Finicky F8...some food questions...

azure68 · Post by **azure68** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:21 pm

Hi all,

I'm a relative newbie when it comes to puffers. I've lurked in this forum before and learned a lot of great information.

I just got a new F8 puffer last night. The LFS kept it in almost freshwater conditions, they said that their SG is 1.0004 (???) and mentioned that it won't even register on a hydrometer. The puffer is now residing in a 10 gallon cycled tank, all by himself, and I'm starting to increase the SG very gradually. I'm using Instant Ocean (the LFS recommended aquarium salt) and also got a hydrometer. I think I may drop the $$$ and get a refractometer.

If space permits, I may upgrade him into a 20 gallon down the line. In the meantime, I plan to give him 50% weekly water changes.

When I put him in the tank last night, there were already 3 small red ramshorn snails in there. He hunted them down and ate them with abandon. Today, I tried to give him bloodworms, but he won't even bat an eye at them. I then put in a couple of small snails, and he scarfed them up like there's no tomorrow. I have a feeling this little guy is going to prefer live foods only.

What is the best way to get a finicky puffer to eat various kinds of foods? I've read some food threads where they can be fed various types of food from the grocery section, like mussels, clams, cockles, etc. Do those need to be broken apart first or just put into the tank whole?

I raise bettas, and I know the rule of thumb is their stomach's are about the size of their eyes. I don't feed them quantities that would be larger than their eyes daily. Are puffer stomachs about the same size as well? I don't plan on feeding him daily. I'm thinking of doing 2 days on and one day off.

Sorry for all these questions.

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:30 pm

Hi Azure68. Good luck with the F8s. They will need marine salt not aquarium salt. Try slowly changing salts, every time you do a water change add abit of marine salt the gradually add more as weeks go by. About the foods, you should thaw them then re freeze them then you can feed them to your puffers. Make sure you get fresh food becaus sometime they add types of chemicals.

lisalisa · Post by **lisalisa** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:38 pm

Raphael wrote: About the foods, you should thaw them then re freeze them then you can feed them to your puffers.

Thawing and re-freezing is not neccessary. Just be sure to freeze for a few days to ensure the food is pariste/other gross things free, thaw when ready, and you're ready to go.

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:39 pm

Just to be on the "safe side".

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:41 pm

Welcome to TPF azure!

Good choice on going with sea salt, rather then aquarium salt. Aquarium salt only provides salinity, whereas sea salt provides all the Ph buffers etc.
Im thinking of also going with a refractometer.
What kind of hydrometer do you have? the instant ocean hydrometer should read to 1.000.

Any chance of getting pics of your new puff up?

Generally puffs eat a lot more then the size of their eye, I usually feed until they have a decent sized bulge in their stomachs.( just watch not to overfeed). When puffs are real young its best to feed everyday, but feeding every 2 days is good approach for a 1.5" F8, unless hes been starved at the LFS.

As for training to feed live foods, I really dont have any experience with this. My F8 took to frozen foods right away. I feed snails, clam, frozen krill, and black worms. Ive read about tieing a piece of string or fishing line around a piece of frozen food, to "trick" them into thinking its live. F8s are wild caught, so it could be hes just scared too, could take awhile for him to adjust.

hope this helps, and good luck!!

-John

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:42 pm

Oh, sorry. I thought you were using aquarium salt. My mistake.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:43 pm

Whoa!!!!!! :28: There werent any replys when i started typing!!!

-John

lisalisa · Post by **lisalisa** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:43 pm

Raphael wrote:Just to be on the "safe side".

Actuall, thawing and re-freezing raw meat is not wise at all.

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:44 pm

Really, why is that?

lisalisa · Post by **lisalisa** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 4:56 pm

The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing."

Due to bacteria growth, I believe. Best to play it safe IMHO.

azure68 · Post by **azure68** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:31 pm

Wow! All these responses already! LOL!

Fisherman, the hydrometer I got is the Spot brand. It's the type that you float in the water. There's also a thermometer on it as well.

I tried taking pictures of Puffy, but frankly, trying to take a clear picture of this little guy is like trying to catch a greased pig. I noticed he likes to swim up and down against the glass.

Puffy's stomach isn't exactly rounded, more flat. Does that mean I should be feeding him more? He looked like that when he came home with me last night. There were several puffers in the tank at the LFS and I chose the most active one.

When feeding him frozen foods from the grocery store, do I need to cut them up or give it to him whole?

ChesapeakeSwellfish · Post by **ChesapeakeSwellfish** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:48 pm

Sounds like you have the old fashioned floating hydrometer - they used to be made of glass. Most people assume you have a swing-arm hydrometer.
Either one should have read 1.004 easily (not 1.0004). If the SG was really 1.0004, you'd need a salinity meter to read it & they typically read the salt content directly in parts per thousand (ppt) rather than the specific gravity of the solution. Of course, you can't believe anything a LFS tells you anyway - you have to test their water yourself and start your fish from that point, slowly increasing your salinity each time you do a water change.

The F8 has a much "flatter" stomach than many other puffers, so I assume he's normal. Good to pick an active, alert, undamaged one.

You will cut up frozen foods like shell-on shrimp into pieces about 1/4 to 3/8 cubic inch and remove anything uneaten after 15 minutes or so. There are many posts, stickies, library articles here about puffer food & feeding. Happy reading!

ChesapeakeSwellfish · Post by **ChesapeakeSwellfish** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:53 pm

And as usual, Lisalisa is right on with her thaw & re-freeze advice. Among other reasons, re-frozen meats get "mushy" after repeated thaws & we want the best for our puffers!

Raphael · Post by **Raphael** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:55 pm

lisalisa wrote:The U. S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) advises, "Meat and poultry defrosted in the refrigerator may be refrozen before or after cooking. If thawed by other methods, cook before refreezing."

Due to bacteria growth, I believe. Best to play it safe IMHO.

Oh, thanks for letting me know. I never knew, thats a useful peice of information.

ChesapeakeSwellfish · Post by **ChesapeakeSwellfish** » Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:59 pm

Raphael - this is (one reason) why people line up for dry ice in an extended power failure. Food in a freezer that thaws should be either cooked (might be a problem in a power failure) or thrown away.

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Finicky F8...some food questions...

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