in_a_days
Member
I have a 75 gallon tall tank that I had pretty well neglected for about a year (after my big lion died). It just had a couple damsels and they never seemed particularly stressed by the aforementioned neglect. But a couple months ago I committed to getting the tank cleaned up and restocked. I did some frequent and heavy water changes and added a little bit of new live rock and sand to re-seed the micro-fauna. After the nitrates stabilized under 20ppm I added two Ocellaris Clownfish that are loving the set up. A couple weeks later I added a Blue Spot Dwarf Puffer and within the last week I added a Spotband Butterfly (Chaetodon punctatofasciatus).
I removed the dominant damsel the day after introducing the dwarf puffer and all the fish seem to get along quite well. The clowns are well established and the butterfly fish was picking feather dusters out of the live rock the same day I brought him home. But I'm totally baffled about the dwarf puffer, as I am yet to actually see him eat in the tank. I've had him for about two and a half weeks now, and he actually looks fatter and healthier than when I bought him, but he doesn't respond to any of the foods I have introduced (except ghost shrimp, to which I've seen him react, but not actually follow through and chomp). I've tried frozen squid, half shell clams, krill, brine shrimp and bloodworms and he just doesn't care about any of it. I've put krill on an acrylic rod and he just swims away. I also have NEVER seen him take a nibble on the live rock (whereas the butterfly was hunting for worms and pods within hours). I'm just completely at a loss for how he's surviving when I never see him take food. I've also noticed he doesn't seem to have even a semi-aggressive temperament. Most puffer fish I have seen are fairly bold and inquisitive. Whereas this guy seems pretty shy and largely ignores any other fish that comes close. Nobody picks on him, and he definitely doesn't respond to anyone. Do I just have a really shy puffer? I have left half shell clams overnight to find them fairly shredded in the morning, but I don't want to make a habit of leaving food in the tank over night to decay. Can anyone relate to my puffer experience or offer any tips to help me get him onto prepared foods? I have probably 60 pounds of live rock in the tank, but I don't expect that will provide enough pods and worms to keep butterfly and puffer full forever, and I'd really feel better if I just actually saw him eat something with my own eyes.
I have another question. I have noticed that whenever the butterfly fish notices a ghost shrimp he will approach him and flutter his fins trying to entice the shrimp to hop on and clean. So I would really like to get a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp for him. How likely is my dwarf puffer to target a cleaner shrimp for a meal?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
I removed the dominant damsel the day after introducing the dwarf puffer and all the fish seem to get along quite well. The clowns are well established and the butterfly fish was picking feather dusters out of the live rock the same day I brought him home. But I'm totally baffled about the dwarf puffer, as I am yet to actually see him eat in the tank. I've had him for about two and a half weeks now, and he actually looks fatter and healthier than when I bought him, but he doesn't respond to any of the foods I have introduced (except ghost shrimp, to which I've seen him react, but not actually follow through and chomp). I've tried frozen squid, half shell clams, krill, brine shrimp and bloodworms and he just doesn't care about any of it. I've put krill on an acrylic rod and he just swims away. I also have NEVER seen him take a nibble on the live rock (whereas the butterfly was hunting for worms and pods within hours). I'm just completely at a loss for how he's surviving when I never see him take food. I've also noticed he doesn't seem to have even a semi-aggressive temperament. Most puffer fish I have seen are fairly bold and inquisitive. Whereas this guy seems pretty shy and largely ignores any other fish that comes close. Nobody picks on him, and he definitely doesn't respond to anyone. Do I just have a really shy puffer? I have left half shell clams overnight to find them fairly shredded in the morning, but I don't want to make a habit of leaving food in the tank over night to decay. Can anyone relate to my puffer experience or offer any tips to help me get him onto prepared foods? I have probably 60 pounds of live rock in the tank, but I don't expect that will provide enough pods and worms to keep butterfly and puffer full forever, and I'd really feel better if I just actually saw him eat something with my own eyes.
I have another question. I have noticed that whenever the butterfly fish notices a ghost shrimp he will approach him and flutter his fins trying to entice the shrimp to hop on and clean. So I would really like to get a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp for him. How likely is my dwarf puffer to target a cleaner shrimp for a meal?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
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