My puffer wont eat

[Nansfluff]

I am hearing this more and more that puffers stop eating. I have had him for 9 months just stopped last week or two. Nitrates were high I am doing water changes now Is there any other way to lower nitrate levels and could this be why hes not eating? Some articles state that nitrates dont harm fish. Thanks for any help!!

 

[cj10488]

Extremely high nitrates could harm fish >100ppm I believe... As for feeding your puffer what Kind is it... Have you tried switching foods? It could be that the teeth have overgrown making it nearly impossible to eat... You can also try and soak the food in a Galic Extract to entise the puffer... The only way to lower nitrates Is to do water changes. I would do a 50% water change and that will cut the nitrates in half... Then repeat a week later and you will knock them down another half.. Make sure the water is matched as closely to the water as you can..

HTH<
James

 

[Nitrate]

because of the kind of fish I keep and the fact that I am slightly overstocked, my nitrates are always too high. I try to never let them get over 60-80 ppm.

My porcy will stop eating if hes unhappy. For instance I left the lights on for 3 straight days (without realizing it) and he wouldnt eat for the next couple of days. If you have changed the enviroment, temperature, salinity, ect ect.. that might be why hes on his hunger strike.

I would do mulitple water changes as cj suggested and the garlic extract has always worked for me as well.

Good luck, hope he gets his appetite back