The Puffer Forum

So I finally got along sought after fahaka puffer (Tetradon Lineatus). He is currently in his quarantine tank and 2" in size. He arrived in the mail Friday completely emaciated. I had the tank set up with ghost shrimps and pea size pond snails ready for him to devour. I also tried frozen blood worms. but he isn't eating a thing. I am treating with Prazi Pro in the tank as per the directions and I also soaked the blood worms with prazi pro. The problem is he isn't eating. The puffer is nearly dead. He is so weak that he was stuck to the filter intake last night so I turned off the filter and I am oxygenating the tank with an air stone. I figured he would be dead in the morning but to my surprise he is still swimming.

So any trick to getting a puffer to eat? I did try open clams soaked in garlic extract. Still no interest. The person who sold him to me said he was feeding on feeders so I currently have some happy feeder fish swimming around my tank the puffer completely ignores him.

In this pic he is looking at the blood worms but didn't touch them.

Just realized I put this in the wrong section can someone please move this to Hospital section.

Try these methods: library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/
I'd get him eating 1st. Start with a live earthworm.

Pufferpunk wrote:Try these methods: library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/
I'd get him eating 1st. Start with a live earthworm.

So stop the meds until he starts eating? I can go to my my garden and get worms tonight.

Meds in the water are a waste of meds. As long as no fertilizers have been used in your garden, those worms should be fine for him.

Pufferpunk wrote:Meds in the water are a waste of meds. As long as no fertilizers have been used in your garden, those worms should be fine for him.

You are the second person to tell me that. I guess I will give it a try. The instructions on the bottle said to dose the water. I will do a 50% water change tonight and then put in some earth worms. No fertilizers have been used in the garden ever.

Freshwater fish rarely drink water. They are hypertonic to the water around then and thus cannot avoid taking up H2O by osmosis through their skin and gills. But that is pure H20, just water, not the things dissolved in it.

Marine fish are the opposite - they are hypotonic to their surrounding, and so lose water (just water, not the things dissolved in it) to their surroundings. This means that they must drink water constantly and excrete the excess minerals taken in by doing that.

That seems confusing to many folks, but it is the way the world works.

HTH

RTR wrote:Freshwater fish rarely drink water. They are hypertonic to the water around then and thus cannot avoid taking up H2O by osmosis through their skin and gills. But that is pure H20, just water, not the things dissolved in it.

Marine fish are the opposite - they are hypotonic to their surrounding, and so lose water (just water, not the things dissolved in it) to their surroundings. This means that they must drink water constantly and excrete the excess minerals taken in by doing that.

That seems confusing to many folks, but it is the way the world works.

HTH

Thank you for the info. I actually knew this already but the bottle says to dose the water so I thought it had some way of working. Who knows, I am trying anything now. I put the carbon back in the filter and did water changes to remove meds. I put two small earth worms into the tank. I am not sure if he ate the earth worms or not. They squirmed around right next to him and he didn't move. I watched for about 5 minutes then I had to go take care of my kids. So I came back about an hour later he was in the same spot but no signs of the worms. I wonder if he ate them or if they are burrowed into the sand. He still looks very skinny.

I am going to pick up some more ghost shrimp the meds killed off the shrimp I had. Since I am heading to the LFS today anyone think I should try brine shrimp or anything else he is 2" long.

I bet they burrowed. Sounds like force-feeding may be in order. Often, animals that have been starving, never eat again.

Pufferpunk wrote:I bet they burrowed. Sounds like force-feeding may be in order. Often, animals that have been starving, never eat again.

I have the little syringes to give babies/toddlers medicine. Would I use that and what brine shrimp or blood worms?

You'll have to attach a few inches of air hose to that, to get the food directly into his stomach. I'd mix in meds & vitamins with bloodworms.

Pufferpunk wrote:You'll have to attach a few inches of air hose to that, to get the food directly into his stomach. I'd mix in meds & vitamins with bloodworms.

I can do that. Do you hold the fish in a net or do you try to do it right in the tank?

The fish needs to stay submerged, if it puffs air it is in trouble

GSPicthus wrote:

Pufferpunk wrote:You'll have to attach a few inches of air hose to that, to get the food directly into his stomach. I'd mix in meds & vitamins with bloodworms.

I can do that. Do you hold the fish in a net or do you try to do it right in the tank?

Here is what I did. Please keep in mind the stress to the puffer and limit your contact as much as possible.

Prepare a container with tank water (deep enough to keep the puffer submerged) I use gallon ice cream buckets or one of my fish buckets.

Take puffer out of tank. Not with a net, instead I use a pitcher that holds at least a gallon. Try to make it a gentle process.

*****make sure none of your containers have been used to hold anything toxic! Plastic can absorb****

Put the puffer in the container.

Lightly put the net in your hand, then grab (lightly) the puffer. Keep the puffer underwater. The puffer might puff. That is ok, wait for him to deflate and try again. His teeth may also chatter.

Use your catheter, if you see food coming out the gills your tube is not in deep enough

Keep your movements calm, deliberate and firm. If you freak out this process will take forever.

After feeding put the puff back in the tank, maybe turn the lights off and limit activity around the tank.

Thanks for those instructions. I will let you know how it goes.