How much do I feed my GSP?

[nx2ured]

Ok, so this little guy is only about 1 1/2", but seems to stay hungry! I bought him some frozen bloodworms and he loves them. He will eat a whole cube and still eat 5-6 snails. Is this enough/too much to feed him in one day? Should I feed him less/more? Any advice is appreciated.

Lisa

[indie]

Is his belly getting bigger when you feed him? And how long is it staying big afterwards?

I only feed each of my GSP's, who are currently about 1.5" about half a mussel between 4 of them, or half a bloodworm cube between them. This seems enough to give them a slightly rounded belly. You dont want to keep feeding until it looks like he'll explode. Most puffers will eat as much as you'll give them, so you need to be careful. I think my puffers would eat all day if I let them. But they only beg for food when i go near the tank, otherwise they are happy exploring.

[nx2ured]

His belly does get bigger when I feed him, but he just acts like he is starved out! What type of mussles do you feed and where do you get them...if you don't mind me asking indie.

[yunachin]

There are great feeding articles in the library to check out as well.

[Pufferpunk]

Puffers are adept at begging! Try not to overfeed. You can kill them with kindness. Are you tossing in the whole frozen cube?

[indie]

At the moment Im using the frozen mussels from the lfs and defrosting in tank water before i feed.
However, I plan to go to the supermarket and get some fresh mussels in shell to give to them. As Yunachin says, check out the feeding article in the library.

[Idontknow]

I only use half a cube for four puffers. Their bellies get moderately big after that...so maybe even that maybe too much.

[nx2ured]

Thanks for the info. Trust me, I have read every article in the library about feeding...sometimes I feel like the biggest dork in the world. I usually thaw the cube in tankwater and feed them to him with a dropper used for feeding fry. It's kinda like hand feeding him. I feed him half a cube and usually about 4 pond snails per day. Even after all that he acts famished! I am really getting to like him. He has such a great little personality.

[indie]

wow that still seems like alot for one fish! I only feed mine once per day. If i was feeding bloodworm it works out at 1/8th of a bloodworm cube per fish.

The trouble with feeding too much is you will end up polluting the tank really quickly. Even tho its tempting to feed twice... I wouldnt recommend it

[marksrush]

You are so right, these little critters have a *big* appetite, plus it's kind of cute to see them with a nice round belly. Thank goodness they're actually quite cheap to feed, if you do it right: I get a live oyster, clam, black mussel, and a couple of scallops and raw shrimp once every couple of weeks for my puffers, and it comes to less than $4.00. They also like crab, too, but keep in mind most of the crab you see at the seafood counter is already cooked, which I think I read is not a good idea. And snails are free once you get them started breeding.