Help My dwarf puffer PLEASE

[twinsmom]

PLEASE HELP! I got my puffer about three weeks ago from PetSmart! He was fine for about a week. Then I noticed he stopped swimming as much, he sat on the bottom of my tank or stayed on the leaves of my plants. I did some research and found out that PetSmart is notorious for not taking proper care of these fish. I also found out they sold me the wrong food, they gave me flakes and they don't eat flakes at all. I put him in a breeding trap by himself with the correct food and he seemed fine. A few days later he stopped swimming all together. He had shrunk so small. All he is is a head with a sucked in body and a tiny tail. He is in the breeding trap again. He wont eat wont swim wont do anything. I swore he was dead about fifteen times, so I went to take him out and he would swim a tiny bit and then fall. I have treid to get him help! Nobody seems to know at any pet shop what I can do! I love my little guy! My daughters and my neice love him so much. What can I do?

 

[Bloo]

Oh dear - sounds like he's been starving poor chap Here is a great website about them
This gives you more information about feeding and care requirements. I really can't help in an emergency situation - you are best off putting this post in the "Oddballs" section right now, as those guys are more likely to look there.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Ok lets calm down a little , need some more info first;
a. is the tank he is in new and if so, how long did you wait before adding fish and how many?
b. Have you ever tested for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia and if so, what are the recent stats?
c. Are there any other fish in his tank and if so, what and how many?
d. What size tank is he in/how many gallons does it hold?
e. What are you feeding him exactly at the mo?

 

[twinsmom]

It is about a month old, and we waited two days to put in fish, the tank hasn't been tested in a week maybe more, there are a few other fish, a male and female guppy a dwarf gouramie a creamsicle molly and an algae sucker. It is a 35 gallon tank, and I am trying frozen bloodworms and frozen brine shrimp

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The brineshrimp and bloodworms are a good start, here's a good link about dwarf puffers and their needs;

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile93.html

You should not have any other fish with your puffer and there are very few that can survive with them; i would try to get your tank tested for ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte and post us the stats as this could be a cause to his ill behavior if there's somthing amiss in the water stats.
I would also find out what algae sucker you have because if it is a chinese algae eater that is bad news too as they grow very terotorial and vicious with age, on the onther hand it could be a plec in which case many grow very big;
heres a pic of a commonly sold plec

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/loric...erygop/88_f.php

and a CAE(Chinese algae eater);

http/www.centralpets.com/critterpages/fi...h/FWF4474.shtml

 

[twinsmom]

HE DIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Flashfire]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Opcn]

In the future you need to be sure they are eating before you bring em home, Also, was the tank properly cycled before hand?

 

[twinsmom]

Thanks everyone! The tank was cycling for a while, but the people at Petsmart didn't tell me much! They checked all my levels before I bought fish, they said I could add as many fish as I wanted,but when it came to the puffer, they told me he was not aggressive at all, he could be kept in a community tank and all he needed to eat was flakes. He was swimming ok in their tank. It was my first tank, and I expected the salespeople to know what they were talking about! Stupid me Needless to say, I will never shop there again. Is there anything else I should know before I buy another fish?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Sorry for your loss
Hope you have better luck in the future though, here's some tips/pointers i can give you when looking for new fish that i can think of at the top of my head which come to mind, "ahem";
a. How big does it grow? will it become to big for your tank when full-grown?
b. Is it a community fish or terotorial? is it nippy/agressive or placid? what fish does it not get along with?
c. What does it eat? is it vegetarian or meat eating? does it eat both- does it need its diet substituted with extra foods?
e. what ph/water hardness does it prefer?
f. Is it "hardy" or a fragile fish(i.e platys are hardy fish while neons are fragile)?
g. Furniture- does it need a cave to sleep in during the day and does it need any particular strength lighting etc? are plants not advised in the tank?
h. breeding- is this fish likely to reproduce on a regular basis and if so, do you have the space for fry?

Hope these pointers help you when getting a new fish, but i cannot say how important doing your own research is; i hear storys everyday on how lfs's trick people into buying highly unsuitable fish for their tanks so doing your own research before you buy a fish is very important

 

[twinsmom]

Thanks Tokis-Phoenix, and everybody for your help. I will absolutely do research on any fish I am going to buy. Those are really great and helpful questions everyone should read before buying fish! I am sure there are alot of people who don't even think of these things! I know I didn't!