The Puffer Forum

Well, I got him last Saturday, and have tried feeding him all manner of things...frozen bloodworm/brine shrimp, live earthworms, and he has a few ramshorn snails roaming around the tank unharmed. I was advised to treat him for worms, so he has had 2 treatments of those parasite clear fizzy tabs.

Anyone have an idea of a timeline between "new with the jitters/getting used to being alone" and "dead because he won't eat"?

Had I known he was gonna be *this* difficult, I might have kept the 5g as an invert tank. And no, I'm not gonna put my RCS in there to get him to eat!

Actually, a young cherry shrimp might be just the thing...

Try soaking the frozen food in garlic.

Timeline? Probably four weeks. I sincerely doubt that this will happen, though!

This might sound lame, but if you have some flake food around try feeding him that. That might be all he understands as food, since most fish stores just feed all their fish flakes and pellets.

Good idea.

I put some flakes in, and I think they freaked him out a bit. He went and hid behind the heater, and when a flake hit him, he flinched.

Pity the guy at the store couldnt tell me what they were fed.

I put some frozen bloodworm in the cone and I'll leave it overnight...Saturday is water change day anyway,

Are the frozen worms actually sticking out of the cone? I'd just leave them near him on the bottom.

LilGreenPuffer wrote:Are the frozen worms actually sticking out of the cone? I'd just leave them near him on the bottom.

Bingo. He's still very skittish, stays at the back parts of the tank, but I did see him pecking at the gravel a bit, so I put a frozen bloodworm in there. He kind of ran away from it as it came towards him in the current flow, but then after it had been sitting on the gravel for a few seconds he slurped it up like a noodle, so at least he is eating now, but apparently with this puffer, not only does he need to see the food moving, he has to see it hit the gravel and stay there too...lol

I recall now that he and 6 or so like him were in a tank with small danios or barbs and the like, and the DPs all stayed near the bottom, like he does now.

Maybe being with other spcies of fish has made him like this, but this fish doesn't seem to be like the DPs I had read up on. Oh, and the snails in his tank are doing just fine...lol

I'm afriad you have a skitzo puffer. I've never had a dp so I can't comment on its temperment but, If you have a testing kit, you should use it right away.

All the water params were discussed earlier. I think he's on the bottom because he's shy/skittish right now.

I'm so glad that he's eating! It took my puffers forever to get used to the feeding cone, and those were live worms hanging out and wriggling all over the place, and they're their favorite food too. They kept on expecting food to arrive on the toothpick from the sky. It makes sense that your guy had trouble with the cone at first.

Do you have a background on the tank? Try covering three sides. That will make him feel like he's in a nice big cave and help him feel safer. He's at the back of the tank because he's got his back against the wall. Three walls makes that easier.