Does your Puffer ever get snails or other inverts, to help grind his teeth down? I've never had one of those guys, but I've read that they have to have snails or shrimp to help wear down their teeth or they will have problems. Seems logical to me that if not, he may be having trouble eating because of that.
Does your Puffer ever get snails or other inverts, to help grind his teeth down? I've never had one of those guys, but I've read that they have to have snails or shrimp to help wear down their teeth or they will have problems. Seems logical to me that if not, he may be having trouble eating because of that.
In my experience that isn't the case with dwarfs. With mine they either ignore snails small enough to crunch or just pull the soft part out of big snails. But my experience with dwarf puffers has been kind of strange to say the least.
In my experience that isn't the case with dwarfs. With mine they either ignore snails small enough to crunch or just pull the soft part out of big snails. But my experience with dwarf puffers has been kind of strange to say the least.
Mel, Don't let his sweet looks fool you -- he is an inveterate fin nipper. I am hoping that soon he will be back on his fins and harassing the otos. Luckily, they are wise to him now and never let him see their tails.
Still refusing food, but still alive. . . we'll see. He is really my 6-year-old son's fish, so I'm hoping he pulls through. Our previous DP was with us about 18 months, and was much better natured than this one!
I may try another water change and prazi dose on Saturday if he's still hanging in there.
He definitly is infected with parasites. I've kept puffers for a long time now. Once they start refusing food they are on their last leg and probably won't make it. Make sure when you get a puffer you medicate it always as most puffers are wild caught and have internal parasites already. I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news. You could always try jungle labs parasite clear.. Make sure you soak his food in it and medicate the tank. Hope this helps
Thanks for your help everyone... he died today. I thought I saw something red protruding from his mouth when I reached into the tank to net him out, but it had disappeared by the time I got him to the surface. Could this have been one of the parasites? I'm going to leave the Prazi in the tank for a full 7 day course, in order to ensure the safety of the Otos. Should this be sufficient, or should I do another treatment? Or a treatment with the Jungle tabs, which seem to have another type of medication in addition to the Prazi?
I would just treat with the jungle tabs. Make sure you take your carbon out if you are running it. Also, water changes in between the treatments will help maintain the water quality.
I thought I saw something red protruding from his mouth when I reached into the tank to net him out, but it had disappeared by the time I got him to the surface. Could this have been one of the parasites? I'm going to leave the Prazi in the tank for a full 7 day course, in order to ensure the safety of the Otos. Should this be sufficient, or should I do another treatment? Or a treatment with the Jungle tabs, which seem to have another type of medication in addition to the Prazi?
