Please help me

[heidi 1979]

I have a porcupine pufferfish ive had him for two years his diet is squid, sprat, lancefish, krill, brineshrimp and he loves garden peas I have an aqua 1 reef 200reef in it is a giant goby, a foxface rabbitfish and my puffer i got up yesterday morning and he was stuck on the overflow so i knocked him off but he kept going back to it and doing the same so i built the rocks up so he couldnt do it again and that solved that problem but then he spent all day banging into the walls of the tank as if he was drunk and he hasnt eaten since the night before this started happening i went and bought him oysters and fresh squid to see if he would eat them but he wont im stuck to know what is wrong i did a 10 gallon water change on the tank in case this was the problem but ive tested the water twice and theres no trace of anything but then i was thinking could it be the foxface thats annoying him theyve lived together for a year and always been friends his beak looks fine so im assuming its not that i am so worried as i love him like my dog it was love at first sight when i got him please can anyone help me im stuck

[metalhead]

Hello Heidi, how old was he when you got him? Those puffers have a life-span of about 5 years I think, maybe less. About the only other thing I can figure is maybe he was injured by a pump or the overflow somehow... I doubt any of his tank mates could have injured him seriously. Anyway, if I were you I would set up a small quarantine tank for him and observe his behavior closely over the next few days/weeks and hopefully see improvement. Best of luck!

[heidi 1979]

Thank you for that he was only a tiny baby when i adopted him he must have been 1 at the most he was diddy

[leebca]

Puffers have been known to go on hunger strikes now and then. Some have also suffered from blindness. Are you sure the fish can still see? Does it recognize you?

A 10 gallon water change doesn't 'solve a water quality problem.' You will need to perform a very large water change -- over 85% if you can. However, I don't see where clearly you've indicated the total volume of the system nor the size of your display tank. Since it will be a large water change, you should follow the guidelines here: How to Make a Successful Water Change

Sometimes a large water change can gently shock the fish into eating. If the fish was fed properly (and seems it was) and was given vitamin and fat supplements (don't see where that was done), then it can live without eating for a few weeks.

Do the very large water change and watch the fish closely for any signs of illness or disease.