The Puffer Forum

The subject line says it all... he won't eat. A few months ago he got this weird white spot next to one of his gills and it still hasn't left yet. He is lethargic, won't eat... usually clamped fins, eyes move all crazy like. Cause is probably from the nitrates being so high for so long. He acts like he is blind now. Very skittish when touched by anything and getting thin. Did a water change (bout 60-70%) two weeks ago, added Am Quel+ to help with nitrates. No idea what is wrong or why he won't eat. He is definity starving to death and I hate to see him suffer. His name is Blueberry by the way...

Nitrates can only be removes by constant, large water changes, while cleaning the substrate. How big is he & how big is the tank? Tank mates? Does he have trouble opening his mouth?

I do water changes every week and still the nitrates are still high. Right now he is in the hosptial tank which is 30g. He is about 4 inches long, maybe a little smaller. No tank mates. Last time I checked he doesn't have a problem opening his mouth. Its usually always open ajar. Any advice on the weird white spot? I don't know what to do...

If the nitrates are still high, you'll have to change more water, and more frequently until you get them under control. It's also a sign that there is decomposing waste in the tank, either in the filter media that needs to be cleaned or replaced, or in th substrate, which needs to be vacuumed.

It can be hard work, but you'll have to get the water quality under control.

The spot could be a sore or some sort.

What foods have you been trying to feed? What foods were you feeding before?

Try getting some Seachem Garlicguard to try to entice him to eat. Or try to get some live foods like black worms that might be irresistable.

You can try using melafix and pimafix in the meantime until we can figure something more specific out.

I have been doing water changes every 4 days and the nitrates are still the same. I vacuum the substrate everytime and there shouldn't be anything in the gravel since he never eats. The filters are new too. There are two protein skimmers on the tank and the nitrates are still high. Not as high as they were though. They are stuck at like 80ppm or a little higher. I have used melafix and pimafix with no results and tried feeding him new things, nothing happened.

Are you sure your test kits are accurate? Maybe get your water double checked at the LFS.

If it is that high, try doing daily 70% water changes for a while. Or even twice a day for a couple days. Getting that water quality under control might be enough to entice him to eat.

Try the garlic trick too.

Have you tested your make-up water? Does the water you are putting into the tank test out perfect? Some water supplies have contaminants in them, even nitrates.

Otherwise, keep changing the water aggressively.

Have you tried live food to stimulate his feeding response? His sense of smell might be destroyed, too, so maybe he needs something strong like garlic or moving and quivering like live crustaceans.