Porky Puffer

taz5

taz5

New Member
New 4 inch puffer in 325 gallon tank. Amonia, nitrite, nitrate and salinty all perfect. Puffer out for few days now hiding and not visibly eating, but swimming when lights are out at night.
Tank has been running for 6-8 months. What can I do so puffer can eat and be happy?
fish in tank: Clown trigger, hippo tang, luna wrasp, Heniocus, imperor angle (juve), flame hawk. Spelling bad and tired.
 
U

usirchchris

Guest
It is very common for a porcupine puffer to enter into an eating strike when moved to a new location. You see it swimming at night because they are nocturnal hunters. IME live ghost shrimp work 95% of the time, and once they go for that you are golden...problem you are going to have is the stiff competition for food in that tank...especially that trigger and the sheer size of the tank. Kinda hard to spot feed with 325 gallons. You might try putting some kind of food on a stick, and almost putting it in the puffers mouth. There is an LFS near me that will actually grab their porcs that are not eating and shove food into their mouths, and this actually works. As one guy told me "it reminds them how good food is". This is a drastic measure, and one that I would not employ unless all other options are exhausted...may simply need time to become "hungry enough". My porc has gone over a week without eating before. One oddball food you might try are peas (right out of the frozen food section at your grocery)...at times this is all mine will eat, and I have heard this from other porc owners as well. Hope this helps.
 
saltygerman

saltygerman

Member
Originally Posted by usirchchris
http:///forum/post/2910465
It is very common for a porcupine puffer to enter into an eating strike when moved to a new location. You see it swimming at night because they are nocturnal hunters. IME live ghost shrimp work 95% of the time, and once they go for that you are golden...problem you are going to have is the stiff competition for food in that tank...especially that trigger and the sheer size of the tank. Kinda hard to spot feed with 325 gallons. You might try putting some kind of food on a stick, and almost putting it in the puffers mouth. There is an LFS near me that will actually grab their porcs that are not eating and shove food into their mouths, and this actually works. As one guy told me "it reminds them how good food is". This is a drastic measure, and one that I would not employ unless all other options are exhausted...may simply need time to become "hungry enough". My porc has gone over a week without eating before. One oddball food you might try are peas (right out of the frozen food section at your grocery)...at times this is all mine will eat, and I have heard this from other porc owners as well. Hope this helps.

Mine loves the peas. I even soak them in Vita-chem first. When I first got him, to get him to eat, at night when he was out and about I would partially thaw some Mysis and cram tham into a crevice in the LR and. He would eat them out of the crevice... I think maybe them thawing and floating out of the crevice made them appear live and he thought he was the "Great Hunter" LOL
 
R

rcreations

Guest
My dogface puffer has stiff competition for food too. So I feed him at night when the wrasses and triggers are asleep. Works great! He's the only one out at that time and he can eat in peace.
 
jp30338

jp30338

Member
Just give it some time to get used to its new surroundings. Also, puffers tend are more active at night then in the day.
When I first got mine all it would eat was frozen krill, nowadays it will eat frozen mysis and silversides. They are quite finicky eaters!
 
prime311

prime311

Active Member
That the first time Ive ever seen someone cxall a puffer a finicky eater. They will usually eat any meat that looks large enough to be food eventually.
 
pleasants9

pleasants9

Member
Id say try live feeder shrimp that should be your best shot. Mine loves them, but he doesnt like silver sides or mysis but he likes krill. i think it just depends on how comfortable hes become with your tank and what hes feeling. puffers seem to have a lot of personality.
+1 for feeding him at night when everyone else is asleep at first especially
 
rslinger

rslinger

Member
soak your food with some fresh crushed garlic. this has worked for me with a fish not wanting to eat. and it is good for them every now and then anyways
 
crypt keeper

crypt keeper

Active Member
Originally Posted by taz5
http:///forum/post/2910348
New 4 inch puffer in 325 gallon tank. Amonia, nitrite, nitrate and salinty all perfect. Puffer out for few days now hiding and not visibly eating, but swimming when lights are out at night.
Tank has been running for 6-8 months. What can I do so puffer can eat and be happy?
fish in tank: Clown trigger, hippo tang, luna wrasp, Heniocus, imperor angle (juve), flame hawk. Spelling bad and tired.
Id love to see this tank. Sounds beautiful!
 
taz5

taz5

New Member
Originally Posted by Rslinger
http:///forum/post/2911213
soak your food with some fresh crushed garlic. this has worked for me with a fish not wanting to eat. and it is good for them every now and then anyways
Been doing the crushed garlic everyone else eats except the Puffer. See Puffer swimming at night.
Also, been keeping the light off during the day to reduce stress.
Will post picture of tank.
 
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