I don't know what happened?

[newbie for life]

I came home from work and my porcupine puffer was dead and the long tent anemone was feeding off him... I have kept all my tank parameters good. All my other fish are doing great. I have had the porcupine for about 3 weeks. He has been hanging around the bottom of the tank lately...
But he ate all the krill i would give him. I would thaw the krill out in the fridge and feed that to him once every day or every other day. I have no idea what killed him. Could he have been sick when i bought him? I dont know.... how would i know. This fish was about 3 inches long so im not sure if you can gauge his age... But im pretty disappointed.. he was the most exciting addition to the tank..This really bitesssss

[Ace25]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. I have no idea what to tell you other that maybe the anemone stung the puffer (if that is possible?).

[Grins]

Sorry to hear this. I know that small slow moving fish like dragonettes can get into trouble but hadn't heard that about porcupines. Adult puffers get to about 18" so your's would have been young at only 3".

[SpockthePuffer]

Also, krill isn't a suitable diet for a puffer. It will cause lockjaw after awhile.

Also, QTing is very important, but especially for porcupine puffers. Sometimes they have deadly diseases that aren't detectable until its too late. They don't always do best in home aquariums.

[Grins]

Agreed, I know they are uber prone to ich, and aren't they known for intestional worms as well? I love the guys but they are too big for my tank and not suitable for a reef.

[Amphiprion]

They are indeed prone to intestinal worms (nothing praziquantel wouldn't fix). As sad as it is, things happen. There is a reason behind its death, but it doesn't necessarily make it your fault. There is only so much that can be done and beyond that, it is up to chance. From the sounds of it, you were doing what you could, though.

I agree that krill shouldn't be their sole diet or staple. It takes a bit longer than 3 weeks, however, for their dentition to inhibit their feeding activities. It is good with these fish, though, to give them something nice and hard every now and then--something they have to work for. When I got the opportunity, I would actually trick some of the puffers at the shop with a piece of coral skeleton. They would think it was food and suddenly chomp into it, grating their teeth down. You can only get them to fall for it every now and then, though.

[SpockthePuffer]

A lot of them also have crypt? I believe its called.
I know someone who got a porcupine puffer for their tank and it had crypt, died in the tank and now they can't put another puffer in there with out it dying. So now he has a porcupine in qt while he sets up another big tank

[Amphiprion]

You must be thinking of something else. "Crypt" is saltwater ich, Cryptocaryon irritans. I haven't really seen them prone to much else, maybe a case or two of Brooklynella (or "Brook") but that is pretty rare.

[SpockthePuffer]

hmm... I guess I am thinking of something else...

Velvet maybe? but I think that would affected the whole tank.

Oh well, there is something deadly porcupine puffers can have! lol

[newbie for life]

Ya, I had full intentions on expanding his diet. I had a whole list of things

Mussel
Cockle
Krill
Prawn
King Prawn
Crabs and crabs legs
Bloodworm
Black worms
Siversidesect... but this guy didnt give me a chance.... he started to lose his color in him and turned almost greyish on the last day. I have pix of him a day or two before he died. He didnt look that happy. But i didnt notice anything really bad except he kind of hung down the bottom of the tank mostly.. I thought he was trying to get shade...