The Puffer Forum

Hi folks, I have had a diodon holocanthus for almost 4 months and it has settled in well. When I got it, it had a prominent set of dentition but the last few times i've looked, it seems to be lacking anything and is not as able to shred the mussels and cockles I feed it as well. It isn't malnourished as I make sure it gets sufficient small pieces now.

My question is: why has this happened and what sort of timescales are involved in regrowth?

Thanks,
S.

What were you feeding the puffer?
Can you post a picture of the mouth?

It mainly got (thawed) frozen cockle and larger bits of shrimp from the marine mix blister pack. Also has eaten a couple of peas over the past months and sometimes I put cockle / mussels in shells (I crack them open first) in the tank.

Here's the best photo I could manage.



Thanks,
S.

Anyone got any advice for me?
Cheers,
S.

Holocanthus usually do not have a prominent set of "choppers". From the pic, I can not see teeth nor gums. His overall appearance looks good.

If you are not adding any vitamins/supplements to the puffer's food - I highly recommend doing so to prevent vitamin/mineral deficiencies.

they look so cool

You could aways try to get it to bite you and see if you feel teeth.

Boxermom wrote:You could aways try to get it to bite you and see if you feel teeth.

Hmm, have tried to trick my other half into testing that possibility: no luck! I am not worried about its health, as it is lively and eats well. I just wonder whether it damaged them on something? Of course, it could simply be that when I got it, it had been neglected and the teeth were overgrown and i'm now just noticing the difference.

I've taken on board the vitamin / mineral advice and will, more regularly, add garlic, zoe marine, phyto to the feeds. Mineral levels in the tank are optimal.

Cheers,
S.

What minerals are you testing for in your water?

Calcium: 445ppm,
Magnesium 1160ppm (low and being corrected to gain 1300ppm)

Also check dKH which is 12 and iodide / iodate which are difficult to interpret from the kit but I can convince myself of normal levels.

HTH,
S.

Regular water changes should maintain your levels unless you have a lot of stony corals.

Be careful adding iodine to your tank - it can bind and release later with changes in water parameters leading to overdosing/toxicity.

What test kits are you using?

Salifert kits. I do have a lot of LPS and a few SPS corals, but I dose kalk to maintain Ca and KH. I shall be keeping an eye on the puffer, of course, but it looks very healthy and is extremely interactive.

I am careful with iodine supplementation but thanks for the comments. My concern is that the salifert kits colour chart is a bit vague so I err on the side of caution with additives!

S.

Try frozen raw prawn from grocery store. Mine doesn't like those frozen marine food from LFS. He only love raw prawn that I chop into small pieces and swallow it like no tomorrow. I feed them clams once in a while.