The Puffer Forum

I am never going to feed a large puffer clams with the shell on again. Yesterday I tried this with Hufflepuff, and he went nuts about it. I had a good time watching him dig in, and working to get the food off the shell. His first reaction when he saw the shell was to bite directly in it, and probably got a piece of shell together with the food. After eating he looked a little puzzled about the whole thing. And today I found him dead! I think he got a piece of the shell, and the sharp edges must have cut him up inside. I am so, so sad. Hufflepuff was my favorite puffer, and he had so much personality. He was always greeting me when I passed his tank (except if I gave him freeze dried krill). I am going to miss him so terribly.
R.I.P. Hufflepuff. No puffer can ever take your place.

I'm so sorry to hear that. Sometimes these things happen, though, kinda like choking on food.

So sorry to hear that what a shame

Oh that's awful, you must be so upset . Sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry, its always hard to lose one, especially a favorite.

Aw..I am so sorry.

That's terrible! Was the clam opened or closed? Did you freeze it 1st & then thaw out for him? Since they readily eat these in the wild, it's hard to believe they'd choke on it.

The clam was opened - only one half with meat in it. And he took a good chunk out of the side of the shell in his first bite. He had never seen such a thing before, and probably expeced it all to be soft. He just rushed to it, and tried to swallow half the meal in one piece, like he always did (that puffer didn't chew his food much!). I can see a piece missing in the shell, and the piece is nowhere to be found in the tank. It's nothing wrong with the food either, as other puffers got leftover meat from the same shell, and they are perfectly fine. And, yes, it was frozen and thawed again.

Would you be willing to an autopsy to see where the shell wound up?

I'm so sorry for your loss. This totally sucks! I'm going to be extra careful with feeding clams after hearing your story. Thanks for sharing.

Pufferpunk wrote:Would you be willing to an autopsy to see where the shell wound up?

Usually I would, but with Hufflepuff I just can't. But I can find no other reason. Hufflepuff was in good shape, and didn't show any sign of anything wrong at all. His appetite was huge as always yesterday, but after eating he suddenly looked a bit puzzled, like there was something he couldn't quite figure out. I though maybe he was a bit grumpy because of having to work a little to get the food, and couldn't swallow the whole thing in one single bite. He was his normal self before he got fed.

I think I would want to send my fish in to have an autopsy done after something like that happening. Especially after several fish loss with various symptoms and the fact that equipment is shared. Others have thought the same thing after feeding hard shelled food and the fish dying after the meal.

I wish we had conclusive answers. The only shell I actually see my puffers eat is home bred ram and pond snails. I know the shells are not very hard on them from experience. When I put in the bi weekly cooked mussel w/ shell I see them pick at the shell even chew on it but you can not tell if the eat the shell.

I'm so sorry for your loss's Troender. It is horrible what happened.

Argh! I found the missing piece, and it wasn't inside my puffer. Now I really am puzzled about what happened. And it makes me really nervous, as the fish was in good health yesterday before feeding (I did see a change in the puffer's behaviour after feeding). There was no sign of anything wrong as it was with the irrubesco I lost. But what scares me more is that I did have a similar case with a discus before my vacation. That fish didn't show any sign of illness either, and was found dead a few hours after feeding time (and, yes, it did eat, but not the same food as Hufflepuff).

Well, Hufflepuff is now laid to rest in my garden - as the only fish I've ever burried. He is put right next to a beautful rose my neighbour gave me one time she tried to make me go outside (to plant the rose) so she could steal my meds (and the trick didn't work, so she has to see the rose every day, knowing that it was a waste of money - she's in rehab now, BTW ).

Thanks for the support, all of you. It's been a lousy puffer month. But at least it's been a good month for my catfishes (right now I have 3 different kinds of corydoras fry and gang of beautiful suckermouth fry (L-144. They have recently left their cave, and they are so tiny), and I'm working on getting two more species spawn for their first time.

Interesting.

Yea, she's in rehab! I hope she sticks with it.