The Puffer Forum

I have been wondering if I over-feed my puffers :/, so can you have an overweight puffer? This may be a strange question, but do you diet them to get them fit and healthy again? I am fairly certain my puffers are overfed because they always have a rounded, bloated looking belly. I feed 3 of them (two of them are 3" and the last one is 2.5" and isn't as plump) one muscle cube, or one bloodworm cube, or one krill cube with one spirulina cube every night. I maybe forget a night here and there. I've had them for 6 years now, and they have always looked like this. Little blimps, or maybe mini green spotted orcas. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I have a GSP that will overeat, it gets stressed for a while then it poops, it's about two inches and eats a slice of shrimp a bit smaller than a tylenol once a day...although it ate a hermit crab the other week and was just fine. I think they have to eat a LOT to actually do damage to themselves but if you feed them properly the tank stays cleaner.

So Ive only had my hairy puffer about a week now and can see how easy it would be to overfeed. It would gorge itself in a sitting if I let it. He is a beggar and gets really active when he sees me. Just because he swims around and puts on the show does not mean I need to feed him.

Found a MASSIVE earthworm this afternoon. I swear it was almost a foot long stretched out.

Pig has dined like a king tonight.

Stratters wrote:Found a MASSIVE earthworm this afternoon. I swear it was almost a foot long stretched out.

Pig has dined like a king tonight.

That would have been an interesting feeding video!

It was like watching a hugely overweight and greedy Italian suck up the biggest bowl of spaghetti. He was ridiculously impressed with it

I put in a crab the other day and it was way too big but he still tried to take it on. I scooped it out and put in a smaller one and I was amazed at how he could just snap the little thing in half and eat it. Though the mental picture you gave of the giant worm made me laugh.

So I dont want to overfeed but I feel like my little guy wants to eat and is digesting everything I give him pretty quickly. Yesterday he got one small crab and an earthworm and seemed pretty content and sat most of the day digesting. This morning he is very active and 'hunting' for food so I gave him an earthworm. I have been using his activity level as a gauge for feeding. I dont feel like I overfeed in one setting and will space meals out so that he is getting multiple light feedings as opposed to one large feeding and then a fasting. Any thoughts from you puffer gurus?

I wouldn't feed a lurker more than every other day.

Pufferpunk wrote:I wouldn't feed a lurker more than every other day.

Even if his feedings are barely putting a bulge in his tummy?

Yep, every other day. In a month or so you will see him start to bulk up.

I think one meal would be 1 large earthworm, or one medium sized shrimp..roughly that a mount.

They will ask for more! Don't listen!

purplecandle wrote:Yep, every other day. In a month or so you will see him start to bulk up.

I think one meal would be 1 large earthworm, or one medium sized shrimp..roughly that a mount.

They will ask for more! Don't listen!

I have been using a pretty small earthworm and a small crab or a few small pieces of krill. Not very much in comparison to what you just described. Been shooting for a good variety of foods. But I will watch out not to overfeed.

Obesity is seriously life-shortening for puffers in captivity. Most of the GSPs that I see are obese. The old saying about "Pick a lean horse for a long race." does very definitely apply to puffers. You want a marathon runner, not a weight-lifter. Believe it or not, that is really hard to do. Feeding puffers is the hardest thing we do.

This has been his first week with me so I needed to get to know his feeding habits. Ive had a little time to watch his behavior now. He will act out and beg but it doesn't mean he really is in need of food. If fed when he still has food in him, he will only eat the soft foods. He will, nip and toy with the hard shelled crabs and eat only the soft part of a mussel or earthworms. So now I have a bit of an idea how his little mind and body work I can deal with him accordingly. It really is difficult not to want to feed him daily but I realize I will need to give him fasting days for sure.

Be sure to limit krill to the occasional treat, puffers get addicted to it and there are links to lockjaw. It's way too easy to overfeed puffers, they are great at convincing you they are poor starved critters