The Puffer Forum

Hi all

i've had my Arrow head a little while now, and he used to come up and see me when i got close to the tank, and every other day to every 3 days when i lowered a prawn in, he would leap up and chase it.

but i went away for a week, and had my better half feed him (shes great with it) and now it seems like the week without me has made him less active? he doesnt react to me much, apart from eyes watching me, and just stays burried, he also isnt eating as well, to get him to eat i have to poke the food at his mouth, thats after 4 days of not eating.

i think he's a bit depressed tbh sounds silly i know,

i thought maybe something live for him to chase would help, or a change in substate maybe to make things interesting for him again?

his water is all within pararameters, and gets a 50-60% weekly water change.

i feed him mostly on prawn and muscle, with the occasional scallop.

any ideas? or has he just settled in now? and should i make him work for his food, and if he doesnt work, he doesnt get food? how long is safe to do this? i know its not uncommon for them to not eat for a week so....

cheers

I've never had an arrowhead, so I lack in the information there. However, when puffers aren't willing to take food, it generally means they might be sick. How long have you had him for?

I would avoid changing out the substrate too quickly, as the substrate holds a significant amount of beneficial bacteria, so you have to be careful when performing a change like that.

As far as I've heard, Arrowheads are pretty relaxed and aren't really that active. They can also be moody (Abe, my Abei puffer, has been very moody lately towards me), so it's quite possible that that's what happened.

They can also go quite a while without food, so I wouldn't worry all that much unless he's not eating the same portions as before. You can always try soaking it in garlic to see if that changes his appetite.

Should we move this to the hospital forum?

some good points there, i'm doing this on my phone so sorry if its hard reading.

For the swap i was gonna thin out one half then push it all to one end, then add half the new stuff, thought small black pebbles, then slowly over time remove the remainer. Were talkin over about a month or more.

I'd had the feller about 2 months now and he's lookin healthy with a nice white belly and good markings so not too worried that he's sick as such. I guess it is just him being grumpy maybe? If really doesnt like the water changes i don't think, maybe i should find a small pump to add the water slowly or something.
I used the garlic trick when i first got him and had him eating on the second day
I think i'll try and breed some shrimp in there to keep him busy. There's plenty of room for them to hide in the bog wood. . . . .

One thing that is springing to my mind is snails, i put in a few fully grown pond style snails ages ago. They breed in the tank, but the big guys died of age. I see quite a few babies and eggs but they never seem to be getting very big, but nor do i see dead snail, you see where i'm goin here? Could he be eating them? Thus not wanting the food i offer or interested in me as he's not that hungry maybe?
I thought they didn't eat snail and i just put them in as clean ups.

Cheers

Hahaha! Puffers LOVE snails. It's pretty tough to keep snails in my tanks for cleanup, as they usually just turn into puffer poop! ^_^

I guess just keep an eye on him and make sure he's eating once in a while. My Ceylons *hated* me for an entire week after I did water changes on their tank, so I can imagine he's feeling the same. A good trick for this is to feed him directly after a water change. This way you train them so that they know they get a delicious treat right after all the loud noises are done.

i thought arrow heads weren't known for eating them?
It had been a week, and today i offered a prawn. As soon as it was close enough he went for it and had a good fight. Then went off and has been normal ever since, more side fin movement, more interest in me.
Guess he was just grumpy! Lol
Great tip about feedin after cleaning, i've done it befor as he didn't eat much after but i'll cut his feedin to once a week after cleaning with maybe a couple very small snacks mid week to keep him happy
The snails seem to be doin ok ish till they to a certain size where he thinks there food
Cheers for your help and great tip

Glad to see he's back to normal. Post again if he starts acting funny again.