Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Hello everyone, I just purchased a 2-3" fahaka puffer from an online retailer and he arrived on Thursday (7/1). He arrived quickly and acclimated just fine, but he is not in the best shape. he arrived with a "S" shaped bent spine and looks very thin to me. He is currently in a 40b QT tank that is seasoned. I have watched the couple of Cory's talks that are available online about puffers and am aware about their internal parasite issues. I dosed the QT tank with Prazipro, since that is what I have available and also have Metroplex (arriving today) which I plan on dosing his food with. I read on the puffer forum that really bad internal parasites can cause a bent spline. 1. Do you think that is the cause the bent spine or could it be something else? 2. Not sure how to dose his food when I haven't been able to get him to eat anything I put in the tank? I have tried to feed snails, cherry shrimp, blood worms, and brine shrimp but he doesnt seem interested (there are snails and shimp in the tank that I do see him try to hunt down from time to time, so I do believe he is getting some food). I reached out to the retailer that I purchased him from and they said they were feeding live California black worms and frozen hikari shrimp. 3. The couple times I have seen him try to get a snail, it seems like he cant get them in his mouth. He will bite at them a couple times then just leave them alone. Compared to the photos I have seen online of small fahakas, he seems to have an underbite? could this be an issue with his teeth since the retailer wasn't feeding hard foods or does he just look that way due to being thin? I attached the best photos I could get, he is not a fan of my phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Over grown teeth can be an issue with puffers if he not eating I would treat with levamisole it's a more powerful anti parasitic treatment for internal parasitic it's possible the weight loss and is caused by not being able to eat because of his teeth the curved spin could be a genetic deformity he some information on how care for your puffers over grown teeth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 @Coluthanks for the response, yeah i was hopping to not have to try to trim teeth being he has only been in my care for 2 days and im sure he is still stressed from being shipped. Also wouldnt the teeth be visible when they are too long? his mouth closed fully and I cannot see his teeth to tell. He just has an odd underbite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 I would monitor it if it's stoping him from eating you will have to trimm his teeth as he has an over bite he would probably still be able to close his mouth fully as the teeth aren't meeting properly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 @Colu he doesnt have an overbite, he has a underbite. His bottom jaw is sticking out farther than his top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) Read it wrong my mistake I would monitor that just in case its an issue you could try soaking his food in seachems garlic guard to help encourage his to eat Edited July 3, 2021 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 There’s an active puffer group on Facebook that might have some advice. Be prepared for some sanctimony, they have a very inflexible set of care rules and want all puffer keepers to follow them exactly. On the other hand there’s a few vets on there that will have good advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 @Patrick_G posted in one of the puffer facebook groups, they all have the common consensus that the bent spine is a birth defect 😢and that I should get a replacement and rehome this guy... downside is I would have to pay the $50 shipping cost on the replacement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 12:44 PM, Duke Silver said: @Patrick_G posted in one of the puffer facebook groups, they all have the common consensus that the bent spine is a birth defect 😢and that I should get a replacement and rehome this guy... downside is I would have to pay the $50 shipping cost on the replacement. I was afraid that would be the consensus. Sorry! It’s frustrating that they would ship a fish of this caliber with an obvious defect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) Could you try to feed bloodworms to see if you can get him to eat some? The little guy looks so skinny! Even with a bent spine, it may prove to be a cool little fish once you nourish him to health. 🙁 Edited July 3, 2021 by eatyourpeas Fixed typos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 9:29 AM, Duke Silver said: I have tried to feed snails, cherry shrimp, blood worms, and brine shrimp but he doesnt seem interested @eatyourpeasive tried he just spits them out. the retailer said they were feedling live california black worms. Although today after having Prozipro in his tank for 24hrs he seems to be a little more lively today and he is going after some snails in his tank 🤞 trying to get something he will eat so i can try and chunk him up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Silver Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 4:03 PM, Patrick_G said: I was afraid that would be the consensus. Sorry! It’s frustrating that they would ship a fish of this caliber with an obvious defect. yeah it is a shame, at this point I just hope the little guy pulls through and I can get him healthy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littecitygreen Posted May 24, 2022 Share Posted May 24, 2022 Any chance on naming the retailer so no one else experiences this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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