The Puffer Forum

I recently purchased 3 juvenile SAPs (about 3 to 4 cm) and it appears that one of them is in need of a teeth trim. I would post a pic but it was impossible to get a good shot with my crappy galaxy S2 camera phone given how fast they move around. Its teeth are covering about two thirds of its mouth opening. I have not had any experience trimming puffer teeth so I'm very concerned about making sure I trim correctly. I've had some GSPs for about a year now, so I always imagined that teeth trimming would involve cutting down their "beaks" - like trimming what appears to be their lips. This may be a totally incorrect assumption but I've never noticed anything like typical teeth inside their mouths.

SAPs, on the other hand, almost resemble rabbits with two very predominant teeth descending from their upper mouth. Do SAPs have any lower teeth that are not apparent? I want to make sure that it is these two top "buck teeth" that I should trim and not anything else. Thank you guys for your advice and information.

They do indeed have bottom teeth too, they are likely hidden by the top teeth.

Get used to the process--they'll need dentistry every 4-6 months: library/hospital/dentistry/

You'll be able to figure it out once you can look at them more closely

Thanks Flutter that's a great pic. Looks like it'll be hard to clip the lower teeth though. I guess I'll find out soon.

On mine the lower teeth were much shorter than the top ones. I think they only needed the tips clipped off.

It'll take a while for the Finquel I purchased from eBay to arrive here in Korea but in the meantime I have one big concern. The SAP with the biggest teeth problem is actually the smallest of the group - about 3 cm. It's mouth is so small I'm having a difficult time fathoming how I'll be able to cut its teeth with standard nail clippers.

For those of you who have had experience trimming teeth on small puffers - is this a big problem? Will I need some special clippers or tools to safely and accurately trim my puffer's teeth?

Thank you.

Use cuticle nippers. There is photos of this in my article, posted above.

Pufferpunk wrote:Use cuticle nippers. There is photos of this in my article, posted above.

I have cuticle clippers. What I meant was - since the SAP is small, will I need something even smaller than what is used "normally." Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Cuticle clippers should suffice. Try not to worry, it seems a lot scarier than it actually is. I read the teeth trimming article until I knew it word for word as I did not have to return to it whilst doing the deed. ( I do admit I had my poor wife with the article open lol)

I was afraid at first when I had to trim my puffers teeth too.
The trick is to sedate the fish (again... a frightening thing). And buy sharp cuticle cutters (important if your puff is small).
I went to a health food store and got some Clove oil. I put one drop of oil per 1cup of water in a small bucket.
Then net the fish and put him in the "solution". It takes a couple min.... but when he stops swiming, and sits on the bottom. hes good to go.
Keep an eye on him, he will die if you leave him in there to long.
Fish him out (make sure he is still breathing) and then get to clipping. you don't want the bits in his mouth, so watch that.
Also... try not to clip their lips
Once done you can put them in another container of clean water. once they wake up, put them back in the tank.

I have done this for about a year to my guy. He knows when its going to happen and tries to hide, but he always looks so happy when its over
If you are ever lucky enough to get baby ramshorn snails... feeding those to the puffs will greatly cut down on how frequently you have to clip.