Pea puffer teeth overgrown?

[mattk87]

My pea puffer, Peewee, has been getting skinnier and skinnier over the past few months.  She was happily eating ramshorns, small pest snails, and frozen blood worms.  I started going heavier on the blood worms to fatten her up when I noticed her belly sinking in.  I did the med trio when I got her two years ago.  I recently did two rounds of Paracleanse (with the break in between) just in case it was an internal parasite. Now the snails are building up a colony in her tank and she’s struggling with eating blood worms.  Her teeth do look bigger compared to other pictures I’ve found online.  Is it possible that they’ve overgrown and is there anything I can do to trim them down?  I tried feeding frozen baby brine shrimp and daphnia but I haven’t seen her eating them.  She will eat detritus worms but I don’t think that’s enough.  Has anyone had experience with this?  

[AllFishNoBrakes]

To the best of my knowledge, Pea Puffers don’t have teeth that continuously grow, and therefore need them constantly ground down. That’s one of the advantages to Pea Puffers over other puffers. 
 

Seems like an illness to me. Tagging @Colu as they are the resident disease and treatment expert. 

[Colu]

Am seeing conflicting information on whether you have to trim pea puffers teeth if they don't your more than likely dealing with wasting disease for that you would want to treat with levamisole active ingredient in expel p once a week for 4 weeks and black out the tank during treatment as levamisole a light sensitive medication am to tag @Odd Duck keeps pea puffer for a second opinion on wether you need to trim there teeth 

[Odd Duck]

Levamisole or fenbendazole are more likely to take out the species of internal parasites pea puffers are more likely to get.  ParaCleanse gets other species of worms that are possible but less likely.  Deworming with Expel-P (if you’re in the US) would be the first step I would recommend.

There are highly variable differences on expected age of pea puffers depending on the source you’re reading.  Some as low as 3-4 years, some as high as 6, some say even up to 12 years but I find this last extremely unlikely.  My oldest pea puffer was about 3 years old when she finally passed a few months ago.  My biggest was a solo male (see 6 G Buce link below) was HUGE for a pea puffer before he yeeted himself out of the tank when I took my eyes off for a second during a water change and I missed it completely.  He was around 2 years old as near as I can estimate from his size when I got him and he was at least double the mass of any of the other pea puffers I’ve had and I’ve had several including raising a dozen or so from eggs and raising multiple juveniles trying to form a solid shoal with the right sex ratios to keep the tanks within reasonable behavior expectations.

I mention all this because none of mine ever had teeth issues.  And your kiddo may just be showing signs of age and a potential internal issue that may not be parasites.  But it’s possible to treat for parasites and worth trying at least.

On 3/25/2024 at 12:04 PM, Colu said:

Am seeing conflicting information on whether you have to trim pea puffers teeth if they don't your more than likely dealing with wasting disease for that you would want to treat with levamisole active ingredient in expel p once a week for 4 weeks and black out the tank during treatment as levamisole a light sensitive medication am to tag @Odd Duck keeps pea puffer for a second opinion on wether you need to trim there teeth 

@Colu, I was nearly done with my reply when I saw you posted.  We’re both thinking along the same lines, for sure.

[Colu]

On 3/25/2024 at 5:20 PM, Odd Duck said:

, I was nearly done with my reply when I saw you posted.  We’re both thinking along the same lines, for sure.

Thought you would have some useful information about pea puffers 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

On 3/25/2024 at 11:20 AM, Odd Duck said:

I mention all this because none of mine ever had teeth issues.

Same. I’ve had mine for 2 or 3 years and have never had to trim their beaks.