fresh water puffer fish

Question
I've only had this fish for about two weeks. I bought this freshwater puffer fish. i noticed after a couple days that he wouldnt eat the flakes that my other fish ate. so im not sure if hes eating properly or what but i do feed them twice a day. i came home from work and noticed him acting weird. he starts spinning himself in circles as if he cant control it. then would float to the top. he seemed so weak that he let me touch him and didnt move. its like somethings off balance. previously i had a little gold fish in the same tank that i noticed floating to the top and staying to the top like it was hard to breathe. a day later he couldnt swim down and was upside down belly up floating at the top still alive. he did have a busted fin. but my puffer fish is doing circles and i dont want to lose another loved fish to whatever may be the problem. do you know what may be causing this and how i could fix it?
thanks
amber

Answer
Hi Amber;

Puffers are a fish that require a special diet of live baby fish, shrimp and/or worms. They also need to eat shellfish with the shell such as clams, in order to keep their teeth or "beaks" worn down. Their beaks grow their entire lives and if they grow too long from lack of wear they can't eat at all anymore and the beaks must be manually clipped.

It doesn't sound good for him at this point though. Once a fish becomes unresponsive and lethargic there really isn't anything you can do. I wish I could help but I really think it's too late. Without knowing anything at all about your tank size, filtration, water temperature, what your other fish are, the ammonia, nitrite, pH, etc, I really can't help much anyway.

Some types of puffers require salt in their water too. Not a "saltwater tank", just a small quantity of salt per gallon, usually 1/2 to 3 teaspoons. It depends on what kind he is and what he is used to already so you need to find out. Use "aquarium salt" for freshwater tanks from the fish store. If the tank you purchased him from had any salt added to it, he may be dying from something called "osmotic shock". This means his body is not used to the lack of salt in your tank. You really need to know how much, if any, salt he is used to and what kind of puffer he is to know what his needs are.

Puffers should not be in community tanks at all. Puffers should be in a tank with Puffers only, or other brackish semi-aggressive or aggressive fish. Puffers, when they are healthy, can be aggressive and are often fin nippers. They are very cute, but they have very strong teeth and they will literally take chunks out of your other fish. It depends on what type you have as to his aggression level. Here is a good web site to look through and see what kind you have so you can properly care for one;

http://puffernet.tripod.com/main.html

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins