Dogface will not eat

[jbillens]

I just got a dogface puffer and it will not eat. As of now i have tried frozen brine shrimp and frozen prime reef. I soaked the prime reef in a garlic/dt's live solution with water from the tank. What can i feed this puffer so that it will eat. Oh it has been about a week now and still nothing.
Josh

 

[diane4]

I have a very finiky dogface puffer and he won't frozen krill, won't eat silver sides, won't eat most things people claim they will eat.
But he loves raw shrimp that you buy in the fish dept at the local grocer. Peel it, wash it off, cut it into little bite sized peices and toss it in. My guy loves it.
Once in a while, he likes muscle meat or baby neck clams, known as cockles. But bring on the shrimp. Our guy loves em. Thats pretty much all he will eat.

 

[luke g]

i wouldt try silversides my puffer with eat milions of them ,but he will eat anything
but im sure the silversides will work

 

[diane4]

my dogface won't touch em, in fact he looks at them with a face like, what is that.
Too funny.
Try it with yours, I have heard that a lot of puffers do like them. But then again, mine is not the norm. And, hopefully, yours isn't finiky like mine.

 

[mikeeal]

Strips of squid always worked for me. You may want to try some gut-loaded ghost shrimp to entice him/her as well.

 

[diane4]

If your puffer is anything like my baby, and it sounds like he has that potential if he is just being finicky and not ill, I put ghost shrimp in his tank too. And this was during his hypsalinity treatment, so the ghost shrimp had a lot of time to exist in his tank. He never ate them. In fact, the only time he got testy with them is when he was eating a piece of shrimp, human consumption shrimp, the ghost shrimp smelled the food and came walking over. Our Ipo looked at the ghost shrimp, gave him an evil eye an puffed at him. The ghost shrimp backed off and ip continued to eat his peice of shrimp. Not the ghost shrimp.
Don;t fight it - give him small bite sized pieces of raw medium sized shrimp. I have been there, done that.
Please let us know how you make out.

 

[jbillens]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I actually tried a feeder guppie and a rosy red and he inhaled the two lil guys. I have heard that this could be bad for the fish, and also that it is fine in moderation. I dont really know. It was the first he ate in about a week. I guess that is what they must have been feeding him at the fish store, because he went after them with no hesitation.
I am going to try the raw shrimp. I have heard from a couple people this could be good. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[demi7996]

my puffer didn't eat for a month. Then one day he came out and stole shrimp from my snowflake eel, right from it's mouth. It was hilarious. I think they just get really stressed out, and they go on hunger strike. But the only food mine will eat now is regular frozen people shrimp, and sometimes mussels. He never refuses the shrimp though. try it, i'm sure you won't be dissapointed.

 

[diane4]

Demi, it is interesting to hear that there are other dogface puffers that won't touch much anything else besides raw shrimp from the grocery store. I tried to offer my guy other things to vary his diet, but he won't eat it. Oh well. I stick with shrimp.

 

[jbillens]

I have found that freeze dried krill on the end of tweezers works quiet well. You have to hold it in the water and move it arround. At first dont let him catch it and then eventually let him get it. He really gobbles this stuff up. Havent tried the shrimp thing yet though. It would be good for a lil variety.

 

[whitey]

Have you tried using a little garlic on the food? I've been told feeder fish are bad to use based onthe fact that they are typically not healthy fish (goldfish, rosies etc.). I would work to get him on silversides or shrimp. JMO

 

[diane4]

I tried using garlic on my fishes food, and my puffer didn't like the garlic smell or taste. Turned his nose at it.
Shrimp is all my guy will eat. Nothing else works.

 

[jbillens]

I tried the garlic as well on some prime reef. Chopped about half a clove up and soaked it in some saltwater with the food overnight. Smelled aweful. My dogface wouldnt even touch it. One time he did eat it but spit it all back out right away. My niger on the other hand loved it. He would smell it as soon as it hit the water and come a swimmin.