Having trouble with a puffer

[tj w]

No need to get defensive at all. I was just pointing it out. Talk about getting ur panties in a bunch, lol. OP please take notes on the info you have received and do your research.

 

[Joey waid]

No need to get defensive at all. I was just pointing it out. Talk about getting ur panties in a bunch, lol. OP please take notes on the info you have received and do your research.

Sorry you drew a line in the sand as if I did not have clue. I have read and read on puffers and joined the puffer forum. They all say not to feed mysis or krill. Their a lot of people on this site that think their way is the only way. I have three puffers and think I know a little. Sorry.

 

[tj w]

There has never been any study on mysis and krill giving fish lock jaw. @Lionfish Lair can share more on that. If you have a link with a study please link it. There are plenty of things that work for some and not others in this hobby. You cant take everything you read to be fact for sure.

 

[mlabadie]

My go to guy at the pet store said I can feed mysis but try to feed him ghost shrimp and silverbacks. Try to mix it up he said.

 

[Joey waid]

There has never been any study on mysis and krill giving fish lock jaw. @Lionfish Lair can share more on that. If you have a link with a study please link it. There are plenty of things that work for some and not others in this hobby. You cant take everything you read to be fact for sure.

I'm just going by what I read on the puffer forums. Maybe it's just krill and only speculation. Or just a vitamin deficiency due to just eating krill.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

The idea about krill came from a puffer person on Marine Depot's forum years ago and developed into a "forum fact" due to it being repeated so often (and the source was very respected). She was hoping there would be a study on it, but it didn't amount to anything in the end and there was no study. It was an interesting hypothesis at the time, but it really was just a person's idea that snowballed. It doesn't surprise me that it still runs rampant on the puffer forum and I'm sure they'll defend it to the death. I absolutely don't subscribe to it.

I've had fish who developed lockjaw who never ate any krill. I've also fed fish krill for years, that never developed it. I feed krill to this day. I was one of those that believed in it and I've made posts about it, but I've had to admit since then that I was wrong.

A fish fed a diet mainly consisting of krill is seriously lacking nutritionally. Someone is studying seahorses and mysis and they are making a connection of there being an inappropriate fat ratio and cheek muscle myopathy.

I would love to have a discussion on this when I get back home at the end of the month, as it's a little hard for me on my iPad. There's a lot of background that was lost when MD closed its forum and I'll share when I get to a proper keyboard. Krill is well studied in aquaculture, as we are looking to it as a fish meal replacement. I have lots of cool readings to share that y'all may find helpful/interesting/informative.

We have to be able to discuss these things without anger. No one was trying to be disrespectful. Disagreeing is just disagreeing and it doesn't mean someone was calling anyone else stupid.

 

[FrankiePuffer]

I kept a porcupine for 5 years and grew to 11 1\2 inches. I mixed up the food often. Frankie loved just about anything I offered. Mine was moody sometimes on the bottom for days other times swimming a lot. Almost though he got his days and nights mixed up. I think Frankie was actually a female as once a year or so (he) would stop eating for weeks at a time and I was told he might be egg bound??? Never found out for sure
Used to feed him by hand then that got a bit scary as he grew. He had one very endearing trait when I would!D do maintenance he would swim over and go head up or tail up after he bumped my hand. He wanted belly rubs. They are full of personality but of you have yours long enough a big tank is necessary
Give yours time and offer various foods like plankton (a favorite) chopped clams and shrimp. They I'll eat frozen formula one and two s well. Keep it slightly frozen so it has a crunch to it.
Enjoy your new friend. You will love him

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Yup, like Frankie (the person) said, variety is the key.

 

[tj w]

Frankie, how long did yours have its day and night mixed up? Mine still only comes out when lights go out. Been that way for months and no one bothers him. Just curious if this will change.

 

[reeftanker17]

Thanks for contributing Joey waid..... I don't have any puffers but my wife really wants some so I will definitely follow along to learn through the problems here

 

[mlabadie]

He's swimming around but still won't eat... How many days should I start to worry?

 

[Joey waid]

I know mine went over two weeks without eating anything. I tried it all to get him to eat. The only thing that work and was by accident was he got moved to my aggressive fish tank. Finally he started to eat when everything else started going crazy after the food. Now I can put it in any tank and it will eat. It may have been by coincidence, but I was worried like you. I do know they love fresh shrimp and clams. My guess it will eat when it's ready. It still looks good. At least it moving.

 

[d2mini]

Ok guys, let's stay on track. Thread cleaned up a bit.

 

[Joey waid]

I also know that from the 5 puffers we have had they all like to be hand feed. Once the food hit the bottom they lost interest. Once you get them to eat they will peck at the bottom, but by hand works best for us. And if they don't eat, feeding by hand will keep the uneaten food out of the tank....

 

[Tautog]

Just my opinion, but I didn't see any mentions that your LPS fed this puffer prior to buying. I would never buy unless that fish looked healthy, swam freely, had no signs of stress, and ate while I watched. Always ask how long the fish has been in the store. The longer the better. A lot of fish that come from the wild, compared to tank raised, will not eat until comfortable. I have a wild fish only tank. Some fish wouldn't eat anything for 2 weeks, nor would they eat off the bottom. Where as others would wait for the food to rest on the bottom. I have a wild Seahorse that wasn't supposed to live or eat, but 1 1/2 years later my baby still swims, totally against the opinions of many!
Relax on this fish, take a little from everyone who replys, remember nothing is written in stone, these bits of knowledge are from experiences.
His health looks good, give him, her time, but invest in a basic 20 gal. tank for QT, before you buy again. It's the cheapest investment for your main display tank.

He's swimming around but still won't eat... How many days should I start to worry?

 

[lion king]

His stomach doesn't look sunken in, which is good. Try feeding him after lights out; my puffers always seem to be out more and ate better for me when I first got them, either before or after lights. Try clams on the half shell, lfs usually sells; last resort drop some live ghost shrimp to get him going.

 

[mlabadie]

He was still new to the store. Like still in the bag new. I'm taking in what everyone has to say and there experience with puffers. I have a 40 gallon salt that I was successful with but the fish I've always wanted needed to have a bigger tank so I got a 75. With QT, I only have a spare 10 gallon. What should I have in the tank? Live rock? Live sand?

 

[Tautog]

He was still new to the store. Like still in the bag new. I'm taking in what everyone has to say and there experience with puffers. I have a 40 gallon salt that I was successful with but the fish I've always wanted needed to have a bigger tank so I got a 75. With QT, I only have a spare 10 gallon. What should I have in the tank? Live rock? Live sand?

I started with Both, but a lot of guys don't. Everyone is trying there best to avoid pests which can come from Live Rock. My tank never cycled. Check out Bulk Reef Supply.com. They sell a Dry Live Rock that is guaranteed pest free. I just purchased a big shelf, it's curing, and I couldn't be happier. BRS has great info and staff for questions.
The 10 gal QT is fine.

 

[Joey waid]

I have 5 qt tanks. All have sand/rock and live rock, with hob filters with ceramic media and air stones.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Some have added B12 to tanks that have fish with lockjaw.

I've added it to a tank where the fish wasn't eating. He ate within a couple days, but I have NO way of telling if the B was the fix.