Spiny Box puffer wont eat

[BrianOKC]

I've had him for about 5 days , very active but i can't seem to get him to eat anything. I've tried shrimp , squid , some of the brine and mysis shrimp i feed other fish and theres a few snails in his tank he doesn't even look at them. Water parameters seem to be reading fine 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and like 5-10 nitrates. Anyone have any ideas to get this little guy to realize its food? I know this isn't the exact place for puffer questions but I'm sure someone might have an idea.

 

[Korndog]

How big is he? Have you tried live feeder fish? I remember my puffer took a few feedings of live food before he would eat frozen. You might swing down to petsmart and get some "swimming encouragement".

 

[BrianOKC]

he's prolly 3 inches long and the feeder fish might work but that kinda scares me if he gets into eating fish he might decide the clown fish is on the menu and from what i read and know about puffers , fish is on the very bottom of there diet. They mainly will eat inverts in the wild from what i understand.

 

[captbunzo]

Maybe some ghost shrimp?

 

[Korndog]

You are right, they prefer inverts and need hard surfaces to chomp on in order to file their beak down.

You might try going to Wal-Mart and getting some larger freshwater ghost shrimp. The key is to get him to eat, period. You can worry about weaning him onto frozen once you establish an appetite for live foods.

 

[Youngsilver]

Gonna have a MESS on your hands if he dies

<a href=http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=474&cid=3790&search=>Taken from aquariumfish.com </a>
Not only do these fish rely on armor plating to deter would-be predators, they also have a chemical defense. This consists of a potent toxin, known as ostracitoxin, which they exude in their slime when they are stressed. When secreted into the aquarium water, this toxin can kill other reef fishes at concentrations as low as 10 parts per million, and the secretions of a single adult boxfish can contain as much as 50 to 100 milligrams of crude toxin (Thomson 1964)! Although they are less susceptible to ostracitoxin, boxfishes are often killed by their own secretions in a closed system. A boxfish could kill every fish in a medium-size aquarium within 10 minutes.

 

[scott0615]

Although the article from aquariumfish.com is true - in 20 years I have never spoken to someone that reports this happening. Same is true with SeaApples and Cucumbers. Try krill, handfed in front of his mouth. Use something other than your hand - may freak him out. The odor of krill should make him go at it!

 

[VCoo71]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7860175#post7860175 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Youngsilver
Gonna have a MESS on your hands if he dies

he is talking about a spiny box puffer....not a boxfish

i would agree with scott and try the krill or frozen silversides

charlie

 

[Youngsilver]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7861034#post7861034 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by VCoo71
he is talking about a spiny box puffer....not a boxfish

i would agree with scott and try the krill or frozen silversides

charlie

my bad, false alarm