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blind pufferfish care 12/8/15 Bloated Puffer 7/5/07 Hi Guys,
<Hi Chris, Pufferpunk here (I'm a gal).> I have been reading
WWM for a few years now and found a ton of advice on this
"obsession" of mine, but have never written, until now.
<Aren't we all obsessed after a few years?> I have a 180
gallon FOWLR that includes a Blue Face Angel, Emperor Angel, Naso Tang,
Hippo Tang, Porcupine Puffer and a Niger Trigger. All of the fish are
at least 5" or bigger (in the case of the Angels). They have been
happy in the tank for over 18 months and have not had any issues other
than eat $1500 of my coral (hence the FOWLR he he). <Too bad...>
My fish are literally pigs and will eat anything you put in the tank
with them but the puffer will only eat frozen krill. <Really bad
diet for a puffer. I have seen way too many incidents of puffers fed a
main diet of krill, developing lockjaw & eventually starving to
death. See here for better diet & methods of getting it to eat
other foods:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library/category/feeding/ > He
has done this for the 3 years that I have had him and I feed him 1 time
every other day or third day (basically feed him till he can't
eat). <Letting a puffer gorge itself isn't good for him either.
It results in a lot of non-digested food, causing a liver problems
(fatty liver) & a polluted environment. Feed until a slightly
rounded tummy.> He has been very normal till a day or two ago when I
noticed that he was trying to poop and the Hippo tang was trying to eat
the waste before it even came out (since it is pure krill).
<Exactly> But at the same time, it wasn't allowing Puff to
get out all his excess. He was picking so bad that when Puff tried to
squeeze some out...the tang was attacking his "hole" and
really aggravating the fish. <Poor puffer!> So I have been
watching him and his belly is getting larger and hasn't eaten in 2
days. I am afraid that he is scared to poop now and will hold in the
waste till it literally kills him. <It is possible but also it may
just be constipated.> Have you seen or heard this before? Is there
anything that I can do to help? <You could try to feed it vegetable
matter, like peas or algae wafers (puffers usually won't eat these
but some have). Otherwise, add Epsom salt, 1tbsp/5g. It would be best
to quarantine the fish. This is one of the many reasons, it is
suggested to keep a puffer in a tank by itself or with less aggressive
tankmates it can't catch. ~PP> Sincerely, Chris Puffer's Nose Has Been 'Bitten' Off 12/13/05 Hey WWM Crew! <Neil> It seems like every couple of months I find a new reason to ask you guys a question. Don't know what I would do without WWM! <Me neither... but I like to consider what I might do with all the extra time...> You might remember my last question. I was the gentleman that had purchased a Humu Humu trigger that, strangely enough, caused my Blue Hippo Tang to start attacking my Porcupine Puffer. <Displaced aggression... happens> Well, I followed your advice and the Blue Tang came out and got her own tank for a couple of months. Problem was that every time I put her back in, she would start up with the tail nipping again. Finally, I decided that the Trigger must go - which, might I add, was no small task. I eventually ended up taking a whole piece of live rock to the LFS and waiting for them to call when he had decided to come out - six hours later! <Persistence pays> Once the Trigger was gone, I rearranged the live rock and put the Blue Tang back in, and all was peaceful. I even discovered a few crabs and snails that had been in hiding! <Neat> Now, here's my latest issue. I feed a mixture (blender and some tank water to mix it) of tilapia filets, jumbo shrimp, cocktail shrimp (left mostly whole), mussels (sp?), real crab meat if I can get it, and Nori. After blended, I put the nasty mix into a large Ziploc storage bad and spread it thin on a cookie sheet, which is then placed in the freezer. <Good technique> My puffer will grab the frozen hunk and, while trying to gulp it down, keep it partially sticking out of his mouth. The other fish, naturally, are not deterred and go right ahead and eat off of the other end of the hunk. <Better to make two or more "sub-hunk" pieces> Some days ago (5?) I noticed that the very tip of Puffy's nose (really the upper lip area that somewhat extends onto his face) had been bitten off. I did not see it happen, so I can only assume that this is what happened. Since then, his nose has progressively disappeared. At this point, the wound area, where his flesh is exposed, is slightly larger than a hole punch. I am curious, have you ever heard of such a thing? <Yes, have seen> Is it likely that the Tang has switched ends - from nipping his