Figure 8 feeding questions?!?

[daddyrocks6]

FIrst off, I want to thank everyone who has posted replies to me in the past..you all really have made my fiance and I great caretakers for our new figure 8 (Mr. Snaps). He is happy and healthy, and our tank has stabilized after a month...we had it 'partially' cycled before we got him...it's a 20 gallon, beautiful tank...have stabilized everything (just tested water morning: 0 NH3, 0-5 nitrate, 0 nitrite, ph 8.4). I have been slowly stepping up the salinity, it's now at 1.004-1.005.

We have been feeding him a mix of shell-on shrimp, clams, crabs, and yesterday, my fiance decided to go out and get him live food...so he got a bunch of bloodworms, and holy COW, did our puffer go crazy for him. My question is, I just tried to give him his feeding: a shrimp tail (his favorite in the past) and he merely pecked at it...and now just keeps circling the tank. I think he is 'on the hunt' thinking he's going to get some more bloodworms. I don't want to be giving him the same thing everyday and definitely want to vary his diet enough... should I just skip a feeding and try again w/ the shrimp tomorrow?? He usually DEVOURS the shrimp... but I think now that he's gotten a taste of live food, he's hooked and doesn't at all seem interested in the shrimp...any ideas!?!? Thanks!!

[indie]

have u tried dangling the shrimp in the tank and moving it around quickly to entice a chase? Im sure I read some other members had tried this and it worked well as it mimics them hunting for live food. You could also put smaller food into the current so it moves about quickly.

I tend to feed live food once or twice a week so they dont get hooked, snails once per week (or as often as I can get them from lfs) and the rest of the week is a mixture of bloodworms, mussels, prawns etc.

[daddyrocks6]

I have tried dangling the shrimp, but after he follows it for a little while, I think he catches on, and is no longer interested... then he just surfs the tank as he does when we put in the live bloodworms...searching for any victims.

I think he's just gotten spoiled w/ the live food... and loves the real hunt.

I think I may just skip a day of feeding and try feeding him some shelled food (shrimp or crab) tomorrow! Has anyone else experienced this?? Usually by the time I get in front of his tank for his nightly feeding he is SO ready for whatever I put into the tank. But not since I've given him the live bloodworms...

[indie]

Maybe try soaking in garlic to entice him?

What about putting daphnia or frozen bloodworm in the filter stream so it blows round the tank.

Does your puff like snails? I tend to place the snails in the tank to encourage them to 'hunt' for their food, without it necessarily being a chase all the time.

[StormySkiez]

One of my GSP's refused FD bloodworms all of a sudden one day. I fed him something else the next day plus the bloodworms. He continued to refuse bloodworms for months on end. I don't think anything brought it on but him being picky. I'm not sure. The only live food he gets is snails and had been fed snails prior to being fed bloodworm before his eating issue. I have 2 GSP's. The other puff has never refused any food. I continued to feed a mix of bloodworms and other food. He finally started eating bloodworms again last week.

It might be possible he is being stubborn for the live bloodworm. What a devil if he is. I'd skip 1 day and see if he will eat. If not try the live bloodworms to make sure he still has his appetite.