The Puffer Forum

Hi I'm Kyle and I decided to not get a puffer for my 20 gallon tank I was talking about, but instead just use my bigger 100 gal tank that I have set up as salt water. It has been running for about a week now and I have fully cycled it quite fast thanks to live rock, live sand, and bio-spira. I purchased a little 3 inch porcupine puffer fish from my LFS 2 days ago. I tried to aclimate him as best I could. (I am hoping its a boy puffer fish) He seems to be doing fine but he will not eat. I have tried many foods such as raw shrimp, squid, formula one frozen, live feeder guppies (last resort). But he just ignored all of them. I sorta got him to eat today by taking a cocktail shrimp on a stick and placing it in front of him, he bit at it a few times but didn't really eat any more than the tail. The only other option I have that I can buy is brine shrimp but I doubt that he will eat them either. His only tankmate is a lunare wrasse. Here are my water parameters:

pH: about 8.0, I don't have the best test kit yet
SG: 1.022
Temp: 77 degrees F
Ammonia: None
Nitrite: None
Nitrate: 20 ppm
I use Instant Ocean salt and Seachem Prime water conditioner

I have noticed that he tends to stay in one corner most of the time, just swimming up and down the glass. The heater is in that corner but I don't think I have the water too cold. His tail is also curled a lot. Someone I talked to recommended I do a quick freshwater dip with some melafix and pimafix in there which I did this morning just to make sure he is not infected.

Please help me convince my fish to eat.

Kyle

How many days has it been since you broght him home?

Puffers are known for going on hunger strikes when moved or stressed. Many will refuse to eat for weeks at a time. Give him a few days to settle in, try not to bother him too much.

Your nitrates are a bit high for a saltwater fish, that may be due to the uneaten food rotting in there. Make sure you clean that up, and do a water change to get them lower.

I wouldn't stress him out with a freshwater dip unless you have a reason for it such as visable external parasites. He's just trying to settle in now, so let him do his thing. I would skip a day, then offer him some food the next day, probably the shrimp on a string or skewer, move it around so it looks tempting to him.

Try some snails if it is all possible.

Do you have a skimmer? Adding one will help your lower your nitrates and increase water quality dramatically.

Also, is the live rock you added cured? If not be prepared for a nitrate spike and a possible mini cycle as there may be a large amount of die-off from the rocks.

Was he eating at the store?
Try live blackworms, frozen mysis, or live shrimp.Also try soaking the food in garlic.

This morning I tried the shrimp on a stick except it was cut up smaller. He seemed to like it and his belly looked full. Yes the live rock I bought was supposed to be cured. I have a question about the protein skimmer though. I have seen many online but the only one I can find is for a nano reef. Is it better to have a surface skimmer or the ones that suck up water and blow bubbles through the water?

The live rock you bought pre-cured should have been allowed to cure again before you added it to the tank. If it was from a local store there may not have been too much die-off, but if it was shipped to you then it will most likely cure again creating nitrates in your tank.

A surface skimmer is not actually what people call a skimmer in the saltwater trade. What I was referring to is the thing that makes bubbles and has a collection cup for gunk. It is used to remove organic compounds form the water.

Take a look at this link for various skimmers. There are many styles and sizes.
http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/stor ... gory_ID=90
(not affiliated with above store)

A few minutes ago while I was trying to get him to eat again I noticed white spots on his tail and fins. I am pretty sure this is ich since I saw a picture and it looks just like that. The only medication I have now is melafix and pimafix and the petstore isn't open until tomorrow. I don't really know which medicine I should buy. Please help.

Kyle

and I guess this is the reason he is not eating good

There is an article on treating saltwater ich in our library.

I would wait a few days before treating, if there are just a few spots. It may go away. It's like having a slight case of the sniffles.

He has a lot of spots on his fins and tail, he is breathing heavy and has his tail curled tight against his body. I am getting very worried about him because this is probably the reason why he was being such a picky eater. He keeps puffing up too.

Ok then follow the SW ich article in the library.

And PM PufferQueen if you need more help. She's the authority on SW puffers

That's: Puffer Queen

That hopefully taught you the importance of quarantining fish before adding them to your main disply tank. In order to get rid of the infestation in your main tank you now need to remove the lunar wrasse and the puffer and leave the tank fishless for at least 30 days. This can easily be prevented by quarantining all new fish for at least 4 weeks.

This will work in your favor as the LR will now be able to fully cure without stressing the fish.

update on porcupine puffer:

It turns out this is a more severe case of ich than I thought. My whole tank is very sour and the water in it has gone to horrible levels, this was probably caused by the medicine I used, ich attack by kordon. My porcupine puffer and lunare wrasse are in a QT. I have been giving the puffer freshwater dips, this seems to weaken the ich and increase his appetite. I can't get him to eat anything else except cooked cocktail shrimp. My wrasse isn't doing very well as he has caught the ich too. I have a feeling I am going to have to restart my big tank. I have live rock in it and live sand. How do I get the ich out of them? I know they will die if I use coppersafe or any of the other more powerful ich medicines. I have bought a bottle of ich attack by kordon. It hasn't proven itself very effective. In my QT, what medicine can I use for the wrasse and the puffer? Someone at my LFS suggested hyposalinity. Would this be a better option than medicines? The cheapest option would be best. I have throughly learned my lesson about quarantining fish.