cassharper;2473591; said:
very true. My GSP eats like a champ. Teeth are never a worry. I have no problem keeping those babies down.
clove oil...?
- Thread starter devder1
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very true. My GSP eats like a champ. Teeth are never a worry. I have no problem keeping those babies down.
is this a freshwater puffer? i know in salt tanks i have seen puffers just grab a hold of live rock and just chew it off and that keeps the teeth down-along with mussels, snails, clams and other crustaceans and shelled animals.
navygirl76;2476020; said:
Brazilians are freshwater/light brackish puffers.
Here's a more detailed description on the teeth clipping if anyone's interested.
http://www.**************.com/forum/library/hospital/dentistry/
Her's a bit of it
As a community, we are learning clove oil may not be a safe choice to use repeatedly for sedating puffers. Since our SAPs will probably need their teeth worked on every 4-6 months, it is not advised to use clove oil for repetitive usage. It stops the fish from breathing, cuts off O2 to the brain & can possibly cause eventual brain damage. Some members are finding their puffers wake up from clove oil induced sedation slower and slower each time, and sometimes do not wake up at all after repeated sedations over their lifetime, or display erratic and uncoordinated behavior, indicative of brain damage.
Another risk of clove oil is the way it clings to porous surfaces. Many puffer owners set aside a specific container to use for sedating fish with clove oil, due to the strong scent it leaves behind, no matter how much you wash and rinse the container. This is dangerous, as there still may be a significant amount of the oil remaining in the pores of the container, and next time you use it, your fish may be subjected to a larger dose than you intend. To avoid this risk, only use glass containers that are washed until no trace of clove smell lingers, and rinsed thoroughly, or if you prefer, dispose of the container holding the clove oil solution when you are finished with the procedure, never reusing it.
Clove oil is ok to use in an emergency, but if you plan on keeping your puffer for a long time (as we all wish to do!), please purchase tricaine methanesulfonate (also referred to as MS222) to tranquilize your fish. MS222 can sometimes be found under the brand names Tranquil or Finquil, with Finquil being available for purchase at the time of this writing at: http://www.drsfostersmith.com (see the sticky in the General Discussion forum on rebates).
Please follow the manufacturer’s safety and application instructions when using MS222. Often, puffers are more sensitive to medications and chemicals than other fish, so start with the lowest recommended dosage until you know how your puffer reacts. As with clove oil, return your fish to clean, unmedicated water as soon as possible to begin the recovery/wake up process. In general, the trimming instructions stay the same when using MS222 instead of clove oil.
I'm blown away first of all. I really thought that tooth thing was a joke at first. Anyway, do you guys think it could be done without sedating the fish? It seems like you could slowly lower the temp in the tank then grab the fish hold it underwater, clip fast and be done... then raise the temp again and the fish shouldn't be too stressed right?
Well I haven't had this issue yet, and hoping that I dont. But as my Fahaka grows we will see. The only one we havea problem with is mmy buddys that had a run in with a crustacian that nips its lip. It now has some scar tissue built up and seems like it limits his ability to open his mouth too much.
Have you ever tried to hold an unsedated fish and just look at it let alone trim teeth...dominicolas;2477544; said:
dominicolas;2477544; said:
Yeah, it's a little iffy. Trying it that way would stress out the fish quite alot.
Plus, it's puffers. They are one fish that dont do well when it comes to stress.
And "clip fast and be done" is not a good idea. That's a good way to either clip
the puffers lips off or have him suck in bookoo air.
Camshaft Ramrod;2477581; said:
Yeah, I guess I can't really even imagine what the inside of a puffers mouth looks like, so your the expert here. What you have to consider though is whether or not stress is worse than brain damage.
