I Picked the Picky Puffers! (DPs)

[lilgirlkat]

Honestly, I don't rinse my wormies daily. once or twice a week is all for me.

[Krysta]

...ahh...the truth comes out!

[Myaj]

You'll probably be fine skipping a few days of the rinsing. I was just always careful to do it because the guy I was living with at the time was really grossed out by the worms in the fridge in the first place, and if they'd started to smell I wouldn't have been able to keep them at all.

There is always a risk of parasites when feeding any live food. Truthfully, the only way to avoid it entirely is to raise your own, but culturing live blackworms is kind of messy and often doesn't work (I've tried it in the past, there's tons of conflicting info and its kind of a messy business.. sorting them out from their "bedding" was the worst part).

IMO, there's probably more vitamins in live food than there is in dead, but the key with anything is variety and a well rounded diet. No animal will get a very good diet if they eat the exact same thing every single day... plus its got to be boring!

[Krysta]

...got those nasy little wormies today...but you certainly weren't kidding about them going wild over them!! I'm a vegan and the whole idea of live food has really never been a good thing in my mind...but this I think I can handle, just because of how happy they were to get them compared to the various other foods I have tried. But that's as far as my live food will ever go!

Also, when I got home from school today, their bellies looked awfully plump for just the frozen bloodworms that they barely nip at that my parents had fed them...at first I only saw one and was afraid her belly was full of cannibalism BUT luckily they were both accounted for...my best guess is that they're actually quite amazing hunters and managed to find the microscopic snails I had dropped in Tuesday! So, only a couple of worms tonight.

I'm very glad to see that they're doing so well...thank you all for your advice! I'll surely be back for more.

P.S. - do DP's seem to change colors when they're a-huntin'? It seems like they get quite a camoflauge variation of their normal pattern...

[marksrush]

...I truly had my heart set on a Ceylon (yes, I was going to get a larger tank!), however, I called every where even within a 4 hour radius and could not find a store carrying them...

You might try asking for a Jade puffer instead of a Ceylon when you're calling around. At least where I am, that's how they're known in the trade.

[lilgirlkat]

mine seemed to have changed colors as they matured. I've got two that are more brown and one that's got some blueish green in him.

[Myaj]

Oh yes, they sure do change colors when hunting. I believe I actually have a photo of my female in her "hunting colors" in the sexing article in the library, otherwise just look in my photo album.

Yes, they do love their live blackworms. I hardly think there's a fish on the face of the earth (other than the ones that are too big to notice them, or really sick ones) that can refuse a live blackworm. I don't really like to feed live foods either, but you gotta make the little dudes really happy once in a while at least

[LilGreenPuffer]

That's nature. Even the most hardcore vegan has to admit, that's how they behave in the wild, so I don't think it's unethical at all. Squicky, now, that's a different story!