Abei Puffer Feeding Questions

[khoa.tran]

Hi,

Well I'm treating my new puffer who has ich and i don't know how often or what to feed him. I've tried frozen blood worms to frozen human shrimps he took a bite of the shrimp at first but wouldnt eat it after. I got worried because i've read that you must keep your fish fed while treating ich to keep it nurished. So I contacted the previous owner and he told me it eats crayfish and he said he fed it once a week only... Today i went out to get crayfish and it was a success. he actually devoured it lol. however, am i supposed to only feed him once a week? and only 1 crayfish? Or should i feed him 1 crayfish everyday? or what? I would also want to know what other foods to try, crayfish is like 4 dollars each.. its gonna kill me if i have to buy crayfish everyday to feed him.. is there anyone who could provide me with a weekly feeding schedule and what they feed? thanks alot for your help

Also thanks to the people who helped me with my Ich questions

[LilGreenPuffer]

Check out the feeding and diet article. That should give you a starting point. And you can try raising your own crayfish, to cut back on costs.

[Homer]

Okay, let me try to answer your feeding question, my puffers can't seem to resist Mussels, but i also feed them live shrimps/crays or scallops for variety... As for prep, since i buy frozen Mussels and scallops from the supermarket, i've been told best thing to do is defrost it in some tank water with some vitamins, then cut it up into bite size pieces and feed... another tip if your worried about teeth over-growth, is to keep a little bit meat on the shell of the food so that the puffer has to pick at it and basically wear their teeth out that way...

As for how much to feed and how often depends on the person, as well as the size of the puffer, and how much you feed it each meal... As for me personally i feed my two palembangs one mussel between the two of them every 4 days or when they start looking like they need to be filled up, in which case i may feed them a scallop or two depending...

Hope that helps you out some what...

[khoa.tran]

Thanks, I'll try to buy some frozen mussels and some small scallops.. also you mentioned that you used palembangs? what are those? I'm going to try to feed mussels and scallop... hope he will eat it, he seems really picky and only likes live food where he can hunt it down and kill it.. pretty aggressive guy lol thank again

[Myaj]

Try feeding live nightcrawlers, cheap, quick and easy to feed and most puffers love the chase/kill.

As far as how often, you'll have to play it by ear.. most of my puffers have always let me know when they were hungry (the only ones I couldn't trust were GSP's, who insist they are always always always starving). Usually I'll wiggle a finger by the side of the tank and if they come zooming out looking for food, they're hungry LOL If they just look but aren't too interested, I don't feed them that day.

[Homer]

Thanks, I'll try to buy some frozen mussels and some small scallops.. also you mentioned that you used palembangs? what are those? I'm going to try to feed mussels and scallop... hope he will eat it, he seems really picky and only likes live food where he can hunt it down and kill it.. pretty aggressive guy lol thank again

Palembang is one of the common names for a species of puffer, and not actually food ... (see avatar for pic )

[khoa.tran]

lol kk got it homer i thought it was a food lol.
thanks myaj ill try night crawlers along with some mussles and scallops
I hope i have luck with tomorrows feeding

[LilGreenPuffer]

Try feeding live nightcrawlers, cheap, quick and easy to feed and most puffers love the chase/kill.

As far as how often, you'll have to play it by ear.. most of my puffers have always let me know when they were hungry (the only ones I couldn't trust were GSP's, who insist they are always always always starving). Usually I'll wiggle a finger by the side of the tank and if they come zooming out looking for food, they're hungry LOL If they just look but aren't too interested, I don't feed them that day.

Make sure that they're free of any chemicals. A member recently lost a puffer to poisoning from chemicals carried by nightcrawlers. Get them from the pet store, not the bait shop, or else go out and dig some up and keep them in nice, clean dirt for a bit to get the nasties out of their system.

[khoa.tran]

oh didnt even think of that thanks for the advice lilgreenpuffer

[LilGreenPuffer]

No problem. It was sad when Microfiche (the puffer I mentioned) died. Wouldn't want Part II.

[khoa.tran]

ok. I've tried both green shelled mussels and scallops soaked in garlicguard in an attempt to get my Abei to eat. So far he still only seems to eat crayfish or nothing at all.. now my last try will probably be night crawlers.. where do i get these? do petstores sell them? I live in canada by the way thanks

[plurmaster]

I feed my abei frozen blood worms every other day and he loves it!!
Where you located Khoa?

[khoa.tran]

Ottawa Ontario Canada. Ya i tried feeding it frozen blood worms he ignores it all together and swims away then i have to suck them all back out..

[LilGreenPuffer]

ok. I've tried both green shelled mussels and scallops soaked in garlicguard in an attempt to get my Abei to eat. So far he still only seems to eat crayfish or nothing at all.. now my last try will probably be night crawlers.. where do i get these? do petstores sell them? I live in canada by the way thanks

My pet store does.

[Agnate]

Abei puffers can be stubborn. You might have to try frozen shrimp (thawed first, of course) and see if he'll go for that. If not... uhh... start breeding crayfish?