Porcupine Puffer Not Eating

popalnet

popalnet

Member
Hello all, I tried searching the boards prior to making this post, but I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. I bought a porcupine puffer 4 days ago, and it still isn't eating. I saw posts where posters recommended fresh shrimp and peas, among some others. Tried shrimp and peas and puffer ignores it. I've also used a feeder stick with shrimp on it, and put it near the puffers mouth, but the puffer just ignores it. The puffer sees other fish feeding, but doesn't seem interested.
About 60% of the time the puffer is just sitting at the bottom of the tank or under live rock and not moving. The other 40% of the time the puffer is swimming up and down the tank as if its healthy.
Color wise it looks healthy. There is a little cloudiness in the eyes, but everything looks fine. The eyes look blue - which I thought was unusual. But it could be a reflection off the actinics.
The tank is a 90 Gallon tank. I know it's small for a puffer, but the puffer is only about 2 inches. I have a total of 7 fish in the tank, and the puffer isn't interested in hanging around the other fishes. When it swims, it likes to hang out in a corner of the tank, away from the other fish, and swim up and down.
My gut tells me that it's going to die in the next few days if it doesn't eat. Water conditions are all good. Any suggestions on what to do to make it eat?
Thanks.
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
Puffers are nocturnal. They are more active at night. My p.puffer would sit in the bottom of the tank all day, and when he saw me he would swim to the top of the tank and spit water at me. he knew that I meant food. My puffer did not eat right away. It took about a week. He loved freeze dry krill. I dipped it in kent garlic and he would eat out of my hand. I also gave him clams for his "beak". He pigged out on frozen squidd. The krill is what got mine to start eating.
hth
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
I forgot to mention that I've also tried pellets, but of course won't eat that either.
I did read other posts suggesting garlic. You used Kent's garlic, but is there a way to make garlic mixture at home? This is probably sounds stupid, but can you use fresh garlic or powder garlic and blend it with water?
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
In all honesty, I am not sure about the homemade goods.
Just remember that puffers are meat eaters. My puffer would not touch pellets. So things like squid, krill, clams, shrimp that would be similar to what they would eat in the wild are a plus.
I don't know what kind of clean up crew you have, but my puffer would secretly eat all of my little snails in the middle of the night when I wasn't looking
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
I have a dog face puffer in the same tank that ate all my cleaners, so other than a few snails I don't really have a cleaning crew. I know more than one puffer in the same tank is not recommended, but I hear it's a trial and error thing. I took my chances and actually the dog face and porcupine puffers are the best of friends. They even sleep together - side by side or on top of each other. But while the dog face is swimming with the other fish, the porcupine likes to hang out alone in one corner of the tank.
I'll pick up some krill tomorrow and see if it eats. I also want to pick up some clams. Where is the best place to pick up clams? What kind of clams? Thanks.
 
leopard_babe

leopard_babe

Active Member
My lfs sells them. There is a frozen sltwater multi-pack of food. There is all different kinds of frozen meats. One of them is a white chumk of squidd. You can see if he would eat that. Mine loved it. I would go for the krill. Let me know how it goes. I would love pix!!
Give us an update.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Where did you buy it?
Some chain stores will feed them live freshater fish such as goldish. They can become addicted to the FW fish, which can eventually lead to fatty liver disease, and the puffer will not take natural food any longer. Did you watch him eat at the LFS? If so what did they feed? If you don't know, I'd be on the phone with them to see what they were feeding.
Here's a link for ya. If you do a search you will find others like it.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/207744/is-it-ok-for-a-porcupine-puffer-to-eat-goldfish
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
Originally Posted by Leopard_babe
http:///forum/post/2755003
My lfs sells them. There is a frozen sltwater multi-pack of food. There is all different kinds of frozen meats. One of them is a white chumk of squidd. You can see if he would eat that. Mine loved it. I would go for the krill. Let me know how it goes. I would love pix!!
Give us an update.
Here's a pic of the puffer that refuses to eat.
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
Originally Posted by socal57che http:///forum/post/2755050
Where did you buy it?
Some chain stores will feed them live freshater fish such as goldish. They can become addicted to the FW fish, which can eventually lead to fatty liver disease, and the puffer will not take natural food any longer. Did you watch him eat at the LFS? If so what did they feed? If you don't know, I'd be on the phone with them to see what they were feeding.
Here's a link for ya. If you do a search you will find others like it.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/207744/is-it-ok-for-a-porcupine-puffer-to-eat-goldfish
I hate to say this, but I broke the rules and bought it from *****. I was there picking up some pellets and saw the puffer for $18, so I bought it. I didn't bother asking what they had been feeding since it was a *****.
I'm going to try frozen krill and clams. I hope I'll be able to find clams. I might also go to the asian grocery store and see if I can pick up squid.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by popalnet
http:///forum/post/2755060
I hate to say this, but I broke the rules and bought it from *****. I was there picking up some pellets and saw the puffer for $18, so I bought it. I didn't bother asking what they had been feeding since it was a *****.
I'm going to try frozen krill and clams. I hope I'll be able to find clams. I might also go to the asian grocery store and see if I can pick up squid.
WE had to take ours back to that supplier (same one as you) because it would not eat ANYTHING we offered. We tried everything. Like you, we did not watch it eat and when we questioned them they told us that they had been feeding it live goldfish. Lesson learned. That was our last livestock purchase from them. I guarantee that when you ask them, you will get the same answer we did.
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
Originally Posted by socal57che
http:///forum/post/2755069
WE had to take ours back to that supplier (same one as you) because it would not eat ANYTHING we offered. We tried everything. Like you, we did not watch it eat and when we questioned them they told us that they had been feeding it live goldfish. Lesson learned. That was our last livestock purchase from them. I guarantee that when you ask them, you will get the same answer we did.
But my ***** store has a policy where they won't take back saltwater fish. Even if they're alive. I'm not really concerened about the money, I just want to do whatever I can to make the puffer eat.
 
socal57che

socal57che

Active Member
Originally Posted by popalnet
http:///forum/post/2755076
But my ***** store has a policy where they won't take back saltwater fish. Even if they're alive. I'm not really concerened about the money, I just want to do whatever I can to make the puffer eat.
I understand. Just realize that he may not eat and be prepared to remove him if he does not make it.

You may be able to retrain him if you gradually switch him over from FW feeders to marine foods. First you should verify what he ate at the store...if anything.
 
forsfed50

forsfed50

Member
I had a dogface puffer that ate lettuce, rosy red freshwater feeder fish, frozen shrimp and of course my small hermits. The garlic xtreme stuff is not a bad idea at all may help to start him eating.
 
popalnet

popalnet

Member
Well, this morning I picked up frozen krill and silversides, and tried feeding the porcupine, and no luck. It actually nipped at the silverside, but then left it alone. I also put some really small live astrea snails, but it won't touch that either. The dog face, however, has already eaten 4 of the snails, and is working on finishing all 10. But the porcupine just watches the dog face eat, and show no interest in eating. I think this could be the case of feeding fresh water feeder at the LFS. They claim that they feed their saltware a combination of flakes, and brine shrimp.
Wish me luck, but it's not looking good.
 
U

usirchchris

Guest
Don't be too concerned as of yet. It is very normal for porcupines to go into a eating "strike" after being moved to a new environment. I would suggest live ghost shrimp. Feed the shrimp something like an algae sheet or some of your pellets to gut load them. I have gotten porcupines and lions to eat using live ghost shrimp, that had not been eating for over a week after being moved. A more forcefull method is to grab the puffer and push something like a piece of shrimp directly into it's mouth...sometimes it has to be reminded how good the food is
. One of my lfs' does this with porcs, and it is relatively successful. Best of luck, nothing is garaunteed but worth a shot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top