# Do dwarf puffers teeth keep growing ???



## Guest (Jul 15, 2010)

i have a dwarf puffer named fatty patty who is no longer fatty, just patty because she has lost weight and does not seem to be able to close her mouth ... she has been eating her worms normally but during the day i see her at the top of the water with her open mouth ... it is like her breathing is laboured ... she is a little over four years old and has been feed bloodworms daily, black worms monthly and snails weekly from the size of her eye to larger ones ... there are five puffers in a 30 gallon with 6 otos and 11 amano shrimp ... water parameters are ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrates less than 20 ... i don't know if she is just getting to the end of her life or if her teeth have grown too much so she can't close her mouth or what ??? any suggestions ???

patty is the one at the back, not those bothersome babies :O) if you watch full screen you can see her mouth is constantly open and breathing heavy ...


----------



## halonine (Jun 7, 2010)

From what I have read, dwarf puffers are one of the only puffers that don't have the issue with their 'beaks' constantly growing. I've had a couple now, the one that lasted the longest was only about 1.5-2 years old (picked on constantly till he died  ). I didn't feed them snails as much as I should have, but their beaks never seemed to really grow much....they had a few snails each about once a month or so.

As sad as it may be, I think it could just be getting close to the end of its life, as I think an average DP lifespan is anywhere from 3-5 years. Hopefully I'm wrong and the little girl is just fine 

Dwarf puffers are pretty awesome, I do miss having them 

Tyson.


----------

