The Puffer Forum

I'm not sure If I have a problem or not. I have had my Ceylon Puffer for almost a year now. In that time he has always eaten very well. As soon as I put the food in the tank he is on it straight away and devowes it, ending up with a nicely rounded belly. Just recently he has not been eating so well. He takes a couple of bites of a shrimp and that's it. His belly never looks round anymore and I never see the lumpy left side he used to get after eating.

I thought maybe he was having trouble with his teeth being overgrown. I followed the instructions on here to trim them (it was very scary....I was shaking like a leaf) his teeth were a little long but didn't look too overgrown. I trimmed a little off but not a great deal as I was usuing the wrong kind of clippers. Anyhow, he is still the same, just a couple of bites and that's it. I thought maybe IP's....but as he has been in the tank for almost a year without any previous problems it would seem not.

I really am lost. I Have no clue why he is not eating properly. Water perms are excellent and the SG is at 1.010 at present. Maybe I am worrying about nothing, but he doesn't look half the Fish he was....looks kind of long and sleek now whereas he used to look more rounded. I think he still looks healthy (see Pics below)but am concerned about the changes in his eating habits......any help on this would be appreciated.

What do his feces look like, long and stringy and white or normal solid, food colored?

Have you added anything alive to his tank? Live rock, inverts, food, anything that might possibly have been carrying parasites?

What are your nitrates at too.. I tend to get in the habit of not checking mine and sometimes a bit of uneaten food or something can make them shoot up and I don't notice it.

What does his varying diet normally consist of?

What exactly are the water parameters?

Sometimes I find they just get in a "mood" where they act strange, like us catching a cold. If everything else is fine, they usually pull out of it on their own.

How big is he? He might be getting in the mood for saltier water.

He looks fine to me. Maybe you're overfeeding for his size. Should up the SG.

Myaj, to be honest...it's rare that I actually see him go but what I have found when cleaning the tank out looks normal.

Hilly, I feed him on a variety of Shrimp, cockles, winkles and Ramshorn snails.

Boxermom, the perms are: Ph = 7.5 - 8.00
Amonia = 0
Nitrites = 0 pushing 0.1
Nitrates = 15

Might be worth seeing if he shows any interest in some new foods. Whats he like with Mussel, maybe a bit of whitebait just to see if he shows a bit more interest in that. He does look healthy though so I wouldnt be worrying too much at the moment. Surprised you had to do teeth trimming i'd have thought the cockles would have kept them down. You're a braver man than me.

Well, the cockles are shelled!! As for the teeth...yes..I was as nervous as hell!!! Shaking like a leaf...when I put him in the bowl for him to come around it seemed like an eternity, in truth it was probably only a minute, but my heart was in my mouth I can tell you!!!

Maybe it could be the trace amounts of nitrites bugging him. He looks healthy from the pictures though. How big is he now?

I guess he must be about 4" from nose to tail

spoot wrote:Maybe it could be the trace amounts of nitrites bugging him. He looks healthy from the pictures though. How big is he now?

Kits aren't 100% exact.

At 4", I think you might try increasing the SG to 1.015 or so.

Okay Nick, thanks everyone for all the advice and comments!