HELP!!!!ITS MY DWARF PUFFER FISH!!!

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suthernbelle9412`

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HELP ME!!!!!!!!! im so worried about my dwarf puffer fish!theyre names are cookie monster and elmo!!! i got two of them from a petco and i put them in my ten gallon tank that ive had running for two years with a male beta( i no not a good mix....... but they were so cute..... and i really liked them) adn two sunset platys. They wont eat and im worried !!!! :( If they die im gonna be super sad! Ive tried goldfish flakes and beta bites and these sinking tad pole adn frog bites cuz they stay towards the bottom of the tank, but nothing works! i have some freez dried bloodworms but wanted to check if they would work before i put them in there and just clouded up my tank! Please help!
 
Hmmmm sounds weird? My dwarf puffer ate vegies? But out of all those things you tried they should have at least ate some... I would try the bloodworms because that is what most freshwater puffers I have seen eat-such as the ones I have...and If that dosnt work then maybe they are stressed because of the fish you have them in with? Consider changing tank arrangements maybe? :/ Either way-Good luck!
 
do you have snails in your tank if you dont you need to get some they need to eat snails to keep thier teeth grinded down so they can eat if they dont get the snails thier teeth will grow together and they will starve to death. Also puffers require salt to. They are a brackish fish sorta like mollies.
 
how long has it been since you got them.
I know nothing about puffers..
but, some fish need a while to aclimate.
I always wait at least 3 days before feeding for the first time, even if they seem like they want to eat.
GL
hope you have a larger tank too....
 
fish keeper sharks and mollies said:
do you have snails in your tank if you dont you need to get some they need to eat snails to keep thier teeth grinded down so they can eat if they dont get the snails thier teeth will grow together and they will starve to death. Also puffers require salt to. They are a brackish fish sorta like mollies.
WAIT!!

DO NOT PUT SALT IN. Dwarf Puffers are 100% freshwater. Any salt will cause its condition to deteriorate.

P.T.
 
:eek: so sorry 2 hear that, as far as i no, puffer fish threive on bloodworms. i was once told that they only eat those, and dnt eat flakes, as they have dwn facing mouths, similar 2 sharks and loaches.

id suggest that u feed them sum bloodworms, either freeze dried, or live. that mite help 2 perk them up! if ur gona feed them live 1s, it mite attract their attention, as they will be swimming all ova the tank, just waitin to be followed and eaten by a fish!

hope this helps! and hope that he gets better soon! not nice to have a poorly lil fishie! :*
 
i may be wrong on the salt but i do know that they have to have snails in order to survive it is a must for thier teeth. They are someone use to be on this forum called pufferback who could sure help you out with them I would suggest you go to the member scetion and find him and pm him he sure knows is stuff when it comes to puffers. I was told at the lfs that puffers were a brackish fish I bet I will look it up know to find out.
 
Phantom Thief said:
fish keeper sharks and mollies said:
do you have snails in your tank if you dont you need to get some they need to eat snails to keep thier teeth grinded down so they can eat if they dont get the snails thier teeth will grow together and they will starve to death. Also puffers require salt to. They are a brackish fish sorta like mollies.
WAIT!!

DO NOT PUT SALT IN. Dwarf Puffers are 100% freshwater. Any salt will cause its condition to deteriorate.

P.T.
here is some info that I pulled off from the web about the spotted puffer I knew that they required the salt
any info on these awesome fish?


Taken from a section on The Krib site. They are awesome, but.....

pH : Above 7.4 is ideal. High is good.
Temp: 78-82 preferred
Salinity: Brackish (tbs per gallon). Can live in fresh but should not adjusted to full marine. They do not do nearly as well in fres as in brackish
Terrain: Prefer a low level of water with lots of room. An ideal tank is a 40 long with lots of cave like structures, fine substrate, perhaps a sandy area for swimming and viewing.
Food : Live is preferred. Frozen brine shrimp or blood worms are suitable. Most puffers will accept freeze dried bloodworms or the like. In the wild they eat crustaceans and snails. Supplementing the puffers with snails or live ghost shrimp is a very good idea. Their teeth are developed for chewing threw snail shell, and their are reports of people having to trim the teeth of their puffers which are not fed hard foods.
Size: 4-7 inches. 5 is common in aquaria.
Disposition: The spotted puffers are able to be kept with other fish while young. This of course is limited to mates that can live in a saline environment. The problem is that when they've grown, they have a tendency to think of anything not a puffer as a food item. At just about any stage in their development if their tank mate is smaller than they are, they are most likely going to eat it. There are of course exceptions to all rules, but breaking this one yields an "I told you so." I've seen spotted puffers kept with Monos and Scats. The puffers were always quite small. Puffers will live with each other fairly well. However, keep in mind that at any moment they are able to take one another out. It is in their nature not to kill one another, but if they are fighting for food, or particularly cranky on that day, then you've lost a fish.
Finally, note that the temperament of puffers only worsens over time. Some will not tolerate anything else in the tank once they've gotten older.
 
most dwarf puffers won't touch flakes or pellets or betta food. nor will most touch freeze dried foods. they prefer frozen and live foods, such as tubifex worms, brine shrimp, mussels, ghost shrimp, mysis shrimp. and small snails, the kind that find their way into tanks via live plants, are a must as cracking open the shells helps the puffer to keep its beak filed down. most fish shops will give the nuisance snails for free. you cna put some in a separate tank and they will multiply shortly. my puffers will only eat food that is moving, they like to stalk it and attack it. so when i feed them frozen food (thawed using a little tank water of course) i dump it in the tank over top the airstone so it "moves" for them.

DWARF PUFFERS ARE FRESHWATER FISH!!!!!!!! DO NOT ADD SALT!!!!!!!!! THEY WILL NOT ACCLIMATE WELL TO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE GREEN SPOTTED PUFFERS AND FIGURE 8 PUFFERS ARE BRACKISH,AND NEED SALT, BUT NOT THE DWARF PUFFERS!!!!!!!!!
 
it may seem like they arent eating but they will be watchful mine wait a while before they eat.Frozen Blood Worms. they are the way to go.
 

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