I have a 1 year old Dogface puffer that hasn't ate in almost 6 weeks. He is still swimming around some but is just laying on the rocks most of the time. He always ate silversides daily before this started. He would also eat mysis shrimp and flake. I've had him since it was just weeks old. By himself in a 75 gallon tank with live rock and sand. All water parameters are at close to nearly perfect. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 40 nitrate, 8.1 ph, 1.024 salt, 76.9 temp, 8 dkh, 400 calcium, 0 phosphate. I have tried all the foods listed above. Any help you would give would be deeply appreciated. I don't want to lose my little buddy but I'm getting real scared.
PLEASE help. Dogface puffer not eating!!
- Thread starter KeithR423
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Sorry to hear that, if it's been 6 weeks it's just a matter of time before he dies, surprised he lasted this long, maybe he's got some kind of infection or something. No signs of parasites?
. Have you tried live food to entice him to eat? Like black worms or baby bribe shrimp. Have you noticed any other symptoms besides him lying on his side?
I'm not sure about dogface puffers but I have had fish go off feeding when my nitrates got that high, anything above 30 seem to be the sign for me. so getting your nitrates down may be a good starting point. My 1st instincts would have been some sort of internal parasites, but having him for a year it seems like that would have shown up way before now; of course unless he has been eating live food or a new addition. How does his eyes look, any strange activity you can think up; head shaking, flashing, ?. Stringy poo or pinched belly?
KeithR423
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No signs of anything unusual. He looks healthy as ever. I have been treating the tank with Paraguard just to make sure for the past week. I'm going to try some clams and black worms today if I can find the worms.... The only change in the tank in the last several months was a good site breakout in cyno bacteria a few weeks back. I manually removed that and did a water change immediately after.
Puffer's appetites are so voracious they sometimes ingest something that can block them up, this of course is not good either. Paraguard is a good decision, I was also going to suggest prazi pro as it is my go to when a new fish isn't eating. A little stumped because he's been in the tank for a while with no noticeable signs of anything unusually. Puffers normally don't pass up a meal.
*my puffer's favs are clams on the half shell, scallops, and krill.
*my puffer's favs are clams on the half shell, scallops, and krill.
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JaimeAdams
2500 Club Member
try adding magnesium to the water. that can help with passing something.
How are his teeth? I've had them go on hunger strikes when their teeth are getting too long.
I have also had porcupines stop eating for a month and be just fine once they have started eating again.
How are his teeth? I've had them go on hunger strikes when their teeth are getting too long.
I have also had porcupines stop eating for a month and be just fine once they have started eating again.
italquam
Valuable Member
Anyone in the tank picking on him? Any new additions that could have brought in internal parasites. If a digestion issue the easiest remedy is just to bring the mg to the 1400ppm range.
What have you been feeding, maybe find something that may peak his interest. Clams or scallops on the half shell. I guess I have to ask, but I always assume people check their water quality. Any of his tank mates could be sneaky and picking on him, and df puffers can be pouty. Other reasons that a fish just goes off of feeding for no apparent reason can be serious and unknown but sometimes include exposure to copper, antibiotics, and/or tank cleaners among other things
DaddyFish
“5 percenter”
Any update on the dogface's condition from OP?
That's my favorite fish, but they are definitely prone to eat something they can't digest and in severe cases, they will slowly starve to death.
I had a dogface eat the tips off a silicone rubber anemone. I didn't know any better at the time and didn't notice until he'd consumed almost all of them. Obviously he couldn't digest the silicone and looked fat and healthy. It wasn't until after he died and I found handfuls of silicone bits floating on the surface that I figured out what happened.
That's my favorite fish, but they are definitely prone to eat something they can't digest and in severe cases, they will slowly starve to death.
I had a dogface eat the tips off a silicone rubber anemone. I didn't know any better at the time and didn't notice until he'd consumed almost all of them. Obviously he couldn't digest the silicone and looked fat and healthy. It wasn't until after he died and I found handfuls of silicone bits floating on the surface that I figured out what happened.
While not a dogface, I had a porcupine that had similar behaviour. Basically one day it stopped eating. The issue with my was lockjaw. Porcupines are more susceptible to it than others, but they lose the ability to open their mouths.
When it first starts, the puffer attacks food, but just kinda smashes it's mouth into it, but doesn't bite. It then kind of gets upset and swims away. On the next feeding, it will try again, and then get more and more discouraged until it just refuses to even try to eat anymore.
The first time this happened, I managed to rescue it by grabbing ahold of it, and using a turkey baster to shoot finely ground food into the gap in it's teeth. Eventually it healed and was able to eat again. The second time, nothing worked, and it died. Supposedly this was caused by eating too much krill. Not sure how true that was, but that was the wisdom at the time.
When it first starts, the puffer attacks food, but just kinda smashes it's mouth into it, but doesn't bite. It then kind of gets upset and swims away. On the next feeding, it will try again, and then get more and more discouraged until it just refuses to even try to eat anymore.
The first time this happened, I managed to rescue it by grabbing ahold of it, and using a turkey baster to shoot finely ground food into the gap in it's teeth. Eventually it healed and was able to eat again. The second time, nothing worked, and it died. Supposedly this was caused by eating too much krill. Not sure how true that was, but that was the wisdom at the time.
Yes lockjaw would be caused by foods containing too much thiaminese, and krill is the most frequent culprit. If he seems to try and eat but seems to be missing, this might be it. Eventually they would stop trying, but this would likely be obvious before they appear to uninterested.
italquam
Valuable Member
He has not got any better , I am going to try and pull him out of the tank this week and put him in a hospital tank .
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