The Puffer Forum

Hi,

I have a porcupine puffer, he is 5 years old and he has not eaten for 1 and a half weeks, he doesnt have any spots his skin looks healthy and his teeth are moving up and down he just doesnt seem to have any life in him, he just lies at the bottom of his tank all the time and shows no interest in his food at all he has krill fixation and wont entertain anything else but he wont even eat that, I have gutted big lance fish for him and put whole fish (dead) in but nothing he used to go mad for garden peas (frozen) but wont eat a single thing i am so worried.
He has regular water changes and all levels are ok, i have tested water for nit.. and ammo... but all good i am totally at a loss, i asked my local fish shop and he said it is normal but im sorry that is not right i know my puffer and he isnt right he is normally happy and smiling and active but its as though he has given up on life he is in a 200 litre tank alone with a few big live rocks and i would say he is about 8 inches long max .... please can anyone advice me on what i could try ive even soaked his food in garlic im at a complete loss

thank you
Haidee

What are the test results of the water tests you have run? Numbers please, not subjective comments: pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, specific gravity.

Tank size?

Other tankmatess?

Tank setup and filtration? FOWLR? Skimmer? Other?

Water change schedule and volume changed?

Oh my i new you were going to ask me that my nitrate is 0 and my ammonia level is 0.25

he is alone in the tank i have an aqua one 200 litre tank i only have a few bits of live rock in there with him it has all the filtration and skimmer all built in

i change water every 5 to six week unless anything shows up in it

all the test results nitrate nitrite and ammonia levels are 0 salt level is 0.25 sorry got confused with all the numbers hope this helps

haidee wrote:all the test results nitrate nitrite and ammonia levels are 0 salt level is 0.25 sorry got confused with all the numbers hope this helps

and i normally a 5 gallon bucket sometimes that and a half water change

You mean your SG is 1.025? If you ever show ANY ammonia, there is a serious problem with your tank. How much live rock is in there? How big is the tank & the fish? What filtration are you using?

Please answer ALL the Qs above, in RED.

A steady diet of krill it terrible for your fish. It has been proven to cause lockjaw, especially in porcpuffs. Can it open/close it's mouth at all? Unless you are willing to force feed this fish, there is probably no hope: http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic72164-10-1.aspx

If he can still open/close his mouth, you can try other foods & other methods of feeding:
library/feeding/feeding-your-puffers/
library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/
library/feeding/feedingproblems/

I hope you can save him.

1 x 140litre + 60litre(Filter) capacity Tank
- 82(W) x 35+15(D) x 65(H)cm
10mm glass with easy access hood,
1 x Cabinet - 82(W) x 50(D) x 80(H)cm
1 x 200w Aquarium Heater
2 x 24w T5 Lighting Sunlight System 7100k
1 x 15w and 1 x 20w T8 Lighting Marine Blue 20000k
Technical Specification
Circulation pump turnover L/hr.........2600
Protein Skimmer................................Aqua One AT80
Protein Skimmer pump L/hr...............1200L/hr.

in the filter compartment there are 3 large bags of rock i cant remeber the name of the rock but came with the tank
his lips seem like they are staying open but his teeth (beak) is moving up and down properly like a shutter my husband said we have no ammonia or nitrites or nitrates and the salt is good we have about 40kilos of living rock, i know now that feeding him krill was not a good idea but it was the advice i was given when i first got him i do try putting other things in for him to eat like lance fish, white fish, squid but he is stubborn now

Krill is like fish crack! Once they start eating it, they refuse all other foods. 1 1/2 weeks of not eating, isn't too bad, they actually can go a few months before they starve to death. Have you read ALL the links I gave you? How big is he? Tank mates?

140L = 36g. At 5 years old, this fish should be 12-18" & in a 100-150g (400-600L) tank.

He is on his own with no tank mates i used to have a foxface with him but it was apparant that the foxface was scared of him so we donated him to the sea life centre and decided he should be on his own but that was over a year ago, i am assuming he is 5 as he was about 1 inch when i got him 3 years ago and i asked the lfs owner how old he was and he said probably 2 but that is the same man who told me to feed him krill so i dont know but he is roughly about 8 inches long so should i be thinking about getting him a new tank could he be unhappy ? because he usually smiles at me and gets really excited to see me but its as though he is depressed i have noticed him blowing the food out of his mouth when im putting it in so could that mean he hasnt got lock jaw? i really dont mind putting the food in his mouth if thats what i have to do i just dont think it will stay there as he spits it out again.

I'm afraid he's already stunted but he may grow more if you house him properly. Please do this ASAP. Read the feeding articles on how to get him off krill. No more krill! Start with live crabs, crayfish & earthworms, to get him interested in something else.

More reading for you:
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Marine/D_Holocanthus/
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=192
library/puffers-in-focus/big-marine-pufferfish-care/

Pufferpunk wrote:I'm afraid he's already stunted but he may grow more if you house him properly. Please do this ASAP. Read the feeding articles on how to get him off krill. No more krill! Start with live crabs, crayfish & earthworms, to get him interested in something else.

my husband is going to dig me up an earthworm to feed him now i will get a bigger tank too and i already chucked the krill in the bin i feel a little bit guilty feeding him live crabs you can see there eyes but i will give it a go ill have to brave up

thank you for all the advice

haidee