Goldfish Girl Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 two of my three avocado puffers teeth have grown so long that they can no longer eat. :cry: does anyone know the correct way to file them down? i haven't managed to find anything on the internet yet. they are about two inches, maybe a little smaller. really skinny. i don't want these two to die because they aren't that easy to find and replace. only time i saw them in a store was when i bought them. also, does anyone know why this happened? i feed them and my fahaka puffer the same things (white shrimp) and the fahaka's teeth are fine. i know you can feed them snails to keep their teeth in check but right now they can't open their mouths enough to attempt to eat the snails. thanks. i guess its better i learned my lesson with these poor guys then the fahaka. wouldn't want to put my fingers anywhere near that mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Here are a couple links that I was able to find. Hope it helps. If your scared to do it yourself you could ytry taking them the vet to get it done. I believe there is a vet on the northside that is willing to work with pet fish(ask guppylove1985 about this, she took her fish). http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8 http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_2/cav...try/puffer2.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ask fatpuffer on here. I believe he has done this himself on his puffers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 okay. those articles were great. i don't want to euthenise my fish--seems scary. i am going to try and cut them off. hopfully they don't suck in too much air but i might try to do this underwater. i'll keep you guys posted. i feel sorry for the one who has to go first. ouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatpuffer Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Just be careful...put clove oil as needed. Start with the recommended dose from the pufferforum...be patient...they will go belly up. Use a cuticle cutter since they are sharper. I bought one from the dollar store and worked really well. Good luck Js P.S. If you are in doubt...place them back in the "clean" water and try again...took me two tries before i got it. Once they are belly up, they will not suck air. Do not try without clove oil...too dangerous for you and the puffer! Js Make sure you feed with other shelled foods such as mussels, clams, crayfish, etc. to your fahaka and avocado puffers. Fahaka will require a dremmel to trim their teeth when they get big. Partially open the shelled food and the puffer will do the rest. GOOD LUCK !!! Js Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 puffer update. i tried one with the clove oil, he kinda swam around for about 4 minutes (not normal swimming) , the website said they would be down within one. i freaked out and decided to put him into the container with no clove oil. after about 2 minutes in that, he started looking a little better so i decided, against advice, to clip the teeth without putting the fish out. worked okay, did suck in some air but i massaged the belly and held him upright and he spat it all out. on puffer #2 i did not use the clove oil. i just clipped them with him out of the water. almost got bit a few times but nothing major. only problem was the puffers kept biting down on the cuticle clippers. made it difficult not to cut off their mouths but i managed. whole process took about half an hour and i am going to go for round two tonight. still need a little bit of trimming. wanted to let them calm down. i didn't want to cut them too short but now i realized that i can use the one healthy puffer as a model. i guess i'm going to have to look forward to this every six months because A. modetus's teeth grow that fast. thanks for evryone's help. i am going to pick up a load of shell fish tomorrow for all my puffers. i sure don't want to do this to my fahaka. couldn't stand to loose her--or one of my fingers for that matter. another question though, last time i bought my puffer a clam she didn't want anything to do with it. is this because i have to open it? also, fahaka puffers can live is freshwater their whole lives right? or do they need salt water as they get older? thanks to all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Geez Bali, your pretty brave putting your fingers so close to a non-sedated puffer. Defiantely wouldn't recommend that with your fahaka, yikes! :shock: Glad it went ok :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midgetwaiter Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 All of those puffers are fresh water for thier entire lives. I didn't make a comment earlier as I have never had to trim a puffer's beak myself and if you give them the correct diet you never should have to either. I have found that regular mealworms you can buy from a pet store that sells them for reptiles will also help wear the beak down for fish like modestus. Clams and mussels will work well for your Fahaka. You may have to crack a few all the open at first so it gets the idea but after they get used to eating them you can toss them in as is and let it open them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 "I didn't make a comment earlier as I have never had to trim a puffer's beak myself and if you give them the correct diet you never should have to either" acctually midgetwaiter A. modestus's teeth are an extremely fast growing as far as puffers go. i read on serveral sites that they need trimming at least twice a year, no matter what you feed them. thanks for the other info. i'm glad about the freshwater fact. i'd been getting alittle of both on the internet, some saying that they were pure freshwater and others saying that