girl MTS snails), nightcrawlers, gut loaded crickets, etc. The only "dead" food I've managed to get her to eat enthusastically so far has been human shrimp (shell on), defrosted. She loves that, but will spend some time spitting water at me begging for a worm instead before she'll actually dig into the shrimp. I've found if I walk away, she will go eat, but if I stay there, she will ignore the food and keep begging.

So that's something to try, nightcrawlers are healthy and you dont' have the disease potential like you would with live feeders.

There's several good articles in the library about food options and even one specifically on picky eaters.

And no matter what, make sure you are cleaning up any uneaten food and keep those nitrates down with water changes!