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krullshards
06/08/2016, 08:25 AM
Hello all,

So, Pokey the Porcupine Pufferfish, is currently in day 3 of TTM. I'm not even sure that porcupine puffers can get ich, but my searches did indicate the puffers can and do get ich so I decided on TTM.

Now, I also, as a matter of established quarantine protocol, formalin dipped him on arrival from the LFS. Pokey was unhappy. In fact, he puffed up. This might have been due to being tickled by the bubbles from the airstone however as I observed this happening in the TTM tank as well.

Anyway, seeing how unhappy he was in the formalin dip, I cut the dip short and moved him to the TTM tank. He was only dipped for about 8 minutes.

Pokey is about 4" long so I am wondering if the dip tank was too small and contributed to his stress. It's just a 1 gallon tank that I usually use to dip fish. Do you guys think that I should try again in a 3 to five gallon bucket?

The next issue is, I have him in a 10 gallon tank half full of water. I added prazi on day 1 as well. Since we are in day three, he is due to be transferred this evening to a new tank. The thing is, he hasn't been eating that I can tell. I've tried frozen krill (although the cube preparation that I got makes it a messy affair that isn't recognizable as krill), clam on the half shell, and canadian mysis but have struck out.

The question I have is, could his not eating be because he is unhappy being in 5 gallons of water in a 10 gallon tank? If you guys think that is the problem, the options might be: 20 gallon tank that is half full, 10 gallon tank that is completely full, or 20 gallon tank that is completely full. I could possibly go to 29 gallons as well, but prefer not to. I want to use the least water that I can for TTM and then I can put him into observation in a bigger tank. I also wonder if he just needs to get acclimated to his new environment. He definitely looks bored, but what can ya do?

Should I try different food? Squid maybe? I plan on running out to buy some live ghost shrimp to see if that gets him excited.

As always, any help is appreciated!

scooter31707
06/08/2016, 01:13 PM
Go to your local supermarket and get some fresh clam and see if that works. Works good for me with fincky Angels and Butterflies.

krullshards
06/08/2016, 02:36 PM
Will do. Thanks for the recommendation!

kmbyrnes
06/10/2016, 06:06 PM
GL with the new fish.
+1 on grocery store clams.

krullshards
06/11/2016, 09:31 AM
Thanks! He ate some live ghost shrimp and then segued into eating frozen canadian mysis. So, things are looking up!

microlady
06/11/2016, 11:03 AM
Yay! I love puffers.

krullshards
06/16/2016, 10:08 PM
He's doing great now. Eating clams and shrimp.. Good stuff.

scooter31707
06/17/2016, 11:56 AM
Congrads, I usually give them until the 1st transfer before I start wigging out about them not eating. Usually takes fish a little while to get use to their new environment.