Porcupine Puffer won't eat

[socal57che]

Originally Posted by stella
more suggestions? pliz ...

Is yours still in quarrantine?? Mine kept staring at the fish in the other tank so I went ahead and switched him early. I think it helped him to be around the other fish. I've always heard they like "communities".

 

[unleashed]

well obviously something is going on with these porks.this is not normal behavior.check your water qualityshould be ph8.2-8.3 nitrate0 nitrites0 and amonia0 these can reflect on healthy fish.if all checks out good .remove carbons and add melafix to your tank.this wont harm any of your fish.melafix is a natural anitibiotic and will help reduce stress.I use this for 3 days when ever I add a new fish to my agressive tanks.to remove the melafix just re add your carbons and do a 10% water change.I suggest using this product for 7 days and keep trying to feed them krill is most likely your best choice with added garlic.soke the krill in water to thaw add 2 drops of garlic extreme.this will entice your fish to eat and also boost imune system.if you still cannot get this fish to eat add the garlic directly to your tank a ratio of 1 drop per every 10 gal.

 

[wizardofos]

I have a Dog Face Puffer that is extremely picky about what he will eat. Before buying it - the LFS showed that he ate frozen krill. Well, that is all that it will eat. Went to the ocean beach this summer and dug up some local crabs. They are called mole crabs and live in the sand at the surfline. They are sold on this site by the name of sand sifter crabs. I brought them (at least 50) back in a bucket of water and sand - I fed the last two to it this week. It is the only other thing that it will eat.
The mole crabs go by several local names. Sand crabs, Sand fleas (bait store name), Mole crabs. The Puffer REALLY ate them up. Not even a piece of shell would go uneaten. Was quite funny to see him chasing the Niger Trigger around and taking the crab out of the Trigger's grasp.
One thing - I had to crush the crab before putting the first few into the tank. The Puffer was a little slow at first to fugure out that it was food. But after the first week, it would try and jump out of the tank to get to the crab in my hand.
If you are in Puerto Rico - a trip to the beach with a bucket and a shovel might get you some results. The crabs have a tough shell to help with the teeth. I know that the crabs are common from along the East coast from NJ to FL.
Good Luck

 

[stella]

thanx! I think I'll have to try that. The Lfs won't take it back. They have definitely lost one of their best customers. I didn't want him to eat live foods because they tend to be more aggressive than they already are.

 

[stella]

Originally Posted by unleashed
well obviously something is going on with these porks.this is not normal behavior.check your water qualityshould be ph8.2-8.3 nitrate0 nitrites0 and amonia0 these can reflect on healthy fish.if all checks out good .remove carbons and add melafix to your tank.this wont harm any of your fish.melafix is a natural anitibiotic and will help reduce stress.I use this for 3 days when ever I add a new fish to my agressive tanks.to remove the melafix just re add your carbons and do a 10% water change.I suggest using this product for 7 days and keep trying to feed them krill is most likely your best choice with added garlic.soke the krill in water to thaw add 2 drops of garlic extreme.this will entice your fish to eat and also boost imune system.if you still cannot get this fish to eat add the garlic directly to your tank a ratio of 1 drop per every 10 gal.
The thing is that he looks great. You should have seen him when I throwed the rosemarys. I tried moving around the tank a piece of krill(with garlic) and he started following it, when he realized it was not alive, he quickly lost interest. He even started spitting water at me !!

 

[key00west]

DO NOT FEED HIM GOLDFISH!! feeding them goldfish is just asking for interal problems!

 

[stella]

Originally Posted by Key00west
DO NOT FEED HIM GOLDFISH!! feeding them goldfish is just asking for interal problems!
I know

that's why I'm so mad at the lfs, I trusted them, I've been buying from them for years.

 

[demi7996]

I've had my pork for almost a month now, has not eaten a darn thing. I don't know what to do. He looks fine, not great, but ok. he's really active at night, but during the day I never see him. he's super skiddish and it's like he hates to eat. I'm not expecting him to last much longer, which sucks because he's so cute!

But, we'll see. Oh, I've tried feeding him frozen krill, and the red cube things. I'm going to the fish store to try the live mussel thing. I will let you know how it works out.

 

[unleashed]

check you water quality make sure ph is at least 8.2 no higher than 8.3 nitrates 0 amonia 0 nitrites 0.this is very important for him.treat him imediately with melafix and pima fix.its very possible he has a bacterial infection causing this hunger strike.you have been very fortunate that he is still alive.also add 1 drop garlic to every gal tank water this will help boost him imune system.and maybe entice him to eat.good luck keep ligths to a minimum also.this will help reduce stress

 

[promisetbg]

Try the mussels and also cherrystone clams...but take a knife{be careful!!!} and pop a hole in the edge of the shell.I do this with my puffer,and he has a good time getting the meat out and opening the shell the rest of the way.
There are also frozen "cockle in a shell" available online.

 

[stella]

I already gave mine to a friend. I'll have to find one that already eats non-live stuff. I had him a whole month and never ate (well once, the live freshwater fish). He seemed fine though. Hope my friend wins the battle

 

[demi7996]

:cheer: Well the stinking thing finally ate. I put him in quarentine last night with a nice hunk of shrimp. He completely downed that sucker. Maybe he only eats at night, and he feels safe in quarenting, I don't know. I'm just happy he ate. How can I get him on a daytime schedule??