The Puffer Forum

Hello,

I have a Dwarf Puffer with what seems like part of his lower jaw missing, I hope you can see in the photographs. (I've had a really hard time uploading a photo I can't find anywhere the maximum size?) He is unhappy but is still swimming about a bit and is trying to eat but not with much effort or success? He was fine on Friday. I've never seen anything like it. These are my tank parameters -

405 litre tank, fully planted with CO2 injection and ferts with a ridiculous amount of turnover.
Fluidized bed filter plus large external filter and with sediment, chloramine/chlorine, and carbon canisters on the input. Planted with Ada Amazon grit. 50% water change weekly.

Tank mates - 3 other Dwarf Puffers, 8 Diamond Neon Tetra, 5 Rummynose Tetra, 3 Lampeyes

Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 50ppm
Ph 8

The tank is given a variety of food bloodworm, mysis, brineshrimp, prawn, muscles, flake food. However the puffers only eat the bloodworm which I pre-soak in liquid Vitamins. I have a few common pond snails but they don't touch them either. If there have been any snail babies they were wiped out a while ago, hoping for some more soon.

I have had dwarf puffers before but not for many years, went down the Discus fish route for a long time and am now returning to them.

Any help would be gratefully appreciated!

Did I say something wrong? he's dead now.

I'm sorry, I thought I had responded to this. Possibly a deformity? How long did you have this fish, before you noticed it's jaw? Was it eating fine before? Sorry for your loss.

I would have replied sooner but I couldn't help. Sorry to hear that

Hello!,
I had him for about a year. I suspect it was one of the other puffers. I've been having real problems feeding them, they would only accept bloodworm and I was really worrying about their lack of nutrition. So I didn't feed them for three days and then tried some muscle but they still wouldn't eat it. Only two of them will eat snails, mainly because they are so dominant I think. So I'm soaking the blood worm in vitamins and hoping that will be enough because there's not much else I can do. Anyway it was after this period of non feeding I found that puffer in that state. I don't know what else it could have been? It was quite dramatic and very sad. Thank you for responding anyway.

Bloodworms soaked in vits is a very nutritious meal!