The Puffer Forum

I have a figure 8 tank, with driftwood in at and one of my figure 8s keeps biting the driftwood and spitting out little peices, is this a sign of thier teeth not being trimmed enough or just something playful

Sounds like another alternative from snails for there teeth from being overgrown. Sorry don't have any driftwood in my tanks to compare.

I wasn't aware they were aware of their own overgrown teeth...I suppose they could react to discomfort, but biting seems counter intuitive (lest it be like a baby teething). Do they look overgrown?

IMHO, I would write it off as a nibbler nibbling,
they often take tastes off plants etc;
or boredom
Last alternative is the wood offended him in someway and he is seeking payback

Yup I agree Peregrine. Puffs are very curious and sometimes nip things to taste them. You will notice that in a FW planted tank when you check it one day with a plant lookingl ike swiss cheese.

My F8 would do this with driftwood, plants, algae, and even plastic plants. She particularly seemed to like the algae on the driftwood... although she always spit it out.

I had to rescue several java ferns that I had painstakingly acclimated to mild brackish conditions. Like Tihsho said, they started to resemble swiss cheese. I had little "hole punch" bits of java fern in the filters for months...

I still find small bits of her plastic plants in the filter from time to time.

Agreed. My GSPs nibble on their red rock caves and crushed coral. They also like to mutilate the artificial plants, especially the wispy, hairgrass type. I find entire stems floating at the top that have been bit right off.

Mine have never actually nibbled on anything that was not moving (something they considered food),
or at least not that I have noticed. Only time they attack the plants is when there is a piece krill lodged in the stems

Something other then a puffer or a tank mate is always food to my puffs My little fellas use to go for the filter intake for stealing their food on occasions.

:34: -I like the mental image that creates..funny for some reason.
Mine must be pacifist puffers (at least to inanimate objects) or they had their fill in their younger days beating up on Colombian cat (fish) sharks, and Australian rainbows (Dumb set-up, lesson learned)
Fortunately no puffer injuries and everything else grew back on the others