fin, to nipping his face? <Maybe> Or, and this is my suspicion, did he likely get a small wound, and the 'begging act' of dragging his face across the acrylic 24 hours a day took its toll on the open wound? <Much more likely, common> Is this something that I should treat, as its quite a good sized wound (he is only about 5 inches total length)? I can see the skin 'flexing' as he pushes it across the acrylic. What, if anything, should I do? <Nothing overt... not likely to help... nor the rubbing to be affected> Oh yeah, I have yet to witness the Tang nipping at the Puffer since I put her back in, and previously she did it constantly. <Good> As always your insight is so greatly appreciated that I fail to find the appropriate words. Thank You and Happy Holidays! Neil <And to you and yours as well. Cheers, Bob Fenner> Puffer Lockjaw - rough prognosis 1/30/05 I
don't want to repeat what you have answered many times on the
website already, but I'd was hoping you had an update on your
research. Magnus has replied to a few people with Puffers with Lockjaw
and said he, along with others, were doing some serious research in to
the issue. <Anthony Calfo in your service> Mine is swimming and
acting as normal. Goes to eat the food (gets excited as always) but
seems to either not get quite close enough (like he's mis-judged
it) or swims in to it, but doesn't open his mouth to eat, then
spits the food away. I've also seem him "shake" as he
tried to work open his mouth. I'm trying iodine and I've upped
the vitamins I'm adding to the tank (I always add some vitamins to
his food). <believe it or not... try thawed frozen peas too... many
Tetraodontiformes love them> Water quality is generally very good
and has been for 18 months upwards, with 0 Ammonia, 0 nitrite and
nitrates varying from 20 to 40. Skimming all the time, varied diet of
krill, Mysis, cockles, muscles, silver side and prawns. Tried other
foods, but he's quite fussy ;-) I'm worried I'm going to
have to force feed him, <this may be necessary> But I would like
to know if you guys have come across any other treatment or husbandry
that might help him (or if you think it may in fact be something else)?
His teeth seem OK so I don't think it's this as a problem and
he ate normally a few days ago. I'm going to do some water changes
and cross all my fingers! Thanks in advance for any additional advice
you may be able to offer. Best Regards, Andy <you did not mention
much here my friend (puffer age/captivity, species, etc.) so I am going
to have to make some inferences. After consulting with puffer
"expert" and WWM friend Kelly Jedlicki, she stated what we
have feared and hear of so commonly. Lockjaw has a very poor prognosis
and is caused by an extended period of neglect in the diet (dietary
deficiency... extremely common with Porcupine puffers allowed to eat
krill as a majority of the staple - is this your species/situation
too?). It takes many months of a limited diet to cause this (sometimes
years), and is not something that can be corrected quickly. In fact,
once puffers get to this point, few survive without drastic measures
(force feeding). Do keep in mind too, that your puffer is not
necessarily a picky feeder by preference... stress of inappropriate
tankmates, worms/sickness on (new) imports, etc. can lead the fish to
train you/us as aquarists into feeding only limited fave foods. But
this is not acceptable... like children, my friend... they will play
you <G>. To prevent this in the future, the easiest thing may be
to make a prepared frozen food mix/slurry. Bob (Fenner) has recipes in
his book/our archives and others abound on the web. Mix in a wide
variety of meats, greens and vitamins... add B12 and fresh garlic juice
(you squeeze) for an appetite stimulant, and include whatever favorite
prey your fishy likes (often krill). Make it chunky enough for healthy
feeders to eat without much mess... and blend some (puree) for
force-feeding these next few weeks on the sick individual. Consult a
local vet for force feeding advice and equipment (plunging syringe,
soft tubing, etc). There may also be some other good puffer advice on
www.lmas.org under articles. Please
do update us with your results too. I wish you the very best of
