What on earth happened to it?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

Sadly I lost my dogfaced puffer in a frak accident last week, and still don't want to talk about it. I won't be ever getting another but she was healthy and eating. It was just a sad thing.

I have done my best for Griff and I love that fish, but I don't think I can keep him anymore. I cannot argue with you that he did these things or not. You have far more experience for me to even question you about this. I do find it hard to believe that he did eat the nem since it was in a rock corral and impossible for him to get to the areas it was damaged. The clownfish laid a beating on him a couple of times for coming close and Griff backed off and pouted.

I think I will have to place Griff in a new home I am very sad to do this, and heck knows how hard I tried to make him work. It was my fault for buying him and trusting what I was told in the end. He has eaten everything small enough to fit into his mouth. He was the first fih I put into this sytem and he is my pet, but this last rash of events makes me know I can't have him.

People come over and see him swim right into my hand for belly and head rubs, and enjoy him so much. I am so broken hearted that I will have to let him go. I am sure he will be here for a very long time since I cannot think of a single person with a big tank and would want a nightmare. He is not goign to an LFS but will be up for sale or free to a good home.

I was offered a Golden Puffer and I already declined since I now know better. I feel like such a failure and this is all my fault for all the grief due to my lack of experience.

Thanks for the adivse and help with him Justin and for holding your tongue when I did stupid things. I appreciate it more then you think.

Very sorry to hear about the dogface

It doesn't sound like Griff ate the nem, your right. It was just the first thing I thought of.

So why exactly is he going? Your going to have a very hard time finding a new home for him I think. Is he going because he ate other fish?

[my2rotties]

You had me convinced he ate the nem since I have no idea of whom would have done this. The seahare thing blows my mind too since he has never had any interest in them. What other explanation could there be for the losses and deaths? Since you have experience I figured I should believe you since you are the puffer god. He has not had the appetite he usually has so perhaps you are right and I just don't want to believe it since he's my boy.

I don't think I could rehome him although it would make life so much easier in the long run. I would be such a jerk about what home he would go to as well, nobody would want to deal with me. All my fish are pets and I do care whom they go to and the life they get beyond me.

I wish I had another tank for him and just am on the fence about him. He has so much personality. Frank wants a nem and although he knew not to get one did anyways. Then I got the clown since they should be a pair... Frank built the system and my hands are tied with his impulse buys at times. I take losses in my tank seriously and this one has me baffled.

We both know Griff isn't going anywhere I love him too much. Plus who would want a fish that gets indigestion, eats snails and small fish and whatever else he could sample. All I know is something did this to the nem and I wish I could be sure of what happened here...

Originally Posted by GreenSpottedPuffer

Very sorry to hear about the dogface

It doesn't sound like Griff ate the nem, your right. It was just the first thing I thought of.

So why exactly is he going? Your going to have a very hard time finding a new home for him I think. Is he going because he ate other fish?

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I don't know...I just don't think its fair to give up a fish like this just because you have decided you would rather have anemones and inverts. People do it all the time though--which is why I wish people would really think about what they are stocking their tanks with and how its going to work long term.

Not singling you out by any means and I have done this too of course but its not fair to the animals. We KNOW puffers do not belong in a reef. They eat inverts, they eventually cause nitrates to rise over time, ect. ect. They are destructive PREDATORS.

I have kept many puffers in reefs in the past but I go into it knowing that the puffers come first and then the reef. When I stock the tank, I add corals and inverts that I hope will make it but in the end if they get eaten, I don't really mind because the tank is all about the puffers.

If you can't have this kind of an attitude about keeping puffers in a reef then they are best kept in a FO or FOWLR tank.

I think you just have to make a decision here...do you guys want a full blown reef or a large puffer? If you continue to try to do both, you are also going to have to get used to loses. Its just part of keeping a predator with its prey in a small box.

What do you think would happen if you kept a wolf in say a 5 acre pen with a couple deer? Even with heavy daily feedings, the wolf is very likely to kill the deer one day...

Originally Posted by my2rotties

You had me convinced he ate the nem since I have no idea of whom would have done this. The seahare thing blows my mind too since he has never had any interest in them. What other explanation could there be for the losses and deaths? Since you have experience I figured I should believe you since you are the puffer god. He has not had the appetite he usually has so perhaps you are right and I just don't want to believe it since he's my boy.

I don't think I could rehome him although it would make life so much easier in the long run. I would be such a jerk about what home he would go to as well, nobody would want to deal with me. All my fish are pets and I do care whom they go to and the life they get beyond me.

I wish I had another tank for him and just am on the fence about him. He has so much personality. Frank wants a nem and although he knew not to get one did anyways. Then I got the clown since they should be a pair... Frank built the system and my hands are tied with his impulse buys at times. I take losses in my tank seriously and this one has me baffled.

We both know Griff isn't going anywhere I love him too much. Plus who would want a fish that gets indigestion, eats snails and small fish and whatever else he could sample. All I know is something did this to the nem and I wish I could be sure of what happened here...

[fishytime]

Far to soon for a nem imho.

[my2rotties]

I fully agree but my husband buys what he wants and I am left to care for things we are not ready to have.My params are excellent as always and I am a stickler for testing and water changes. It may be too soon, but water quality is not an issue and therefore did not kill the nem. SOMETHING did some serious damage to it not water quality.

Aside of you saying it is far too soon for a nem, do you have any insight with your experience to help pinning down what happened to it? Say this happened two years down the road... what would your suggestion or insight happen to be? Saying it is too soon for a nem does not help since I essentially know that already.

I'm pretty certain many many people had no clue puffers might eat a nem. I still would have to see it wiht my own two eyes, and wonder if I have a hitch hiker in my tank that did this. Is there an other probability of what or who could have done this aside of the obvious. Instead of saying it's too soon or the puffer, how about we try to look at other options since I feel neither of the aforementioned is the culprit.

