Puffers mouth looks deformed!

DHouse · Mar 21, 2024

I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks that my puffer Frank’s mouth looks deformed! It looks like he has a huge underbite! He is still eating but sometimes it’s a little difficult for him! He does not close his mouth at all! Has anyone else had this problem?

fishguy242 · Mar 21, 2024

#fishmedic

twentyleagues · Mar 21, 2024

What does he eat? Hard shelled foods mostly?

Sharkbait19 · Mar 21, 2024

Is he eating a lot of krill? Certain foods (like krill) are often associated with lockjaw in puffers.

DHouse · Mar 21, 2024

Sharkbait19 said:
Is he eating a lot of krill? Certain foods (like krill) are often associated with lockjaw in puffers.

I read that before! Nothing but raw shrimp and clams and every once in a while, calamari!

DHouse · Mar 21, 2024

twentyleagues said:
What does he eat? Hard shelled foods mostly?

He won’t eat anything that is hard shell! He’ll only eat shrimp, clams without the shell and calamari He won’t eat it if he has to break it open!

twentyleagues · Mar 21, 2024

DHouse said:
He won’t eat anything that is hard shell! He’ll only eat shrimp, clams without the shell and calamari He won’t eat it if he has to break it open!

Not good. Puffer teeth grow for their entire lives. They are made that way to break shells and get worn down. If hes not eating hard shelled items his teeth wont wear down and will grow causing issues. Maybe try something that has a pretty hard shell, like crabs and slowly get him off soft foods. I dont currently own a saltwater puffer but I have a pretty large Fahaka. I breed ramshorn snails, crayfish and feed him those at least twice a week. I also feed him a hard floating pellet food. Maybe try something like that to slowly ween him off soft foods. I had a stars and stripes puffer years ago that I got from someone getting out. It took a bit but eventually he ate whatever I offered and a few things I didnt. After the second angel fish he went to the lfs.

littlefoxx · Mar 21, 2024

@AydenLincoln

twentyleagues · Mar 21, 2024

Oh I dont know how this would affect water parameters but we used to zip tie a cuttlebone to a rock and put it in with Amazon puffers when we got them at the store. They would all nip at it throughout the day.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 21, 2024

twentyleagues said:
Oh I dont know how this would affect water parameters but we used to zip tie a cuttlebone to a rock and put it in with Amazon puffers when we got them at the store. They would all nip at it throughout the day.

I don’t see why that would affect water params any more than the calcium based rocks and sand in the tank.
I wish my amazons touched cuttlebones, mine wouldn’t bother with anything that wasn’t worms or shrimp.

AydenLincoln · Mar 21, 2024

This looks like a severe case of lockjaw and his beak being overgrown usually caused by a vitamin deficiency with many hobbyists reporting it being caused by only feeding krill and items without shells if his beak is overgrown and it looks like it might be. Unfortunately there’s no real treatment for it and it either corrects or doesn’t. I recommend you vary his diet and only feed shelled foods like clams on the half-shell, mussels in the shell, crab clusters, shell-on shrimp, etc. I would also recommend you soak his food in vitamins like Selcon or Vita-Chem. If he stops eating entirely the chances of him recovering are usually very slim and then more aggressive measures usually have to be taken like force tube feeding. Read more here. https://www.justanswer.com/pet/hxrqi-porcupine-fish-think-lock-jaw.html#:~:text=Jaw problems in fish can,much more so than ours).&text=There are many reports from,lead to lockjaw in puffers.
As for his beak they are like bunnies in that their teeth/beak never stop growing and if they are only fed soft foods or foods without shells their teeth will overgrow and this can lead to problems like being unable to eat and in severe cases death as a result. The treatment is to file/grind them down which I don’t recommend unless you have an experienced aquatic veterinarian do it.

DHouse · Mar 22, 2024

twentyleagues said:
Not good. Puffer teeth grow for their entire lives. They are made that way to break shells and get worn down. If hes not eating hard shelled items his teeth wont wear down and will grow causing issues. Maybe try something that has a pretty hard shell, like crabs and slowly get him off soft foods. I dont currently own a saltwater puffer but I have a pretty large Fahaka. I breed ramshorn snails, crayfish and feed him those at least twice a week. I also feed him a hard floating pellet food. Maybe try something like that to slowly ween him off soft foods. I had a stars and stripes puffer years ago that I got from someone getting out. It took a bit but eventually he ate whatever I offered and a few things I didnt. After the second angel fish he went to the lfs.

