# puffer fish that deosnt take snails....please help!



## Guest (Feb 28, 2005)

i have a 46 gallon saltwater reef and a a variety of fishes, including a northern puffer fish that caught while scuba diving in a beach in Rhode Island.
i know, what you puffer fanatics are probably thinking: 
theres no way he should be in a reef tank. 
thats what i thought too until we put him in there. he doesnt bother the corals at all, he doesnt even bother the other fish. he's either got a very interesting personality for a puffer fish or he hasnt grown into his mischevous side yet.

so now for my problem and another strange aspect to his personality.
he doesnt eat snails. at least not that i've seen. im not sure if his teeth are overgrown though. we've also had him for about a year and im not sure how long they would get in that time period if he wasnt keeping them nawed down.
i feed him frozen food and he's always the first to get it (he's a pig) so im not sure if the hardness of the frozen food is helping...
however, i have noticed that he goes to this one part of the glass and attacks it and bites it. at first i thought he saw his reflection and thought it was another puffer and was territorial about that. now im starting to wonder if maybe he's trying to keep his teeth from growing out too much. he's very peaceful (unusual but he has NEVER nipped the fins of another fish in that tank like most puffers do), however i have not seen how he acts with other northern puffer fish.

he's also very strange looking for a puffer. he has a slender body with a large head and very big (beautiful )eyes.


so lets recap on my questions:
1)how do i know if my puffers teeth are overgrown?
2)how long does it take for them to get overgrown if they are not being nawed down by eating snails?
3)is there any chance that they are being taken care of by him eating frozen food?
4)when he bites the glass, does this sound more like him being aggressive towards his reflection or that he is trying to naw down his teeth?


thanks in advance for the help


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2005)

here is a picture:
(this is NOT the pufferfish in my tank, this is just an example of the species)
http://launchpad.gmc.cc.ga.us/science/puffer.jpg


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2005)

can anyone help????  :?:


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

some interesting questions... though we should post this in the saltwater forum considering its dealing with saltwater fish!!! I really can't answer your questions... I'm not very familar with puffers, I would think after a few months he'd have to have some way of wearing down his teeth. 

Just wondering if you are planning on an upgrade in the future?


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## Mr Aquarium (Jan 18, 2005)

What could try, I do this with my GSP - Green Spotted Puffer.
Is when your going to feed him, "if you feeding or trying to use freshwater snails" like ramhorn types,
Try giving him the snail first, Jusr drop it in so he does see it,
I do this with mine after he tares a freeze dried Kril to bits, and when he see's it falling he goes after it.
I'm running low on snails so i only give mine a couple or so a week, But i seen one of the shells he had and it has some pretty good chunks out of it.


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