South American Puffers

[chishnfips]

Hi folks,

I am looking into getting either a group of dwarf puffers or a figure 8 puffer. I was reading up on the south american freshwater puffers and noticed one paragraph that mentioned they need a crunchy diet to keep their teeth in check as they grow quite fast. It also mention that you may even have to trim their teeth yourself!! I was wondering if anyone has ever kept these puffers and has actually had to trim their teeth.

I have visions of me holding the slippery wee chap and struggling with a peice of sandpaper thats all lol.

Mr Monks maybe this a question for you lol?


cheers chish

 

[nmonks]

Have trimmed SAP teeth many times. It's no big deal. Arguably, it's inevitable, and while I've found a mix of sandy substrate and Melanoides snails seems to reduce the intervals between "trims" down to maybe one or two per year, you still need to have the clove oil and cuticle clippers to hand. That said, when I switched my puffers from a sandy tank to a gravel one, I did find myself trimming their teeth more often, around once every three months.

I think the idea a crunchy diet removes the need to trim their teeth is largely spurious; I've yet to encounter anyone who has kept these puffers for their full lifespan of 5+ years and not had to trim their teeth. Whatever food they eat in the wild must be very abrasive, and it seems impossible to provide something similar in the aquarium.

I've written down my method for pufferfish dentistry on my web site, here.

Cheers, Neale

 

[chishnfips]

Hi Neale,

Thanks very much, good advice as always . Is it generally only SAP's that need tooth trimming. Are other puffers such as the Figure 8's less likely to need trimmed?

chish

 

[nmonks]

SAPs do seem exceptionally "bad" in this regard, as are the Chonerhinos/Auriglobus-type things. On the other hand, dwarf puffers and other Carinotetraodon spp. generally don't need any dental work, assuming at least occasional offerings of snails, crustaceans or whatever.

I've not personally kept figure-8s, but I have seen specimens with overgrown teeth, so my assumption is that they (and likely other omnivorous Tetraodon) may need dental work, at least periodically, if not quite so often as SAPs.

Cheers, Neale