The Puffer Forum

hey, so my T.Abei seems to be eating fine after his "episode" but he seems to be a lot darker now than he was previously. He used to be a nice tan/caramel color with orange dots, he is now a beep brown/chocolate color with deep orange dots. His stomach is also a little patchy. I haven't seen any sign of parasite or illness, and he actually changes back to his brighter coloration when he eats sometimes, could this be a mood change situation?

What color is your substrate/background?

a natural beige/gray substrate, green plantation, and a standard backdrop (a little dark) this morning (it is currently 7:40 AM here) when i fed him he was nice and bright, this is confusing me ha ha

Mine loses all his spots and goes very light just after he's fed, he hasn't been dark for a while but its not been uncommon for him to go very dark in the past. Why he does it I do not know. The only time I saw dark rings on his belly was as far as I can tell when he didnt like the new tank layout.

I havn't changed anything around in his tank recently, i try and put everything back in the exact same spot to try and avoid a grumpy puff. Someone told me that when a puffer has a dark, patchy belly it could indicate a parasite, i have some PraziPro on hand, im wondering if i should try soaking his food in it, any thoughts?

also, what veggies have you had luck feeding your abei? have you found anything that they find tasty, this would be my puffers first vegetable

He'll take peas no problem but I only give them to him occasionally.

Have you had any success fedding him cockle? I had limited success with some chopped cockle a while back but he would only take small amounts, I tried whole pieces but he just carries it around like a dog and spits it across the tank after the first bite. I dont think he likes the texture of it.

no i havn't tried cockle, i want to but i am having a really hard time finding it, even at seafood shops. i did give him a pea this morning, he didnt seem to mind it, i only gave him one though, i didnt want to overdo it. have you ever fed yours eels, do you know if they can/ will enjoy them as a treat

Never tried eels. The maind foods I can get him to eat are bloodworms, Whole Mussel, Snails and Peas. Anything else he takes a taste and turns his nose up.

Mine eats Cockles,the odd prawn,shrimp,snails.It doesn't want to touch mussels though.