sick puffer

chicksdigrico

New member
I have had a puffer for a few years and for the last 2 weeks I haven't been able to feed it at all. During the day it will stay at the bottom and not move, then at night it becomes lively, puffing up from time to time. At first I thought something could be wrong with the water or live rock I had in the tank, however I switched tanks and balanced everything with the water. It has been a little over a week since I moved my puffer and still it will not eat.
 
I've known puffers to go several weeks without eating and then, suddenly start.

I don't keep puffers, so I can't directly help you. However, some tricks include a massive water change once or twice a day for a few days. This kind of 'shocks' the fish.

It's not clear just what you mean when you wrote about 'switching tanks.' Want to go into that in greater detail?

For more help, you will need to tell us exactly the kind of puffer you have.

Additional information you could provide includes:

What kind of system do you have (tank volume, dimensions, bio-filtration method, the equipment you use, any carbon or other chemical filtration, kind of substrate, etc.).
List all specimens & sizes in the tank (fish, inverts, corals, clams, snails, crabs, shrimp, etc.).
If you have a refugium and/or sump, what is living in it?
Foods it was eating and feeding schedules.
Do you use any vitamins? Fat additives? Any elemental or other additives? Please list all.
Chemistries ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ please give actual numbers (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate, Silica, Ca, Alk., and any others you have)
Water parameters ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å“ please give actual numbers (pH and your pH range, salinity or sp. gr. & range, temperature range)
Do you see any of the following in your system: hair algae; micro algae; cyanobacteria growths; dinoflagellate (zooxanthellae) growths; brown algae; diatom growth; slimes; colored patches on rock or substrate; etc.?
Water changes (how much and how often). Kind of artificial salt youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢re using. Kind of source water you are using? Have you analyzed your source water for the above chemistries? When did you do these tests last? What is the TDS of your source water?
List what you added or taken out of your aquarium system (living, decorations, and equipment) during the past 6 weeks.
Maintenance schedule. What have you done lately?
 
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