The Puffer Forum

Hey, new to the forum and thought i'd sign up for some help from fellow puffer fans.
i have an 80L tank in which lives my 2 figure 8 puffers, 3 mollys, plenty of river shrimp (that managed to escape becoming a meal) and 4 bumblebee gobies.
have had my tank set up for about a year and a half and they seem to be rule breakers when it comes to feeding, salinity etc.

anyways the problem i've had recently is that one of my puffers passed away (2nd since tank set up) leaving me with only 2 of my little guys left. the reason for this death i know was due to the fact he wasn't eating as his beak had grown much too long. i saw this happening and put snails and live shrimp as well as dried shrimp into the tank to try and ware it down but nothing seemed to work/interest him. looking into my tank this morning one of my guys is starting to look a bit long in the tooth and i want to stop this from happening again. what do i do?????

What do you mean by, "rule breakers"?

Here is my dentistry article. I now recommend using Finquel (MS-222) for tranquilizing, instead of clove oil.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebinde ... tistry.htm

viewtopic.php?f=68&t=28692

First off, welcome to TPF!!! =D

Feed them snails every day. I'm assuming they're still small. The way i feed my GSP is by crushing the snails with something hard and dropping them into the tank 1 by 1 until he's finished. That way they get the crunchy part without having to strain to break the snail open. They need a steady diet of snails. Pest snails from a LFS work wonders and are free, usually. Shrimp and other soft foods will not aid in the wearing of the beak. You can also feed them clams on a half shell but pest snails are much, much cheaper and work just as well.

If your puffers beak is visibly long, snails will no longer work, usually. You need to purchase a sedative called MS222 (I believe is the name) and follow the directions with it. This will numb the puffer and you can clip their beak physically. That will be the only option, most likely. DO NOT use clove oil. This product can give your puffer brain damage and they could also never wake up from it. It's VERY scary clipping their beak for the first time, believe me i've done it on a few puffers i rescued from crappy LFS.

Look on youtube for "How To" videos on clipping your puffers beak. This is what i did and they helped so well.

Anyways, sorry for the book but good luck with your puffers and have a great day!

finquel (ms 222) , only seems to be available to vets in england , so next best thing is http://www.kusuri.co.uk/shopping.php?class_id=109

Your 80 litre tank is too small for multiple F-8s. I does have room for one F-8 plus the bbgs, but the shrimp would be better off elsewhere.

The specific gravity should be at 1.003 to 1.005 for maximum health and lifespan. Nitrate should be at or below 10ppm. Ammonia and nitrite should be undetectable.

HTH