luck!> Stars & Stripes Puffer...bloated with difficult locomotion 9-30-04 Help!! <I will certainly try> I have had my stars and stripe for over 9 months now. He is 6 inches long, 4 inches round. My tank is 135 gallons. With him are a dog face, cat shark, porcupine puffer, Dorrie, damsels and small eel. All have done great together. <That tank is small for 3 Puffers, a shark and an eel. The Puffers are big fish and both the Puffers and eel produce quite a bit of waste. > I run know copper of course and always stay up on my water changes. Stars and Stripe seems to be acting strange. He seems to look bloated and stays very still on the bottom of the tank under rocks. Almost as to hold him down. Throughout the day, his size seems to get larger, and he bobs around. Swimming looks difficult, as though he is heavy. It takes him awhile to surface, then goes back down very quickly. He looks like a beached whale. < I have seen Puffers do this after over eating. Mine worked it out on his own in 24 hours or so. If this has been going on for a few days I would hold off on feeding for a couple of days and give his GI system a chance to rest. Epsom Salt contains Mag sulfate which is a laxative but also helps osmotic regulation in fishes... It is used to relieve some types of bloating in fishes, the fluid behind "pop-eye", and blockage from greedy fishes gulping dry foods. It is a very good tonic and harmless if not helpful. Place him into a 10g tank hospital or quarantine set up with a either a small power filter or a pump for circulation and a few pieces of live rock from your main tank. Be generous, add 1 heaping tablespoon per 5g, so 2 Tbsp and observe him for a couple of days. If the problem persists you can add another 2 Tbsp dose. This usually works well. If the problem persists after this there is some other more serious problem. > Although, he will rise for feeding. <Good sign, but as I mentioned please do not feed him for a couple of days. > Normal meal is frozen krill. <Your Puffer needs a much more varied diet, as do all fish and creatures. Please see the articles on feeding..... http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feeding.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pufferfdgfaqs.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/pufferfdgfaq2.htm I did try to fresh water dip him in hopes that he would puff all the way up, but didn't seem to help. < I don't think in this case a FW dip or Puffing up would be beneficial. > He looks very unhappy. What do I do? <Try the above mentioned tonic. HTH and best of luck with your Puffer, Leslie> Dog-Face Puffer is Looking "Waif-ish" 5/3/04 <Hi Alan, Pufferpunk here> My dog-faced puffer was doing fine for a while but now looks skinny, his eyes are sunken in, and he tries to eat once in a while but won't work hard enough to actually eat his food. My water conditions are fine with the exception of temperature.. lately (in LA) it's been VERY hot and I don't have an air conditioner.. I've been able to keep the water at 85 degrees but no lower than that.. I'm planning to get a small air conditioner soon but it's an investment I have to shop around for. Could this temperature be causing his problems or should I look for something else? Thanks in advance! <What foods are you offering it? Water parameters? How long have you had him? My 1st thought would be to treat him for internal parasites. Try to find Discomed, by Aquatronics (they've recently gone out of business, so you may have to look around a bit). This product works best for me. You may also try Hex-a-Mit, by the same company, or whatever you can find with Levamisol in it. You must soak his food in the med, to treat your fish internally.> --Alan <I hope he's back to his zaftig waistline soon! ~PP> Constipated Puffer (1/21/04) Hi, <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> I was hoping you can help me solve a problem that I don't know how to solve. I have a saltwater puffer fish that has a bulge in his side. He appears to be constipated can you recommend any methods or foods, medications I can try to relieve him of his pressure? <I would suggest getting him into a quarantine tank, which can be dosed with Epsom salts (from the drugstore) at 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of tank volume. You might also try feeding him something with more bulk than his usual diet. Things to try include frozen/thawed peas and other greens. You can try soaking them in clam juice to make them smell/taste more appetizing to him.> He still has an appetite even though I have not fed him in two days. <Some bulk might help him pass the blockage. Do check out the WWM site, searching for "constipation" and other forms of the word, for more info.> Thank you in advance, Melissa <You're welcome. --Ananda> Dosing Iodine 12/26/03 Hi again, hope all your holidays were well. <Pufferpunk again--same to you!> Just got back from the LFS, and picked up some Kent Zoe Marine (Ananda suggested lack of vitamin B) and a bottle of Kent Iodine (Pufferpunk recommended Iodine). I dosed the tank with both of these per the instructions. Should I follow up and dose them both weekly? <I soak my foods at every feeding in vitamins. I believe you need to dose the iodine daily, for 2-4 weeks.