Originally Posted by fishytime

Far to soon for a nem imho.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

I fully agree but my husband buys what he wants and I am left to care for things we are not ready to have.My params are excellent as always and I am a stickler for testing and water changes. It may be too soon, but water quality is not an issue and therefore did not kill the nem. SOMETHING did some serious damage to it not water quality.

Aside of you saying it is far too soon for a nem, do you have any insight with your experience to help pinning down what happened to it? Say this happened two years down the road... what would your suggestion or insight happen to be? Saying it is too soon for a nem does not help since I essentially know that already.

I'm pretty certain many many people had no clue puffers might eat a nem. I still would have to see it wiht my own two eyes, and wonder if I have a hitch hiker in my tank that did this. Is there an other probability of what or who could have done this aside of the obvious. Instead of saying it's too soon or the puffer, how about we try to look at other options since I feel neither of the aforementioned is the culprit.

Your husband needs to shop somewhere where they wont sell you something your tank isnt ready for. And for what its worth...chances are it was a bristle worm that found a dead spot from where the nem was removed and started in on the nem.

[BlueAbyss]

Originally Posted by fishytime

Your husband needs to shop somewhere where they wont sell you something your tank isnt ready for. And for what its worth...chances are it was a bristle worm that found a dead spot from where the nem was removed and started in on the nem.

+1 on the bristleworm or some other worm...

I was thinking about what you said my2rotties, about it looking like a bullet exit wound... I remember reading somewhere about a large worm that would come out at night, tear a chunk out of an anemone with some sort of hook appendages, and go back into hiding (it`s feeding time apparently over for the night) only to return the next night to feast again, until such time as the `nem was dead, then would move on to another `nem. Unfortunately, I only skimmed the article and it was a long time ago, so I can`t even begin to tell you where I read this or even what website it was on. Sorry I can`t be of more help

[my2rotties]

Haha, that's a whole different can of worms... My husband was told to bring the nem back if it was not doing well, but who has the time when things go badly. It was fine; actually awesome at bedtime, and the morning it was not so awesome anymore.

After it was home, I got mad at hubby and went and gave the guy at the LFS crap for selling it to him, since he knew we were not ready for it. The LFS KNEW we weren't ready for one, but hubby wants what he wants.

However if my hubby came in the store and insisted he buy it, what would you say? I just told him we weren't ready for one, and he came back with, "Well I was ready for one". Would you refuse to sell a client if they insist on the item? You know the client will just go else where and buy it.

The bristle worm makes sense and that gives insight to things. I just wonder how long that was going on for since I never touched the nem. It was doing exceptionally well until it wasn't.

Originally Posted by fishytime

Your husband needs to shop somewhere where they wont sell you something your tank isnt ready for. And for what its worth...chances are it was a bristle worm that found a dead spot from where the nem was removed and started in on the nem.

[my2rotties]

If a wolf is well fed with meat thrown to it, it would rather not expend any energy in killing prey if it is not hungry. Griff eats like a piglet and I could possibly see him nipping at something if I did not feed him for days. I still seriously do not think it was him and feel there is something else that did this.

Because I made a mistake in trusting an LFS for saying he is safe in my tank, I have had to set aside most everything I wanted to do with this tank. Although a nem is an invert, it never occurred to me he would even touch one. I can honestly say he has no interest in it and still feel he did not do it.

What other possibilities could there be aside of Griff doing it?

Yes I said I wanted to rehome him but never would. I have heard so many people tell me to get rid of the puffer, repeatedly... not going to happen. I had a super bad week with one disaster after the next with my system which had nothing to do with water quality or Griff eating anything. Just a myrad of freak accidents and disasters one after the next...

I was venting and you never saw Griff in the sales section of canreef... he is a keeper.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Originally Posted by my2rotties

If a wolf is well fed with meat thrown to it, it would rather not expend any energy in killing prey if it is not hungry. Griff eats like a piglet and I could possibly see him nipping at something if I did not feed him for days. I still seriously do not think it was him and feel there is something else that did this.

Because I made a mistake in trusting an LFS for saying he is safe in my tank, I have had to set aside most everything I wanted to do with this tank. Although a nem is an invert, it never occurred to me he would even touch one. I can honestly say he has no interest in it and still feel he did not do it.

What other possibilities could there be aside of Griff doing it?

Yes I said I wanted to rehome him but never would. I have heard so many people tell me to get rid of the puffer, repeatedly... not going to happen. I had a super bad week with one disaster after the next with my system which had nothing to do with water quality or Griff eating anything. Just a myrad of freak accidents and disasters one after the next...

I was venting and you never saw Griff in the sales section of canreef... he is a keeper.

I will agree to disagree about the wolf

A family friend used to be the head vet at the big zoo out here and had a "pet" cougar on his farm in a very, very large pen. He also had deer (part of his home business). As a kid, I used to play with the cougar until it got big and too dangerous to play with. It was still very, very tame and of course well fed. Actually kind of fat One day it escaped from its pen and guess what...killed several deer. Just ran around killing them. Didn't eat a single one. They do become "tame" but always have instincts.

I have had puffers that let shrimp live with them for up to a year and then suddenly kill them one day. Nothing to do with missing a feeding...just suddenly hunt them down.

There really is no point in arguing this as you know your fish better than I do but I am just saying its going to happen as the years go on with him.

I still don't think he killed this nem based on what you say but I just hope you are not expecting to add a bunch of them in the future.

I sense some disappointment when you talk about having to keep Griff which is really too bad since just a month ago you were very thrilled with him. You have a perfect sized tank for him to have a great life but just need to create a tank suitable to him.

Good luck.