i would have to move it. gotta love the internet. thats why you never just read one article. i think i am going to invest in a dremel tool for the fahaka. just in case. it'd be good to have one when she gets big. does anyone else keep this fish? what size of tank do you have her in? mine doesn't really do anything. just sits in her cave and looks around. that is not counting her nightly trying to break the glass session. mines about 8 inches from head to tail. going to cut some more teeth. this really makes me not want to be a dentist. suprisingly though, the teeth are really brittle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatpuffer Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 My modestus never needed trimming and just had some snails and shellfish. Had him for about 1.5 years and traded him. Js Actually none of my puffs ever needed trimming. The ones I trimmed were rescues. Some else surrendered them because they cannot eat due to excess beak growth. Js I find not using clove oil causes a lot more stress to the puff in my experience. I also did put more clove oil and took longer for the puff to go belly up. Once it was belly up, it was 10 seconds to trim and done...back to "clean" water. Js Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 yess i'd agree with you on that. it probably was very stressful but it was less stressful on me knowing that they were alive the whole time at least. they are zipping around the tank still. i'm going to force feed them mysis tomorrow or see if they'll take it themselves. i doubt it though. anyway, i'm going to get a population of ghost shrimp going soon. i tryed snails but they didn't seem to work for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatpuffer Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 That is what got me started in breeding crayfish. I now have enough blue crays to feed them and sell/.trade in...I know my puffs are spoiled...LOL! Js Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 i've thought about that before. the only thing is have you ever had a problem with them clamping onto the puffers? i've had a four inch one hanging off my hand before, not as bad as you would think. just for a puffer their skin is so delicate. or do you only feed babies? also what is the process involved in that, is it just kind of sit back and let them breed or any work involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midgetwaiter Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 "I didn't make a comment earlier as I have never had to trim a puffer's beak myself and if you give them the correct diet you never should have to either"acctually midgetwaiter A. modestus's teeth are an extremely fast growing as far as puffers go. i read on serveral sites that they need trimming at least twice a year, no matter what you feed them. I've been struggling with a way to say this that doesn't make me sound like a jerk but I gave up. I know the sites you are referring to and who wrote them, they're wrong. If you think about it the assertion is absurd, who runs around the wild trimming puffer beaks? Diet is a much better solution to this issue, if you take a proactive approach to this you will find you never need to trim teeth manually. Modestus are not very widely kept but many people have kept South American puffers (including me) for long periods without having to resort to manual dentistry and they are just as bad if not worse with the overgrowth problems. If you get a good growth out of your fahaka you will be looking at a tank in the 100 gal range, preferably something with 2 feet of width to it. A 4ft x 2 ft 120 is perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldfish Girl Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 "I didn't make a comment earlier as I have never had to trim a puffer's beak myself and if you give them the correct diet you never should have to either" acctually midgetwaiter A. modestus's teeth are an extremely fast growing as far as puffers go. i read on serveral sites that they need trimming at least twice a year, no matter what you feed them. I've been struggling with a way to say this that doesn't make me sound like a jerk but I gave up. I know the sites you are referring to and who wrote them, they're wrong. If you think about it the assertion is absurd, who runs around the wild trimming puffer beaks? Diet is a much better solution to this issue, if you take a proactive approach to this you will find you never need to trim teeth manually. Modestus are not very widely kept but many people have kept South American puffers (including me) for long periods without having to resort to manual dentistry and they are just as bad if not worse with the overgrowth problems. If you get a good growth out of your fahaka you will be looking at a tank in the 100 gal range, preferably something with 2 feet of width to it. A 4ft x 2 ft 120 is perfect. no one runs around in the wild trimming puffer beaks because they have acess to different foods in the wild. if i could provide them with an endless diet of snails i would. but that just isn't possible. no matter how fast you breed snails there is no way to keep up with them. unless you have 10 tanks devoted to snails, which is not happening in my fishroom. so i guess in the sites they are saying that if your not priveldged to own an infinate number of snails, you have to do it manually. "for long periods without having to resort to manual dentistry and they are just as bad if not worse with the overgrowth problems." don't really understand what you mean there. i was just wondering what size of tank for a younger fahaka. i'm aware about her adult size and tank needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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