> Anything else you can think of that may help his situation? No one I talk to has ever heard of a fish not being able to open its mouth. <I have actually heard of this in puffers several times now.> Thanks, Mark <You're welcome--Pufferpunk> Porcupine Puffer with Difficulty Eating (12/24/03) <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> My 5" Diodon holacanthus can't seem to eat. He ate great a few nights ago, and had been for a month or 2 since I got him. <The fact that he has been eating is good.> He's in a QT still, 75gal bare bottom, PVC, and a large sponge filter with an air pump, and a MaxiJet 1000 with a spray bar moving water. <So far so good, if you have the water quality up to par (zero ammonia and nitrites, nitrates 20 or less).> He looks 100% healthy, he even chases down the food, he tries to eat it...but he can't open his mouth. <Sounds like what might be a bit of lockjaw, caused by a dietary deficiency, which in turn can be caused by keeping the fish on a limited diet. You may need to give him some B vitamins -- with saltwater fish, it's possible to dose the tank; alternately, research and consider giving vitamins via a syringe inserted into the stomach.> 0 He just chased a piece of krill across the bottom of the tank trying to eat it. I took the krill back out so it wouldn't tease him. <This does indeed sound like he wants to eat, but cannot. If you are concerned, soak some food in a vitamin-rich supplement, puree it, and feed via syringe.> Is this a strike? I would think he would not look anxious to eat if that was that case... Thanks, Mark <It doesn't sound like an eating strike. You might also check the discussion boards at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk. --Ananda> Puffer Ails 7/10/03 Our Mbu Puffer about (12 inches in length) has decided he does not want to eat shrimp anymore. We were always supplementing snails, crawfish. He just will not eat the shrimp. He has been doing something funny with his mouth, after he has bit into something, He opens up his mouth very wide like he is trying to push something out but nothing comes out, its gives us the impression that something is stuck in his gums??? Does that make sense?? <have you checked for overgrowth on the teeth?> He has been eating the snails even though he goes through this ritual. He is not as eager to eat as he once was. We have ordered him Ghost Shrimp, Brown Snails and crab. What else do you suggest? <some Selcon to supplement the diet... also gut-loading the prey with nutritious dry foods and frozen fare that the puffer would not eat alone> My husband pet him yesterday, when he was cleaning the tank. The Mbu "Andy" started to color up and move his fins like this made him happy. I thought he would puff up and act mad but he seemed to like the contact. Cute. He has tank mates that he has had from the very beginning. A Bala Shark "Cedric" and 30 small Tetras. When he is finished with his food they all come over and he lets them eat what ever he was having. I don't know how long this will last but it is really cool. I'll take a picture for you guys... We were rinsing the shrimp in filtered water, we should use a little water out of his tank I guess in a cup that belongs to him do you think he may not like his food rinsed in the filtered water?? Could there be too much Chlorine?? <no worries here> We research and read and talk to people we just want to do the right things for our Mbu Puffer Friend. He has become quite the family member. We are getting him that 300 gallon tank so that he can grow very old in it. Thanks, Vivian <many FAQs in our archives on puffers... do browse as well http://www.wetwebmedia.com Anthony> Porcupine puffer having problems (04/01/03) Thanks for your
site. <You're welcome...Ananda here tonight...> I
have a porcupine puffer. He was born with only one
eye. I have had him/her for about a year, and it has been
doing great. However, last night he would not eat for the
first time ever, and this morning he appeared to be near
death...sitting at the bottom of the tank, breathing
rapidly. He was barely able to swim against the
current. There are no visible signs of disease, and all the
other fish in the tank are acting normal (and look good
too). I have no idea what is going on. Could it
be something genetic being that he/she has only one eye? It
seems like a stretch, but I am at a loss. I did a 20% water change
right away. Any further suggestions, advice, and comments
will be greatly appreciated. <Have you tested your tank water
parameters? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? Another possibility, since you
say the other fish in the tank look okay, might be copper. Puffers
cannot tolerate copper at all, while many other fish can. Have you
treated the tank for anything lately? Have you added any new
decorations to the tank lately -- especially anything green or blue?
