[puffergirl]

I had two porcupine puffers in my 150 gallon tank. They have both been there for almost a year. A couple of weeks ago I found my little one dead, with the coral banded shark snacking on it. Now my big puffer won't eat. What do I do?? I have been feeding that tank bloodworms and shrimp. Help!!!

[reseter5]

wow!!!! my porcupine will eat whenever i give him food... he will eat 10 times a day is i fed it....... sad to hear one died.. they are really hardy... try rosey minnows... i feed them live to the puffer once in a while.. perhaps tho food you have been giving it have not wore down its teeth(beek).. mine loves snails.. brakes the shell and everything.. you can try that... cheap nassarius snails.. you can get them on ebay shipped to your door super cheap.. i am just lucky i live on the water and they are everywere here...good luck.. hope this helps

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

I've moved the post to the Forum handling fish health issues.

Sorry to hear of the troubles. There is little information to go on, from your post. What kinds of marine life do you have in the tank? What kind of system (equipment, circulation, DSB, etc.) are you using? What is being used as the biological filter?

Have you checked all water quality issues? Have you checked the source water for contaminants? What are you using for source water?

From the foods you feed, I can say the blood worms are the wrong food. If the only other food is shrimp, then the nutritional needs of the Puffers are not being met. :slap:

Puffers are very susceptible to liver diseases and conditions. Feeding Puffers foods not of the ocean is one way to inflict upon them fatty liver conditions. Like all marine fishes, Puffers should be fed foods from the sea. Lastly, the foods must be varied and contain vitamin and fat supplements.

Assuming there is no other stress from environment (tank mates, water quality, etc.) then it is likely a condition resulting from nutritional issues of deficiency and wrong foods.

To help get over a possible water quality matter, it is best to perform, immediately, a large water change. Can you do a 60%+ water change? If so, do that as soon as the water is ready.

The fish may come around to nibbling or eating again. If so, stick with the recommended foods from this post:
Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

Ask if you have more questions or need help. Good luck!

[puffergirl]

Thanks everyone. I was feeding the bloodworms to the tank because I have 2 tangs in there. I thought that was good for them. I also add flake food for them. I do have the coral banded shark too. Should he be eating what the puffer is eating?

[leebca]

Regarding the shark, you may have to discover what it normally eats in the wild and then provide that in the aquarium. The sharks I'm familiar with are carnivores that eat crustaceans, fish, etc. They will fair well on the Puffer diet, providing the diet is varied and from the sea, and you include fish now and then.

Flake and pellet food is okay for a three-in-21 feeding. Not a good staple diet. Offer frozen foods. Tangs in general begin young as omnivores and as they mature become herbivores. You don't mention the kind of Tangs in the tank, however Tangs in general need a lot of vegetable matter. Provide algae sheets of various colors and a herbivore diet to them, as mentioned in that reference.

[puffergirl]

I went and bought live whole clams, oysters, head-on shrimp, and frozen snails. i put 2 clams in the tank...they are still alive. I have put 3 snails in there...they seem to be gone. Would the puffer eat the shells too? I don't see them anymore.

[leebca]

Puffers like to crush things. In fact they need things to crush to help grind their teeth down. Even still, they will often need help at keeping their teeth ground down.

It should eat the snail by crushing it, though if offered shrimp, krill, etc. it will probably put snail at the end of its favorite food list. You should still see bits of shell, unless the fish pulverized it.