Green spotted puffer suddenly stopped eating

[Bluby_madness]

I've had a green spotted puffer for nearly a month and a half of which I purchased at walmart. It was just recently about 2 weeks ago that he refused to continue eating. I feed him worms and tried feeding him baby snails, but a tramatic accident with the snail made him stop taking interest toward them. The snail got caught on his upper jaw, (how? I dont know!!!) I had to physically remove it with as little stress as possible which wasnt so hard. But now Im worried that he fear's any food that I put in the tank for him. He's growing weak with hunger, And im not quiet sure what to do. He somtimes just sits at the bottom and can barely flutter his little fins hard enough to lay on top of his favorite log. At first I thought it was the water so I changed it for the second time in a week. But he just became agitated. I keep attempting to feed him and he see's the food, and might even seem like he wants to peck at it but then goes back to swimming around the tank and completely ignoring it. Im worried, because I wont get any money until monday, and have no chance of getting any other optional foods. Any advice or maybe a conclusion to his behavior?

I do realize he needs snails to trim his beak, anything else I could use that would invoke a little less fear? (lol)

[nemmy]

Try some small river shrimp as they also munch on these.You should have also been feeding him something that was more of a challenge such as small cockles whole in the shell to trim the teeth.Sounds like his have grown abit long.
Also keep the sg low at about 1.020 as this is a puffer that moves between salt and brackish waters in search of food.Constant high sg levels really cause this fishes internal systems to work overtime.

[quader94]

welcome to TRT!

hows he doing now?

[birchfieldd]

It says that these fish grow to about 6 inches, but I've seen some on YouTube and other places that are definitely bigger than 6 inches, does anyone really know how big they get? I've had success with plecostamus in with my puffer so far. He is definitely in brackish water, seems to be absolutely thriving, in fact, he's doubled in size since I brought him home. We picked the liveliest in the Walmart tank (as if that is possible), he has a bright iridescent diamond on top of his head, I have not noticed any belly color turning which I read is a sign he could be in stress if it does change color. We're giving him freeze dried shrimp, which he loves, I've been acquiring periwinkles for free from Petsmart, they had too many, gave him some seashells so he can gnaw on them, even though there's nothing in them. He doesn't seem to know that and picks them up and scratches at them, so I think they will keep his beak in check. He managed to kill my mystery snails within a matter of hours. I tried something new today, we'll see how he does with them, I picked up 2 blue leg hermit crabs, I figured the shells are thick enough he can't get through to them and they hide when anything touches them, so far, we're good.

My question is, should I leave him brackish or should I transition completely to salt? I've seen on many places on the web that it is suggested to eventually turn completely salt. I am thinking of getting some mussels for him in the local supermarket and trying those as well. They say live mussels and also have live clams, I'm sure he will love them. I'll post when I attempt it. So far, what I am finding that works most for him is to treat him like he's a member of the family, he gets fed when he looks hungry, we move things around so he has variety, we put his aquarium next to our bird cages, he seems to get a kick out of watching the birds, though I think he's wanting them to jump in the water and mmmmm...tastes like chicken is on his mind. My husband even gave him a bit of raw salmon when he was grilling some for himself, he loved that, too. He always greets us at the tank side for a new treat. I'll post pictures when I get them.

[birchfieldd]

It says that these fish grow to about 6 inches, but I've seen some on YouTube and other places that are definitely bigger than 6 inches, does anyone really know how big they get? I've had success with plecostamus in with my puffer so far. He is definitely in brackish water, seems to be absolutely thriving, in fact, he's doubled in size since I brought him home. We picked the liveliest in the Walmart tank (as if that is possible), he has a bright iridescent diamond on top of his head, I have not noticed any belly color turning which I read is a sign he could be in stress if it does change color. We're giving him freeze dried shrimp, which he loves, I've been acquiring periwinkles for free from Petsmart, they had too many, gave him some seashells so he can gnaw on them, even though there's nothing in them. He doesn't seem to know that and picks them up and scratches at them, so I think they will keep his beak in check. He managed to kill my mystery snails within a matter of hours. I tried something new today, we'll see how he does with them, I picked up 2 blue leg hermit crabs, I figured the shells are thick enough he can't get through to them and they hide when anything touches them, so far, we're good.

My question is, should I leave him brackish or should I transition completely to salt? I've seen on many places on the web that it is suggested to eventually turn completely salt. I am thinking of getting some mussels for him in the local supermarket and trying those as well. They say live mussels and also have live clams, I'm sure he will love them. I'll post when I attempt it. So far, what I am finding that works most for him is to treat him like he's a member of the family, he gets fed when he looks hungry, we move things around so he has variety, we put his aquarium next to our bird cages, he seems to get a kick out of watching the birds, though I think he's wanting them to jump in the water and mmmmm...tastes like chicken is on his mind. My husband even gave him a bit of raw salmon when he was grilling some for himself, he loved that, too. He always greets us at the tank side for a new treat. I'll post pictures when I get them.