Can DPs mainly live on snails?

[jeromecarlyoung]

I got lots of snails and a DP.
I can get snails from lots of places so this would be handy.
How many (ball bearing sized) snails a day would a DP need if this was all possible?
Cheers Jerry

[pufferpuggirl]

I really don't think a dwarf puffer (or any puffer for that matter) should be fed only on snails. My DP's aren't very interested in snails unfortunately. Mine mostly love bloodworm (soaked in vitamins of course), and every once in a while I buy crab claws from my grocery store (not sure what sort of crab it is, but the claw is fairly large) and they seem to like the meat from that.
If your tank is planted, I'd just put snails in there and let them breed. That way your DP can take what he wants when he wants it. If you have snails roaming the tank, it will give you puffer something to do in hunting for them, and a busy puffer is a happy puffer.

[RTR]

Many smallish puffers can and will live quite well on a totally or near totally snail diet. My longevity studies on F-8s were on >95% snail diets. The SAPs I have kept also have ~95% snail diets throughout their lives. My larger puffers generally started on snail diets, but need to graduate to fish market foods as they grow.

However, those snails were totally hobbiest-bred and reared with excellent diets - under good water conditions. I am quite prejudiced and would never ever feed any purchased snails directly to my puffers. You are what your prey eats, and I want live foods to be both healthy and nutritious.

DPs really do not have a snail-eater's dentation. their dental plates and jaws are not for snail-crushing beyound the smallest ramshorns. Outherwise they have to bite and slurp, they cannot crush. Mine have always had snails available, but their stape has beed live backworms fed via a cone feeder. Frozen/thawed/rinsed/vitamin-soaked bloodworms are good food as well, but I became allergic to them, so gave them up long ago.

HTH

[jeromecarlyoung]

Thanks for that.
My reason for asking the question is to see whether the Nutritional Value of snails was good. I know Shrimp and Daphnia are thin on nutrients and my DP only seems to eat live foods so Snails from an LFS would be easier for me as Live Bloodworm only last for 2 weeks and snails in a Tank will last for a long time. Also the snails are easier to get as most LFS stores have rogue Pond Snails to give away and the live Bloodworm I can only get from one place.
I am now breeding live Daphnia which is fairly easy too.

Thansk for your responses.

-Jerry

[RTR]

Why do you say that shrimp are nutritionally thin? That is way too broad a generalization.

Adult live brine shrimp are very thin nutritionally, and frozen/thawed brine are effectively worthless, but great appetite stimulators.

Owner bred or well-maintained FW shrimp should be good to great nutritionally, but are not crunchy enough for some puffers, but fine for DPs - which are undemanding in crunch.

Any feeder fresh from the LFS is not likely to be nearly as good a one which has been QT'd and well fed for some period by the hobbyist.

HTH

[jeromecarlyoung]

I can't recall where I read it that Brine Shrimp are a bit thin on the nutrition side; either here or dwarfpuffers.com.
I just read it and took as the truth; hmmm...

-Jerry

[RTR]

Adult live brine shrimp are pathetic as food, but you cannot say that "shrimp" are nutritionally poor - many are not.

[jeromecarlyoung]

Ah,
Dwarfpuffers.com it was!!


"Live Foods - Blackworms (commonly available, will stay alive in the refrigerator for a few weeks), Brine Shrimp and Snails. (Note: Brine shrimp are lacking in nutritional value and should not be a staple food source, but instead a treat)"

I have no idea so...

-Jerry