The Puffer Forum

Our figure 8 puffer (we've had him a month or so) seems to be having some eating issues. Our tank parameters: 8.2-8.4 ph, 0 NH3, 0 nitrate and 0 nitrite...
We have him in a 20 gallon tank, all by himself. We do 50% water changes weekly, and I've been stepping up the salinity each week, we are at ~1.004 right now.
For the first three weeks we had him, we were offering him a wide variety of foods: shell-on-shrimp, clam, crab, frozen krill. He always ate voraciously, and didn't stop until I pulled the food out of the tank. His belly always got nice and rounded. Last week (last Friday), my fiance wanted to try some live food, so he went to LFS and got some live bloodworms, and our puffer ate them up and went absolutely crazy for them. I then tried to give our puffer a shrimp tail the next day, and he wasn't the LEAST BIT interested in it... he swam right by it, and around it, and wouldn't even really peck at it. So, that night, we gave him more bloodworms. Which he gobbled up like crazy, and loved chasing them around the tank. I then waited a day to feed next, and tried offering another shrimp tail (previous to giving him bloodworms, his favorite meal), and he kind of went for it...ate some, but not as voraciously as he used to. Each day this week, I've been trying to get him back on feeding with non-live food, and he hasn't really been eating a lot. Just tonight, I tried a crab leg, and he really wasn't interested. He is (in our opinion) starting to look a little emaciated...his belly is flattened (not concave), but not as round as it used to be at all.

Could it be possible that he's gotten some type of IP from the live bloodworms? I haven't noticed any poo being white/ stringy like... Or, could it be that he is just being a little pain in the butt and wants more live food?? I don't want to treat for IPs (we have the jungle clear tabs in case we decide to) if we don't have to...any advice????

if your puffer does have IP's it probably had them before you bought it, but as an experienced bloodworm hater, i had a hell of a time getting my dwarf and south american puffers to switch back to dead foods after i introduced live bloodworms, i will never give any of my puffers bloodworms ever again, they are too damn delicious to the puffers. Anyways it's hard to say if your puff has IP's or is just being picky, but i always say that if you think your puffer does have IP's then start treating before the puffer stops eating due to the IP's

The more I look at him (I have had a fish with IPs before, and he #1-wasn't eating at all, just pushing food around and #2-had the stringy, white poo) the more I think he is just being freaking picky! Would I be harming him at all if I didn't try to entice him to eat by giving him live bloodworms again (seems to be the only thing he has his appetite for), and forcing him to 'starve' until he eats good (dead) food again? I am thinking I will just keep offering him good shrimp, crab, etc, until he starts to eat voraciously again... I just don't want him to go too long without eating?!?!

If I did decide to treat for IPs with using Jungle Clear Parasite tabs, would it be harmful to him...I've had one bad experience (not in a puffer tank, but our main 55 gallon tank) with treating for ich with chemical meds (now we've since learned that heat and salt work SO much better), and we lost fish after treatment, that I am very skeptical of treating with any chemical meds...any advice?? Thanks!

starve that puff untill he eats the dead foods, it won't harm him, as for meds i always try to stay all natural, specially when treating ich, half of the ich cures out there will kill your puff before the parasite if dosed wrong, which is easy to do. i've heard good things about the jungle labs parasite stuff though

So, I think we've definitely determined that it's not an IP...just our puffer being a brat and wanting live food. THe live bloodworms have RUINED him!!! WE tried three different times today to feed both shrimp and crab (trying with and without garlic)...he used to LOVE both shrimp and crab...he has absolutely no interest. This is day two of him not really eating. He is definitely not getting emaciated, so that's why I dont' think it's some type of IP...And he's acting fine otherwise. ANy advice?? Or any input on how long this 'stand-off' can go on for????? Thanks!!

Also, just to be safe, we did a water change today (even though everything was great in his tank...0 NH3, 0 NO2, 0 NO3, and 1.004-5 salinity (still stepping it up)... He was due for his weekly change... so I know the water quality is excellent...