It’s not that I don’t try to feed him hard shell food, he just won’t go after it! There are red leg, blue leg and emerald crabs! Turbos, nassarius, throchus and cerithium snails! Cleaner, camel even a blood fire shrimp in the tank! He just will not and never has went after them! That is why there are so many different kinds of crabs, snails and shrimp in this 125g. I buy them and he won’t eat them! He is not that old. I got him when he was about 1 1/2” and have had him for about 6 months. His teeth or tooth, has never really been right from the beginning! I’ll keep trying different hard foods in hopes that he’ll start eating them and wearing his tooth down! Thanks for your advice!

DHouse · Mar 22, 2024

AydenLincoln said:
This looks like a severe case of lockjaw and his beak being overgrown usually caused by a vitamin deficiency with many hobbyists reporting it being caused by only feeding krill and items without shells if he is beak is overgrown and it looks like it might be. Unfortunately there’s no real treatment for it and it either corrects or doesn’t. I recommend you vary his diet and only feed shelled foods like clams on the half-shell, mussels in the shell, crab clusters, shell-on shrimp, etc. I would also recommend you soak his food in vitamins like Selcon or Vita-Chem. If he stops eating entirely the chances of him recovering are usually very slim and then more aggressive measures usually have to be taken like force tube feeding. Read more here. https://www.justanswer.com/pet/hxrqi-porcupine-fish-think-lock-jaw.html#:~:text=Jaw problems in fish can,much more so than ours).&text=There are many reports from,lead to lockjaw in puffers.
As for his beak they are like bunnies in that their teeth/beak never stop growing and if they are only fed soft foods or foods without shells their teeth will overgrow and this can lead to problems like being unable to eat and in severe cases death as a result. The treatment is to file/grind them down which I don’t recommend unless you have an experienced aquatic veterinarian do it.

What is crazy is, I have purchased several snails, clams on the half shell, hermits and emeralds to feed in over the last 4 months! I soak all of my fish food in garlic and selcon. He just won’t eat anything with a shell! I have gone two weeks without feeding him anything except for clams, crabs and snails and decided he has to eat something so I give him peeled raw shrimp! He won’t eat the clams unless I remove them from the shell! I have never seen a puffer do this before! In reference to having an experienced aquatic vet, not anywhere close to where I live! Thanks for your advice! It is greatly appreciated!

twentyleagues · Mar 22, 2024

AydenLincoln said:
This looks like a severe case of lockjaw and his beak being overgrown usually caused by a vitamin deficiency with many hobbyists reporting it being caused by only feeding krill and items without shells if he is beak is overgrown and it looks like it might be. Unfortunately there’s no real treatment for it and it either corrects or doesn’t. I recommend you vary his diet and only feed shelled foods like clams on the half-shell, mussels in the shell, crab clusters, shell-on shrimp, etc. I would also recommend you soak his food in vitamins like Selcon or Vita-Chem. If he stops eating entirely the chances of him recovering are usually very slim and then more aggressive measures usually have to be taken like force tube feeding. Read more here. https://www.justanswer.com/pet/hxrqi-porcupine-fish-think-lock-jaw.html#:~:text=Jaw problems in fish can,much more so than ours).&text=There are many reports from,lead to lockjaw in puffers.
As for his beak they are like bunnies in that their teeth/beak never stop growing and if they are only fed soft foods or foods without shells their teeth will overgrow and this can lead to problems like being unable to eat and in severe cases death as a result. The treatment is to file/grind them down which I don’t recommend unless you have an experienced aquatic veterinarian do it.

I was wondering if they could be trimmed. I have done this with amazon puffers, not fun at all. Its very nerve wracking either you are worried about hurting them with the trimming or using too much clove oil and killing them. I know there is another sedative you can use but dont remember the name of it, less likely to kill on an over dose.

Sharkbait19 · Mar 22, 2024

twentyleagues said:
I was wondering if they could be trimmed. I have done this with amazon puffers, not fun at all. Its very nerve wracking either you are worried about hurting them with the trimming or using too much clove oil and killing them. I know there is another sedative you can use but dont remember the name of it, less likely to kill on an over dose.

Ms-222
It’s not readily available for hobbyists though (expensive where you can get it).