The Puffer Forum

Hi all,

has been way to long since i have been here and posted, which i guess is a good thing,

all my tanks are doing well except for 1...it is my 180 gall FW tank with my Fahaka Puffer, he is currently about 14 inches we have had him/her since he/she was 2 inches long, his tank is a 180gal,

i do 60% water changes once a week, AM 0, No2 0, No3 10, ph 7.2 Temp 78, i have two emperor 400's and a mag 350 canister along with 3 250 watt heaters...sand/gravel for a bed.

I feed him PEI mussles, my source ran out of fresh mussels 1 time and i had to use cooked mussels (unseasoned/flavored) just plain...that was 2 weeks ago, i was then able to get my regular mussels back and fed them to him, he last ate last saturday....i have tried mystery snails that i raise and QT myself...and can not get him to eat....he has done this in the past and usually goes a week or longer then is fine again....

his color is fine, he has not changed in noticeable appearance, he hangs out around the bottom left corner, then swims around for awhile and then hangs out around the corner again, does not seem to gasp or anything like that, very controlled breathing, no spots...no issues...just a slightly different fish then he was since i fed him the cooked mussels...

do you think he may be constipated from the cooked mussels?

we live in wisconsin, and it is getting dark alot earlier now...the blinds are closed more then they are in the summer to save heat and such so it is darker in the house, i do not have a light on his tank as he does get good sun, could that have triggered a maybe hibernation type of effect ?

as i said i am not overly concerned yet as he has done this in the past and goes threw what we like to call pity parties...but...we have had him for close to 4 years now...and he kinda has grown un us i have attached a few pics, he has grown a lot in 4 years...

If concerned about constipation, add 1 tbsp Epsom salt/10g to his tank. Are you feeding just 1 thing or a variety of foods? Mine loves big earthworms.

we have tried feeding him all sorts of shellfish, clams etc...he is a very picky eater, i have had the best luck with the mussels and the mystery snails..the other food he just kinda looks at and is like "Really?"...thats what you are going to feed me?....at what point should i try the epsom salt....give it a few more days? time it a few days before a water change?...he has not visibly lost any weight so i really dont think he is starving....i will see if i cant find some worms for him and try that...

+1 to Pufferpunk's comments. If he refuses other foods, are you vitamin-soaking the mussels before feeding him? It shouldn't hurt and might help.

You also might try a tank light with a timer to keep his "day" length tropical. These fish are near-equatorial, not accustomed to long nights at all. It may not require much wattage. It may be the length of the lighted day rather than its intensity. That too may be a worthwhile test. All of my tanks are on timers.

i will give that a shot RTR, Thanks, good to see you are still on the boards, have a lot of respect for you and your practices...I did get some worms and tried one last night, he was not that interested and quite frankly i think it scared him as he swam to the other side of the tank, will put the light on, lord knows i have a few of them laying around....thanks will let you know how it goes.

i have put on two lights over the tank and he is much more active, will let him cruise around and try feeding him on monday, sunday is a fast day anyways so will just let him cruise....

LOL, big brave fahaka skeered of a wiggly worm!

well he is more active today for sure..i have the lights set for 11 hours on to mimic a little more normal summer time here in wisconsin, it got so dark so fast and has been very cloudy for the last few week, heck even i have not wanted to do anything....so will see...like i mentioned i am not overly worried, he has done this in the past, i test water every week right before i change water out so i know nothing has been funky with the water...and i have not had any water issues such as heaters or crap like that...i think he just said nope, dont want to eat this week....

Too many Mussels could cause a vitamin b1 deficiency:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/ ... minase.htm

Always soak foods in a good fish vitamin, like Vita-Chem or Zoe.

Always soak foods in a good fish vitamin, like Vita-Chem or Zoe.

+1 to Pufferpunk's comment above - get in the habit of pre-soaking w/vitamins. It should be harmless and can help.

will do the vitamin thing....so far he has still not eaten, soaked the mussels in garlic water to try and get him to eat, nothing....the big mystery snail that he normal devours in one bite is cruising around on the glass..just does not seem interested at all in anything...again tho...he is not breathing hard, no weird spots, issues nothing...tank temp is solid...water is perfect...he is just literally hibernating...that is the only way i can really describe it...

He looks tubby enough to cope without food for a while, don't panic until his tummy starts to sink. Offer garlic soaked foods every few days until he quits his hunger strike