Sorta Emergency? could use some help with a Spiny box Puffer

[LateStageReefer]

Hey guys,

So my brother purchased a Spiny box puffer about a week ago and it hasn't been doing well(we are both new to the hobby only under a year). It wasn't eating and was being picked on by the other community members in the tank.

We moved him to quarantine with the hopes of taking him back to our LFS but were in super lockdown now in Ontario now and our local Big Als' aren't taking any fish and doing curb side pick up only for the next 30 days (i pray it isn't longer).

We might keep him but I have found conflicting posts on how big a tank they require (some say 120g, some say 90 or 75?). At the moment he is in a 20gL.

He ate frozen krill last night which was the first time he ate since we got him but didn't want to eat the following morning. How many times a day does he eat? I have also read that krill in the long run for them is not healthy, is this true? He has never puffed out if that means anything at all.

I would love some tips for the little guy its the cutest fish I have owned.

 

[Sailfin11]

Welcome to R2R!

I would recommend frozen mysis since he's likely smaller fish, krill as a stand-alone food can also cause some issues for puffers. In the long term, your puffer will absolutely need a larger tank than a 20g, but it sounds like that is just your quarantine tank, so he should be fine for a couple of weeks in there.

 

[RedFrog211]

Is there any way you could find some live crustaceans to feed him? That might help as well (live brine, mysis, even possibly amphipods). Just a thought! I hope he starts eating and getting better

 

[LateStageReefer]

We went to our local fish market since all our grocery stores are out of seafood cause of Christmas and all the lockdowns. Got some shelled clams and he's going crazy. lovin the shells he can crack.

seems he just likes to work for his food a bit.

we are discussing keeping him but we don't know what tank we should get him. Would a 55 be sufficient enough?

 

[RedFrog211]

55 definitely won’t be big enough in the long run, but you could probably house him for a while. I believe puffer’s teeth continuously grow, so they need hard foods to help wear them down— very glad to hear hes eating though!

 

[vetteguy53081]

They need at least a 120g tank. The Spiny Box Puffer needs a varied diet of meaty foods including mussel, squid, krill, clams, and other hard shelled shrimp to help wear down their ever growing teeth. LRS Herbivore diet offers these and in large chunks suitable for this puffer. If youre using copper in QT, they dont respond well to high concentration of such.
Spiny box puffers can be a bit more challenging to get them to feed. These fish sometimes do not adapt well to aquarium in many cases. I would try fresh clams served on the shell. Another alternative is to buy small crayfish and remove the claws or live ghost shrimp or mysis shrimp. I have found that in some cases the offer of a live crayfish or ghost shrimp can sometimes trigger a feeding response in stubborn predatory fish.

 

[LateStageReefer]

Hey guys, New questions here.

Are air stones ok for puffers? I have heard that if they intake air they can die? dont know if thats true or not while they are already in water.

Cant seem to find any info on this besides some puffers will play in bubbles?