The Puffer Forum

bertie 83 wrote: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

I did not know that about the krill...

Just did a bunch of reading on the krill thing. Wow, did not realize so many had issues with it. I will feed it sparingly.

Huge +1 to Bertie's comment. Enlarge his comments, print it out and frame it to sit on top of your puffer tank. Obesity and monotonous diets are as dangerous for puffers as is bad water conditions. If you combine all three of those, or any two of the three, then the end is all but certain.

Thanks for the advice. With my 210g tank I actually use the pill boxes with the day of the week on them. I measure out the amount of food that the fish are fed daily. This has really helped me make sure the fish stay healthy and that I dont overfeed. I will give them a treat, something besides pellets, when Im home more on the weekends but it still is regulated. I have figured out my routine now with the puffer and he will not get overfed. Really appreciate the info from you guys!

I've got a fahaka that's about 7 inches long now. This guy can put away some food but we try to never get him to the point he has trouble swimming. He's in a tank with 2 palm sized gouramis & a 8 inch pleco. If we don't feed him twice a day he gets pissy & rips up all of the plants & sometimes will nip at his tank mates. He never trys to eat his tank mates though, just warning nips on the fins.

We've had to adjust his feeding schedule to smaller amounts twice a day. We've tried putting crayfish in there for him, we used to buy them 4 at a time, but the most recent time he ate all 4 of the crayfish & was stuffed to the point he couldn't swim & he just hid in his cave until he pooped. We now have to only get single crayfish or two.

This is such an important PSA and discussion for Puffer owners. Thanks for starting it, PP.

Speaking as a n00b in fish keeping, I didn't think about obesity and the importance of diet n enrichment in fish, just because. Yet, I am adamant about keeping my working GSDs lean and muscular, with a natural, varied diet, and a satisfying job. Same with my cats, parrots and horse.. so why shouldn't it extend to fish?

The hardest thing was skipping a day's feeding, just because they beg harder than a dog. Currently, they get frozen bloodworms, mysis shrimp and my tank-bred snails gut-loaded w/ carrots, kale, zukes, etc. I try to stimulate them w/ plants, driftwood, wee terra cotta, rocks, and snail-hunting. I need to move them from a 10 gall to a larger one. They use every inch of the tank.

Honestly, I didn't think it possible to love fish this much... I dream of a Puffer room someday, just a matter of softening my husband and getting a second, third job to feed this darn addiction! I did catch him watching my little dudes a couple of times.

/rambling

My dog would NEVER leave me alone if I skipped his dinner! He can tell time & paws at me exactly at 9am & 6pm, when his feedings are. Sometimes he tries to trick me into feeding him earlier...

Haha! Isn't it just amazing how they can tell time? It stumps me. Mine wld nose me, then sit in front of the kitchen, and just stare at me.

My older dog has tricked me into feeding her a second breakfast, that stinker. I didn't realize my husband fed her before he went out. She scored that day, but now we let other know if they've been fed. Fool me once, shame on her...

@PP: There is no doubt in my mind that JRT's can tell time. If food isn't delivered on time and CORRECTLY, there is hell to pay. I swear, if I don't follow the routine 100% of the time, he wont eat and the look I get is "Are you a moron? Why is this so hard for you?! You grab the food, put it in the bowl, and THEN get me fresh water. I don't want the water first. How many times to I have to tell you?!"

The only dog I've owned that made me consistently feel like I wasn't the one in charge. It's a constant battle of wills. It will be really hard for me to go back to another breed after him.

He also get's a treat before bed & refuses to go to bed without it. I'll always have a JRT, they're so much fun! Are you a member of the local club? Kalvin does all sorts of terrier sports & excels in them!

Not yet. We're taking him to a local kennel soon that does agility/racing training to see how he takes to it. I hope well. He needs it. I'm hoping it tames his "feral" side a bit. He was a farm dog escapee that had a stint on the streets. We have his behavior back to "normal" now and its time to get him involved in some fun stuff.

My two GSP's eat krill, half shells and blood worms. I have two GSP's and a Orange Saddleback in a 75 gallon tank. Funny though I find my really big GSP to be sifting sand and blowing it all over my decorations. When they say he is sifting for Pods, what are PODs? I also feed them every night, or once a day...is that bad?

Copepods

Copepods??????

I must admit, when I saw sand coming out near the fins I was alarmed, then saw it happening more often.

Do Copepods exist in my tank or do they appear after adding another fish? Does this make my GSP's sick?