I am going to KILL my porcupine puffer...

[artman230]

I have never been so angry with a fish in my life...I swear he is the village idiot. I cant seem to get him to eat anything even if it is right in front of his face... I have tried clams mussels krill and silversides and he is not interested at all. I swear I wish he would just die of starvation aleady because I am so annoyed at him just staring at himself in the glass!!! I know this post isnt very positive but its 6 in the freakin morning and I just tried to feed him before all the other fish gobble up his goodies...I even cracked open a fresh mussel and laid it out there in front of him nice and fresh...but he wont do anything...I hate him!!!

 

[Red C Aquarium]

Did it eat when you bought it? Most LFS's get them to eat first, ours eat pellets we have two for sale

 

[DonW]

They need meat and will be short lived with pellets. You can use pellets to try and get them comfortable with being in your tank but they need to be weaned to meat.

Don

 

[Herefishyfishy]

They are used to eating live food in the wild. Some find their puffer will go a week before eating. Occasional luck has been had trying different methods. Dangle food on string, on the end of a stick, floating by in the stream, etc. One guy tried adding another fish into the tank to demonstrate eating. Perhaps later as a last resort, buy a saltwater acclimated Mollie or other type feeder fish.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

Meat? What kinda meat? Do you mean like a t-bone steak?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Meat? What kinda meat? Do you mean like a t-bone steak?

http://www.pufferfish.net/

Meat: Fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, oysters, etc

 

[Herefishyfishy]

OK, does anyone else have any good suggestions for helping this guy, frustrated about his finicky puffer?

I have also had some luck stimulating appitite with vita-chem or selcon
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem.aspx?idproduct=BE1131

 

[loohunter]

You are barking up the wrong tree. I will explain anything that doesnt make sense to you loo.
So anything spark this rant?

i said it i meant it and iam not the only one that feels this way . now me barking up the wrong tree i dont take to kindly to that comment. however i am not going to get into a flame war with you or a battle of keyboard skills. the purpose of my post was to state that maybe you should focus on giving helpful advice rather than trying to be funny.this is my last post on this thread. pm me if you would like to chat

 

[g0rFz]

i had a little green spotted puffer and i used to give him worms, they wiggle and maybe he will like that? have you tried any live foods? maybe try and get a cheap ghost shrimp or something that will catch his attention?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

i had a little green spotted puffer and i used to give him worms, they wiggle and maybe he will like that? have you tried any live foods? maybe try and get a cheap ghost shrimp or something that will catch his attention?

Worms, brilliant idea!
Perhaps even mosquito larvae, easy to find outside these days in any stagnant water.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

Thanks for all bashing , artman good luck with your puffer, dont kill him .

Let us know some more info , like did he eat when you bought him?
What kind of other fish are in the aquarium ?
How long has he been in your tank?
You do mention fish racing to get the food, maybe he is a little stressed.
Spectrum pellets are made of meaty based foods like krill and herring, after you get him eating something try some of these pellets its a great food for puffers!
I did mention that we have two puffers in our shop that eat pellets, these puffers came in not eating anything , now they are eating a great food and living very well .
Call us if you want to talk about your fish , I would be more than happy to help you .
ROB

 

[Herefishyfishy]

NLS makes a better than average dry fishfood, but it is not all seafood (meat) based. Pellets are definitely easier but using only dry foods is a controversial subject.

NLS TherA formula contains the following ingredients:

Main Ingredients: Krill, Herring, Wheat Flour, Garlic, Algae Meal, Soybean Isolate, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, along with numerous vitamin & trace mineral supplements.

 

[DonW]

NLS makes a better than average dry fishfood, but it is not all seafood (meat) based. Pellets are definitely easier but using only dry foods is a controversial subject.

NLS TherA formula contains the following ingredients:

Main Ingredients: Krill, Herring, Wheat Flour, Garlic, Algae Meal, Soybean Isolate, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, along with numerous vitamin & trace mineral supplements.

