Puffer fish teeth never stop growing. This prevents their teeth from becoming worn out and useless after eating mollusks and crustaceans in the wild. In captivity, puffers run the risk of having their teeth grow to the point where they can no longer eat. Dentistry may be required as frequently as six months.
The Materials Necessary to Care for Puffer Teeth
You need to have two 1 quart containers that are either new or not had any soap used in them. You will also need a net, cuticle nippers, and clove oil. Although optional, Latex gloves are nice to have as well.
How to Trim Puffer Teeth
First, fill both containers with water from the fish tank. In one of these containers, place 2-3 drops of clove oil in the water. Stir the water a little to allow the oil to distribute evenly in the water. After you have caught the puffer, place him in the container with the clove oil. It is preferable to move the puffer under water, which can be done by catching the puffer in a cup. The puffer should lose consciousness and roll over after about a minute in the clove oil water. You can now remove the puffer from the water for the required dentistry work.
Use either a net or gloved hands to carefully move the puffer out of the water. You will use the cuticle nippers to gently snip the teeth down to a normal size. They should be short enough to allow the puffer to eat properly, but not so short that you cut into the plate that the teeth grow from.
After the puffer teeth have been trimmed, place him into the second container of water. The puffer should slowly regain consciousness and within a few minutes, be swimming normally again. Now it is safe to move the puffer back to his regular fish tank.
Preventing Puffer Dentistry
Providing a natural puffer diet will help to keep his teeth trimmed without the necessity of a tooth trimming. A hard shelled crunchy diet is best. Smaller puffers will enjoy a diet with small snails such as the Ramshorn and pond snail. You can breed these snails easily in a small 5 or 10 gallon tank. Other sources of hard crunchy food for small puffers include ghost shrimp, Mysis shrimp, mussels and clams.
For larger puffers, provide a diet of shrimp that still have the shells, crab legs, crawfish, and small crabs. A regular diet of these types of crunchy foods will help keep the puffer’s teeth at an appropriate length without the need for dentistry intervention. Even so, keep an eye on your puffer’s teeth, because if they become too long, he will slowly lose the ability to eat.
Performing required puffer dentistry will save him from likely death due to starvation. It can, however, be hard on the puffer’s system and a bit traumatic for the puffer to perform this tooth trimming. It is important to make sure your puffer is healthy before attempting to trim his teeth. If your puffer is weak or ill, he may not survive the procedure.
Information provided by Damien Wagaman, December 22, 2008.
