Puffer feeding

[thepuffah]

Hey guys, I am new here. I also just got my new Dogface Puffer. He is currently in my 10g QT tank. I got him Thursday, but he hasnt eaten since. He took a few chunks out of my BTA. But hasnt eaten anything else. I tried silversides, raw shrimp, and raw mussels in a shell. I am just wondering if this is normal, or if I dont have the right foods. This is my first Dogface, so I am a little worried. Thanks!

 

[Florida8]

Not sure whats going on.... but these guys aren't reef safe and he might be ill from the BTA...? But I know they are not safe with shrimp, crabs or most any thing reef etc... is your main tank a reef set up? I'm sure someone with more anenome smarts than me will chime in.

In anycase, these guys are way cool, I hope he gets better

 

[thepuffah]

Yeah me too! My tank is not a reef. It is a FOWLR aggressive. I dont know what I am going to do with my BTA. But maybe I will try to soak his food in Garlic Guard to entice him...? Thanks for that advice!

 

[Florida8]

Also, maybe he is just stressed from being in the 10g...why did you move him, because he chomped your BTA? Or because he was acting ill?

How long have you had him? If you have had him a while and there are no signs of illness, I would remove the BTA, maybe take it back to the LFS for trade in and give him his space back... BTW Love their personality... I have an empty 50g, was thinking of getting one... but not sure about my space or their care levels as of yet.

 

[Hara]

how big is the puffer now? and how big is your tank? Unless it is very very small, a 10 gallon quarantine is pretty small and it might be stressed from that too.

 

[h8z2luze]

I know its not good for him and I will probably get yelled at for this but try feeding him a goldfish. If he wont take that I would say something is deffinatly wrong.

 

[thepuffah]

He is only 4", my main is a 55g. But the reason I bought him is I know I am getting a 180 soon. So I wanted to get him feeding. I moved him into my QT partly because he was eating my BTA, and secondly because I saw some white spots on him, and I dont want to take any chances. So if he has ich, could that be the problem?

 

[h8z2luze]

That could deffinatly be the problem, I have never had a fish with ich but I hear it leads to feeding problems.

 

[thepuffah]

Oh blast. Well I am going to start hypo just incase. But he wont starve from the ich will he!? I just dropped in a whole mussel cracked upen, and hoping that he will eat when he feels like it. Maybe at night. Hopefully he wont starve!

 

[h8z2luze]

Well best of luck to you. I had a porcupine puffer but I ended up selling him to a LFS because I wasnt informed you needed to cycle your tank when i started. I plan on making a more peaceful tank though now. Anyway good luck. Hope all goes well.

 

[dscount]

I actually used frozen shrimp for my last tank of carnivores. Let them thaw in a cup of saltwater from the tank and then cut up in a couple pieces and drop in the tank. I had two triggers and a puffer. They all chased and gobbled down the food w/o a problem. Get the SMALLER frozen shimp w/o shell.