Is my fahaka puffer skinny?

[Jjiang00]

Hi, I recently got a fahaka puffer for my 120 gallon. He’s about 1.5 inches long and has been eating krill, but doesn’t eat until his belly is round like some puffers i’ve seen. Just wondering if this is skinny and if he has internal parasites? Also how often should I be feeding snails to file down their teeth? Im hesitant about snails because I dont want to introduce ips. Can I freeze them for a few days and then feed? Thanks.

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

does look a little skinny but not that bad as for parisites is its poop clear?

 

[dr exum]

nice puff! could try bloodworms too, not a good staple but you may get the full tummy effect your looking for

GL!

 

[Jjiang00]

nice puff! could try bloodworms too, not a good staple but you may get the full tummy effect your looking for

GL!

Yeah! He looks awesome. He’s been eating a lot more and I dont’ really mind how it looks just worried it may be parasites as I’ve heard puffers are more prone.

 

[Jjiang00]

does look a little skinny but not that bad as for parisites is its poop clear?

Hmm, I haven’t really seen him poop but I’ll look out for stringy white parasite poop. Can you tell from the belly? Is there another way to determine?

 

[Fat Homer]

Normally at that size unless they look really emancipated its not too much too worry...

i would try and find foods that are more filling for him to eat or even feed him a few small meals a day if necessary since they grow pretty fast when small...

 

[Jjiang00]

Normally at that size unless they look really emancipated its not too much too worry...

i would try and find foods that are more filling for him to eat or even feed him a few small meals a day if necessary since they grow pretty fast when small...

whew... glad to know its normal, now how do I quarantine snails and should I feed them every week to file them down? Thanks.

 

[Fat Homer]

as for snails, if possible best bet would be the setup a small tank around 5-10G and breed your own by starting off with a colony from the store...

Common pond snails are a good choice for a small puffer which you can probably get for free from your LFS and so are ramshorn snails...

just be sure to either add a cuttlefish bone in the snail tank or supplement their diet with enough calcium to allow their shells to develop properly... then its just a matter of making sure to quarantine the first lot for a few weeks to make sure they are as parasite free as possible and give them time to breed...

As for actual feeding schedule, once or twice a week should be fine and as you puffer gets older you can introduce other crunch foods to their diet such as crayfish, clams and mussels..

 

[Jjiang00]

as for snails, if possible best bet would be the setup a small tank around 5-10G and breed your own by starting off with a colony from the store...

Common pond snails are a good choice for a small puffer which you can probably get for free from your LFS and so are ramshorn snails...

just be sure to either add a cuttlefish bone in the snail tank or supplement their diet with enough calcium to allow their shells to develop properly... then its just a matter of making sure to quarantine the first lot for a few weeks to make sure they are as parasite free as possible and give them time to breed...

As for actual feeding schedule, once or twice a week should be fine and as you puffer gets older you can introduce other crunch foods to their diet such as crayfish, clams and mussels..

Thanks for the detailed response! And so lastly, I don’t need to deworm it preemptively right? It’s gonna be alone in a 120, and what’s the best way to get it to a monster size?

 

[Fat Homer]

Thanks for the detailed response! And so lastly, I don’t need to deworm it preemptively right? It’s gonna be alone in a 120, and what’s the best way to get it to a monster size?

That is always the million dollar question and can be tricky to answer...

From a purely personal standpoint i like to de-worm my puffers when i first get them if they aren’t from a trusted LFS or come from one that has a less than stellar reputation...

It also depends on whether the puffer in question was wild caught or bred in a facility somewhere...

However, with such a small puffer you have to be quite careful as they are already sensitive fish being scaleless, so while it may not be a bad idea, i would probably wait till he was a bit older (possibly 3”+) and more stabilized before doing so unless hes showing obvious signs of IP’s as the meds can be pretty harsh on them...

Hopefully that helps you decide...