(Copper is used in both green and blue colorants.) I would run a copper
test on the main tank to check; if you find any, get some Polyfilter
tomorrow to get it out of the tank. Meanwhile, your puffer should go
into the hospital tank. (No hospital tank? Don't panic -- go to the
main WetWebMedia site and use the Google search tool with the term
"hospital tank" to see some of the things people have used in
a pinch.) Also, get another batch of fresh saltwater ready for another
water change for the main tank.> Thanks in advance, Eric <Let me
know what you find out... --Ananda> - Parasite Problems - Hello guys/gals I have a problem with one of my tanks and wanted to see if you guys could help me. I have a 75 gallon tank in the garage with about 80 lbs of live rock with a blue dot puffer, a clown trigger and a Hawkfish that is my holding tank until my 375 gets in. Well everybody was doing fine for the longest time then about a month ago I noticed that my blue dot puffer was getting very skinny but he would still eat a lot therefore I went from feeding every other day like I've always done to feeding every day even though the other 2 guys were very fat. Well even with me feeding every day the puffer kept getting skinnier and skinnier until he died a few days ago and now my Clown Trigger is starting to look skinny. Is there some sort of disease or parasite that could cause this or am I just not feeding them enough. <Yes, I'm afraid so... nematodes and Cestodes are the most common culprit - like tapeworms, they can out-compete for nutrients.> I had the blue dot puffer for over a year and he was a nice size for the longest time. I feed them all sorts of stuff such as Mysis Shrimp, Blood Worms and Squid. Thanks for your help. <Do try to get a hold of some Fenbendazole from your local veterinarian. Your best bet is to put this fish in quarantine for about three weeks and treat the quarantine tank directly with the Fenbendazole for that entire time. The Noga book of Fish Disease recommends 2mg/liter or 7.6mg/gallon of tank water. This should give your fish the upper hand against these parasites. Cheers, J -- > Puffer with Swallowing Difficulty? Hello again crew, I have a question re: my porcupine puffer. <Hi! Ananda here -- sorry to take so long in answering; I've been out of commission for a while...> I recently had an outbreak of either Ich or velvet. I'm leaning toward velvet because the spots were pretty tiny and the puffer had them everywhere. I have two puffers: a porcupine puffer and a green spotted puffer (brackish). The spotted puffer has never had any problems. He never showed any signs of Ich/velvet and has never had any problems eating. The porcupine is a different story. When we first got him he ate fine and never spit anything out. We've had him for about 3 months now. Two months ago he started with what seemed to be a hunger strike. <I've heard of these puffers doing this before...usually, they start eating on their own. Sometimes a bit of vitamin B12 or garlic helps.> He would take food into his mouth chew it up and spit it out. He did this for about 3 days. We went on vacation, and the person watching him said that he no problems feeding him. I normally feed him freeze dried krill and shrimp. I've recently tried scallops, octopus, clams, and squid. <Many of those are puffer favorites....> Anyway, six weeks ago i put the two puffers and my late O. Clowns into a QT for Ich/Velvet treatment. Since the fish were in a much smaller environment I could observe them better. Towards the end of the QT the puffer started spitting out his food again. It looks like he is having trouble swallowing. I can see the lump of food start down, but then it goes right back up into his mouth, he chews it up and then spits it out. <Almost sounds like a blockage in the digestive tract... perhaps a too-large piece of something?> My spotted puffer seems to be able to swallow anything he can stretch his mouth around, and his body looks distorted afterwards. <Sounds familiar!> The porcupine doesn't seem to be able to do this. Also, I recently noticed that his vent seems to maybe be a little distended. Could you please give me a couple of clues as to what could be wrong with him/her. <Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot you can do for a distended vent -- but the problem may solve itself. I would keep the porcupine puffer separated from the green spotted puffer to make sure the spotted doesn't cause any stress. And continue trying a variety of foods.> Also, there has been no signs of Ich/velvet since they were reintroduced about two weeks ago. The fallow method seems to have worked, thanks. <Ah, good to hear. --Ananda> Sick porcupine puffer: Hold the shells for this one, please... <Hi! Ananda here tonight...