Valentini puffer not eating

[dustin.emmanuel]

Hello guys, I have this valentini puffer that I bought from last December at lfs. He has gone through many stuff from my mistakes in QT of ammonia spikes and ichs. He eats like a champ during this time too and would always shoots water to beg for food. I treated him with copper at 1.75-1.80 ppm copper power for 31 days and just finished the prazi treatment a few days ago. He was alone on copper and I put him together with a purple tang n chromis in 75 gallon for the prazi treatment. After 76 days fallow period im finally able to add fish in my DT. So I put the 3 fish on Saturday. The puffer was not eating the day before (Friday) but was eating on Thursday. I tried feeding him on Sunday but he was not interested and so does today. He swims all over the tank only half the sides though, top and bottom on the high zone. He was looking at the brine shrimp but avoid it all. I tried giving him some raw muscles but he just head bump it and dont care. I have not tried raw shrimp, I have not bought any yet. I'm a bit concern if he will starve. The 2 fish in there are eating well. And if it shows some problems I figured the purple tang would be the first to show, maybe. Should I wait more days for him to eat?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello guys, I have this valentini puffer that I bought from last December at lfs. He has gone through many stuff from my mistakes in QT of ammonia spikes and ichs. He eats like a champ during this time too and would always shoots water to beg for food. I treated him with copper at 1.75-1.80 ppm copper power for 31 days and just finished the prazi treatment a few days ago. He was alone on copper and I put him together with a purple tang n chromis in 75 gallon for the prazi treatment. After 76 days fallow period im finally able to add fish in my DT. So I put the 3 fish on Saturday. The puffer was not eating the day before (Friday) but was eating on Thursday. I tried feeding him on Sunday but he was not interested and so does today. He swims all over the tank only half the sides though, top and bottom on the high zone. He was looking at the brine shrimp but avoid it all. I tried giving him some raw muscles but he just head bump it and dont care. I have not tried raw shrimp, I have not bought any yet. I'm a bit concern if he will starve. The 2 fish in there are eating well. And if it shows some problems I figured the purple tang would be the first to show, maybe. Should I wait more days for him to eat?

Is there any chance that it has an obstruction in its mouth?

Can you post a video of it under white lights?

Here is a post I made about relative feeding responses in fish:

Relative Feeding Responses in Fishes

Evaluating how well a fish feeds is a vital aspect of understanding the overall health and well-being of that fish. Experienced aquarists, familiar with the species being fed, will have an innate understanding as to whether the fish is feeding well or not. With new species, or for less...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

I dont want to turn the white light cuz it will spook them since it is their "sleeping time". But this is what I can do so far. Yes it seems like there is an object on its mouth. To be honest this object that look like a silicone from the 75 gallon; I reseal the 75 gallon and I dont know why it shows up between its teeth. Also it has been there for like 3 weeks and I know its bad but I just left it there thinking it'll be gone from eating hardshelled shrimp.
Do you think this might be the reason? How do I get rid of it? He seems pretty easy to catch as he always hover on the top

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I dont want to turn the white light cuz it will spook them since it is their "sleeping time". But this is what I can do so far. Yes it seems like there is an object on its mouth. To be honest this object that look like a silicone from the 75 gallon; I reseal the 75 gallon and I dont know why it shows up between its teeth. Also it has been there for like 3 weeks and I know its bad but I just left it there thinking it'll be gone from eating hardshelled shrimp.
Do you think this might be the reason? How do I get rid of it? He seems pretty easy to catch as he always hover on the top

I can see that in its mouth - I can't tell if it is a foreign object (like the silicone) or a skin tag from an injury. I bet that either way, it is related to its not feeding.

It isn't thin yet, so that's good. The question is - do you try and catch it up and see if that material can be removed, or just leave the fish alone to see if it can work it out on its own? There are pros and cons to both approaches. Also, be aware that there could be an additional blockage in the stomach/intestines of the puffer if it ate some silicone.

The risk of trying to manually remove it is that you will stress the fish out and possibly damage it. Leaving it to see what happens runs the risk of this becoming fatal (but that will take weeks).

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

I can see that in its mouth - I can't tell if it is a foreign object (like the silicone) or a skin tag from an injury. I bet that either way, it is related to its not feeding.

It isn't thin yet, so that's good. The question is - do you try and catch it up and see if that material can be removed, or just leave the fish alone to see if it can work it out on its own? There are pros and cons to both approaches. Also, be aware that there could be an additional blockage in the stomach/intestines of the puffer if it ate some silicone.

The risk of trying to manually remove it is that you will stress the fish out and possibly damage it. Leaving it to see what happens runs the risk of this becoming fatal (but that will take weeks).

I will try to remove it. Since the debris has been there for a bit and I also noticed the decreasing of an appetite after it get stuck. It is not that clear from video but the silicone is stuck like a food on human's gums. I might have to catch him out and remove it. I will see later if he'll eat again when I feed the tank.

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

Update: the pufferfish is still not eating. It is almost 2 weeks since he last eat. He seems to swim normally and curious as always. If I target feed him some mysis he just look at it and dodge it. I offer some nori for the tang, and he just look at it but go closer to the food. The same goes from shrimp with shells. His stomach looks the same as last week. I dont know if he is eating the algae in the tank cuz there is bunch, or he is eating the small hitchhicker snails.

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

Update: the pufferfish is still not eating. It is almost 2 weeks since he last eat. He seems to swim normally and curious as always. If I target feed him some mysis he just look at it and dodge it. I offer some nori for the tang, and he just look at it but go closer to the food. The same goes from shrimp with shells. His stomach looks the same as last week. I dont know if he is eating the algae in the tank cuz there is bunch, or he is eating the small hitchhicker snails.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What ever became of the obstruction in its mouth? I wonder if the puffer swallowed some silicone and a piece of that is lodged in its stomach. That can cause symptoms like this (showing an interest in food, but then not actually eating anything).

 

[dustin.emmanuel]

What ever became of the obstruction in its mouth? I wonder if the puffer swallowed some silicone and a piece of that is lodged in its stomach. That can cause symptoms like this (showing an interest in food, but then not actually eating anything).

Update: today I feed him with tongs and put it in front of his face. He eats it but still not as eager as he used to. This is good news because I can finally be relieved. He eats brine and nori after i use tongs. I might have to do this for the next couple days for him.