FWIW I always ask the LFS what they are feeding and if I'm new to the store I will ask them to show me. Chances are pretty good I have what ever they are using either in the freezer or on a shelf. Even if its not the best for the fish I will use that food to acclimate the animal to his new home if need be. But in most cases its something I dont want in my tank or is not good for the long term. Its easier to wean a fish to something better if you can get it to acclimate.

LFS's keep animals for such a short time, they usually dont get to see the long term results. No bashing, just the way it is. If you can acclimate the fish with spectrum pellets and wean him to meat, then great what ever works. Just think about the long term and wean the fish to what it really needs.

Don

 

[Scooterman]

Well I could go & delete all of these post & start the thread over or maybe we can help Artman, please don't make me do all that!
Back to the help please. I was asked to delete or remove certain post but it would mean basically removing most everything so lets just be nice & offer help.

 

[Paul B]

Porcupine puffers are always stressed in a tank. If you ever followed them in the sea you will see that they swim in open spaces near rocks but they keep going and do not hide much like most fish. If you try to catch one, they will keep swimming instead of taking refuge in the rock. They do not like solid walls and many of them just swim up and down the glass trying to get through it until they starve.
If it does not eat those things you are trying it probably will not eat anything until he settles dawn if at all. Live earthworms are their favorite food, they only live a few seconds in saltwater so you have to drop them in front of the fish.
Good luck.
Paul

 

[Red C Aquarium]

This is great info thanks Fishy,
Thera-a super good.
Somebody posted that they eat meaty things, correct but most people like to keep puffers and lionfish in with other tankmates.These tankmates may be smaller like damsels,hawkfish,gobies... which are all able to fit into a puffers mouth. If the puffer eats pellets it becomes a better tankmate and can be fed on an autofeeder.
The foods that are normally fed to puffers are krill,silversides. Compared the nutritional value of these to the Spectrum pellet.

WWW.NLPUBLISH.COM, spend some time on this site and if you still not falling for this product call them and chat he's a great guy.

Rob

 

[Sascha D]

If you absolutely cannot get him to eat anything. You may be better off trading him in for something else rather than watching him waste away.

 

[Red C Aquarium]

qoute-'LFS's keep animals for such a short time, they usually dont get to see the long term results. No bashing, just the way it is. If you can acclimate the fish with spectrum pellets and wean him to meat, then great what ever works. Just think about the long term and wean the fish to what it really needs.'

Some LFS's keep puffers around for many months, and some sell them before they eat.
Some see long term results because they have been taken care of tanks for a long time

Mostly its meat then pellet, hey if a puffer eats pellet first hes a champ!

The way it is?, I dont know where you are from ? thats not a bash.
Really are you in the Seattle area?

 

[Tieg]

Sounds like the puffer has what I call in my household....SFS....(Stupid Fish Syndrome and yes lol...I made it up myself). I had the exact same frustration. I bought a Kole Tang and do you think I could get him to eat...nope not at all. It was the most frustrating and guiltiest I have ever felt watching the tang change from a nice looking fish to pretty much a starved pow looking critter. I spent about 30-40 bucks in different foods trying anything. As he got sicker I was able to catch him...thats when you know he's sick...and isolate him from the other fish and I presented everything to him. He seemed more stressed that he was isolated from the other fish. In the end he was on his side gasping and I gently removed him from the tank and placed him in the freezer. What a heartbreaker.

I asked a couple of my friends as well as the 2 LFS and they basically said Tangs are hard to get to eat and they all said before you take the fish out of the store make the LFS prove that they are eating. Ever since then I have had no problems at all. I know this probably doesn't solve your current problem but it is an experience you can learn from in buying future fish.

Side note to ARedSeaAquarium (and any responses to my following statement that anyone desires to reply to please do so in PM format as I don't want to see the thread get hijacked as it already has once)....I to felt your initial comments were sort of abrupt and borderline unprofessional but since then you have made a few response that have been very professional and I have seen the change. I would love to swing by your store to check it out when I'm on the Seattle side sometime. Kudos to you for the change.

 

[Scooterman]

Have you tried any live food?