Overfeeding Puffers
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
Overfeeding Puffers
Overfeeding Puffers
Puffers - actually fish in general, especially hunter predators - do not eat constantly in the wild. They have to work for their food, spending much time and energy in the search for edibles. Then they spend time lazing and digesting, then restart the search. There are no or very few feedback loops on fish appetites - they will continue eating even while excreting largely to completely undigested food. Lacking the ribs and bony framework most fish have, there is even less restriction on the amount of food ingested than there is for other fish. Daily or more frequent feeding of predators in captivity is perhaps the major cause of tank pollution and liver and kidney problems (all shortening life) in captive fish. Other than feeding completely unsuitable foods, it is very hard to starve a fish, but it all too easy to kill them with kindness. Young puffers especially will eat until they are unable to swim, look almost puffed up, and are rolled around by the current - very bad practice. Just as with people, "a lean horse for a long race" does apply. Your fish will be healthier and live out their full span if they are not overfed.
~RTR
Puffers - actually fish in general, especially hunter predators - do not eat constantly in the wild. They have to work for their food, spending much time and energy in the search for edibles. Then they spend time lazing and digesting, then restart the search. There are no or very few feedback loops on fish appetites - they will continue eating even while excreting largely to completely undigested food. Lacking the ribs and bony framework most fish have, there is even less restriction on the amount of food ingested than there is for other fish. Daily or more frequent feeding of predators in captivity is perhaps the major cause of tank pollution and liver and kidney problems (all shortening life) in captive fish. Other than feeding completely unsuitable foods, it is very hard to starve a fish, but it all too easy to kill them with kindness. Young puffers especially will eat until they are unable to swim, look almost puffed up, and are rolled around by the current - very bad practice. Just as with people, "a lean horse for a long race" does apply. Your fish will be healthier and live out their full span if they are not overfed.
~RTR
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
If I don't feed my F8 once a day then he goes for my other fish. I've lost 4 due to my LFS recommending that fish can be left without food for upto two days. This was because I thought I was overfeeding. My internal filter (which is big for the size of my tank) couldn't cope. Once I stopped the daily feeding within one night two male guppies disappeared. No remains. nothing. I also feed my F8 from a bamboo skewer as he won't pick food from the bottom.
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
This is why puffers must be kept in species only tanks. Especially not kept with fish that have long fins, like guppies. Well fed or not, your puffers will eventually eat all your fish.
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
-
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 126
- Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 12:18 pm
My son and I recently acquired two green spotted puffers. We love watching them eat, especially when we thread cockles on a wooden skewer. They both get a good chance to tug at it to their hearts content, but I noticed that they do not actually eat when they are full and it seems that is not usual.
Love the forums!
Susanna
Love the forums!
Susanna
Last edited by puffermama on Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
-
- Figure 8 Puffer
- Posts: 201
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 5:42 pm
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Pufferless since Nova passed; had 2 red T.miuris, 4 T.biocellatus for many years.
- Location (country): KY (USA)
- Location: (US) Kentucky
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact:
-
- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2005 6:46 pm
- Location: SUMTER SC
- Contact:
- LittlePuff
- Dwarf Puffer
- Posts: 63
- Joined: Sat Jun 04, 2005 10:15 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: One female dwarf puffer 😞
- Location (country): United States
- Location: Rock Island,IL
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- Puffer Fry
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2005 3:42 am
- Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
I hope my GSP wont bother my Mandarins they are such pretty fish I just got the Mandarins yesterday and the puffer is completely ignoring them infact my puffer is the only fish in my tank that ever gets chased. My Sleeper banded goby seems quite territorial, and chases the puffer from time to time.
puffedy puff puff puffer fish
- Pufferpunk
- Queen Admin
- Posts: 32775
- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
- Gender: Female
- My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles - Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
- Location: Chicago
- Contact: