Porcupine puffer not eating

[Is this the LFS]

I have had my porcupine puffer for about a week now. He seems happy and is out and about but whenever I try to feed him some thawed frozen shrimp that I got from the grocery store, he shows zero interest. Could this just be that he is still relatively new? Also should I feed him at night instead of during the day sense he’s obviously gonna be more active then?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Feeding during the day is fine for these fish, they aren't really nocturnal. It really should be feeding by now, I worry that something else may be going on. Have you tried any other food besides shrimp? Krill would be a good choice to try.

Jay

 

[nezw0001]

Clams on the half shell really seems to get them going.

 

[ReefHog]

Is he seeing the food? Does he come investigate it? Try it spit it out and then swim away? Not even pay attention to it? Try feeding with some large tweezers or feeding tongs. I agree with using krill to get him to eat. A week is a long time for a puffer to not want to eat. Check your water parameters. Especially ammonia & nitrite.

 

[Is this the LFS]

Feeding during the day is fine for these fish, they aren't really nocturnal. It really should be feeding by now, I worry that something else may be going on. Have you tried any other food besides shrimp? Krill would be a good choice to try.

Jay

I have only done the shrimp but I was planning on getting some different food this weekend

 

[Is this the LFS]

Is he seeing the food? Does he come investigate it? Try it spit it out and then swim away? Not even pay attention to it? Try feeding with some large tweezers or feeding tongs. I agree with using krill to get him to eat. A week is a long time for a puffer to not want to eat. Check your water parameters. Especially ammonia & nitrite.

Water params are great. Only thing bad in the tank is some cyano but all the corals and other fish are doing great. And ya he definitely sees it, he just shows zero interest though. I think he might have taken a bite once like the first time I tried feeding but spit it out right away and ever sense then hasn’t shown any interest. And even on the day he spit it out he barely showed any interest to it before hand

 

[Is this the LFS]

he appears quite healthy and as you can see, no noticeable sunken belly. He is also by far the biggest fish in the tank and none of the other fish are aggressive what so ever

 

[ReefHog]

I’ve had porcupines that went on a hunger strike for a day or two a few times over the years. A week seems long though. I don’t know too many fish that beg for food, any food, more than porcupines. Even when they don’t like the food, they try it. Possible he took a bite of something that didn’t agree with him. Doesn’t look like ick or eye infection that they can be prone to. They can have certain nutrient deficiencies and overgrown teeth due to poor diet. But since he’s new I wouldn’t think that’s the case. I’m not familiar enough with other ailments he might be experiencing. I’ll leave that to @Jay Hemdal

 

[Is this the LFS]

I’ve had porcupines that went on a hunger strike for a day or two a few times over the years. A week seems long though. I don’t know too many fish that beg for food, any food, more than porcupines. Even when they don’t like the food, they try it. Possible he took a bite of something that didn’t agree with him. Doesn’t look like ick or eye infection that they can be prone to. They can have certain nutrient deficiencies and overgrown teeth due to poor diet. But since he’s new I wouldn’t think that’s the case. I’m not familiar enough with other ailments he might be experiencing. I’ll leave that to @Jay Hemdal

I got some ghost shrimp and he ate those right up so that is good cuz at least we know he eats. I also got clams on a half shell and a frozen mix of meaty foods but haven’t given them to him since the other dau when he had the ghost shrimp so we shall see

 

[afk-47]

following

 

[ReefHog]

That's good that he is eating the shrimp. let him fatten up on those and keep trying the frozen food. Eventually he will accept frozen. I prefer to feed with feeding tongs so you can make sure hes getting the food. Their depth perception is not the greatest and just throwing food in there usually results in some that gets missed and creates extra nutrients. They also tend to eat the food without the sucking in, spitting out, sucking in habit. I also feed mostly krill, squid, and shrimp from seafood section at the market as those create less of a mess than other foods. My last one would eat a quarter sheet of nori every day. My current one doesn't like nori but you could try that.

 

[Crevalle]

I’d vary what you feed. I fed my puffers mainly small clams, sand fleas, and fiddler crabs I caught at the beach and some snails from my freshwater tanks. Plus leftover live bait shrimp. I always caught extra and pooped them in a zip lock and froze them for later.