The Puffer Forum

I just bought a porcupine puffer. Have been wanting one for a while. He seems very happy and swims all over our 180 gal. Fish only aquarium. I have tried feeding Prawn ( frozen shrimp) as per suggested by fish store owner. It ate fine before we brought him home. It has been 5 days and I don't see it eating. He swims in front of the glass all day long looking at his reflection and trying to bite it. Is this normal behavior for them? What else can I try feeding it? Please help, I don't want it to die. :"(

Fish only as in no live rock?
Maybe he's bored?
What are your water parameters?
Can we see a photo of the tank?

Try ghost shrimp , they should be gut loaded but if it eats them its a start ! Thats all mine would eat at first , Try a small crayfish or small crab and see what he does! I had to start with ghost shrimp them moved my Petey up to frozen shrimp, fidler and emerald crabs, raw clams , squid and crayfish !

Here are some pics of our aquarium.I tried the frozen shrimp again and Sunshine still not eating. Parameters are all good. All other fish are doing great. I will try Krill tomorrow. I heard clams is a possibility?

The tank looks cool! I would stay away from the krill , It causes lock jaw in puffers and could cause them to starve to death ! Clams are good ! Keep the ghost shrimp in mind if none of the other ideas work ! There are some good articles here about enticing your puffer too!

Sometimes they do this when they have a move. Hopefully things will turn around.

Thank you! I will post updates and let you all know how Sunshine is doing.

Hi Everyone, Just an update on my Puffer ( Sunshine). After contemplating if to feed it Krill or some clams, I decided to try the clams and I have to report that he has finally eaten for the first time today. I know he may need to eat somethings other than the clams, but it's a start. Thanks for the suggestions.

Yay!!!
The key is too keep the diet diverse.
Also, since frozen foods lose some nutrients, get some vitachem, if you don't already have it, it "seems" to also stimulate their appetite.

In addition to Vita-Chem, soak all foods in Selcon.