> We have a 72 gallon tank with just 1 damsel and 1 porcupine puffer. The puffer was doing well, until I read on your website that it is not healthy to feed them goldfish. I have tried everything from frozen mussel, to frozen krill, to shrimp, to silversides - but he will only eat live foods (live goldfish or crawfish). Today, I purchased some mussel on the shell for him from the grocer. He actually went for it and begin nibbling...shell and all! Only afterward, he appeared sick and sat on the bottom. Now he is not looking good or moving around. Please help me! We are new to the saltwater aquarium hobby - but I truly enjoy this fish and do not want to lose him! <This one's another case of "I saw it on the forum first and answered it there"... with this one, the forum worked better, as we were both online and I was able to get questions answered more quickly via forum than through email! Here's the thread in the 911 forum: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?nav=false&forum=31&thread=9403 --Ananda> Re: sick porcupine puffer Thank you for your quick response. I have
some new information to add. After reading your response and the FAQs, I was
thinking it was just a "hunger strike". I added a small molly to the tank who
at times was swimming right in front of his face, and nothing. Then I tried a
drop of Kent garlic extreme on freeze dried krill and still no result. His
behavior has changed to make me wonder if he isn't sick. When he first stopped
eating he was swimming around like his normal self. Then it went to periods of
sitting on the bottom and then periods at the top staring into the corner with
he occasional lap around the tank. At this point his swimming was still
normal. Now he mostly lays on the bottom with labored breathing. Whenever he
does swim around, he appears to have a vertical buoyancy problem. He sometimes
will bump into things and will always come crashing down to the bottom when he
stops swimming. Sorry to bother you again, but I thought the new symptoms might
be a good indicator of something else. <As odd as the non-normal behavior seems,
it is not atypical. If indeed there is something internally amiss, this will
either correct itself (most likely)... other than doing your best at general
husbandry there is nothing more to do... or that I would do. Do try to be
patient, positive. Bob Fenner> Thanks, Paul Puffer Diet/Ich Bob, Steven, Anthony: <Anthony Calfo at your service> I just received a Blue Guinea Fowl Puffer as well as a Juv. emperor angel that I am quarantining in my 20 gal. tank. <magnificent fishes!> I am aware of the veg. diet for the angel, I was told that the puffer likes meaty items. How do I feed the new addition? By hand, drop food in, leave a closed clam for him to chomp on? Any help would be appreciated. <do read through the articles and FAQ's archived on this site, please. Extensive info on this subject is available here. In a nutshell though... this puffer needs a lot of shell on crustaceans like frozen krill and live crayfish for example. There is concern about getting overgrown teeth among other things> I also have lowered my salinity down to 1.019. The place where I picked up the fish indicated that he keeps his salinity even lower. I was told Ich can not live in salinity lower than 1.014. I informed him that I felt very uncomfortable lowering it that much and would go down to 1.019. I initially had my at 1.021, but I lowered before I acclimated the new arrivals to the tank. I am aware you lower the salinity when there is an outbreak of Ich, however he indicated that he rarely has problem with Ich due to the lower salinity. <while some fishes will take the extremely low salinity, many will not. 1.017-1.019 is a nicely safe low end for most fishes> He is running a UV sterilizer as well. Is the combination doing the job, or one will not work without the other? <fine for temporary holding (like a LFS) but unnatural to most and stressful to some fishes long-term> The subject is debatable, but I value your recommendations and if you feel that he is correct, I will lower even further. Thank you again for your assistance on this subject. Regards, Mendy1220 <you've got fine instincts. A little lower is OK, but do your water changes, feed well and simply be ready to medicate if necessary. Kindly, Anthony> Puffer "Lock-Jaw" Hello again, Bob you keep
referring me to your website and all it says is to use b12 as a
stimulant what can I do about the lock jaw? I could see just prying it
open but wouldn't it just break his jaw or would this be possible
on only a 2-3 inch fish? Is there any chance to fix him or what?
<What can you do about "lock-jaw" as in a fish? Depends on
the root cause... am sure that in some cases these unfoldings are
principally genetically disposed (have seen such deformities in the
wild)... others are nutritionally mediated, resultant from traumas...
What species, history do you have on this animal? Bob Fenner> |
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