other fish eating auriglobus's food

[modestus]

I have 2 lovely Auriglobus modestus in a 38 G tank. One might be a silus - I will post pics to get your opinions. The tank is heavily planted with 2 adult bristlenose plecos, 3 giant danios (1.5 inches long) and a handful of guppies. The guppies were meant to be feeders but they are thriving in there, both adults and babies. The danios have some nips on their fins but they are fine. They have all lived like this for about a month.

When I put in frozen bloodworms or even crushed ramshorn snails, the other fish grab them. The danios grab the snails right away then drop them because they are too big. I can't put in entire snails because the puffers don't get them unless they are tiny. The puffers have grown well in a month -they are 2 inches long including their tails. I feed them in the daytime. I just don't want the pricey bloodwoorms going to all the other fish, but I don't see any way around it other than removing the danios and guppies. Then I find the tank to be a bit empty, and the motion of these dither fish really help the puffers come out. I am also going through snails really quickly. Thanks for any input!

[purplecandle]

I would love to see pics of a silus (My most favorite puffer)!

I am sorry no one has responded, but that is probably because we can't offer much advice except that the two puffers should be alone in that tank..

The modestus are especially prone to extreme aggression once a little older..so most of those fish you have in there are goners. Plus, at 38 gallons you are over stocked making water quality problematic.

Your puffers are prone to overgrown teeth so I would avoid soft foods (blood worms) and opt for shell on foods like shrimps, mussels, more snails, crushed crab legs, clams...all of which are cheaper than blood worms..

[Pufferpunk]

I kept a single modestus with a 6" Royal pleco in a 20L for several years. The modestus looked very comfortable with that tank. The pleco seems very happy to be moved into a 125g tank, since the modestus passed. I think if the footprint of the 38g is long, it should work for 2 of these fish.

PC is correct on the dentistry. I found it necessary to trim the modestus' teeth 2x/year.
library/hospital/dentistry/

[purplecandle]

I thought your modestus was a beast? Is that the one that killed other modestus? He did alright with a pleco? That's awesome. Was he housed his whole life with the pleco? For some reason I thought that plecos would be the first to be harassed by a mod..or was that DPs..LOL

[Pufferpunk]

I had bought him from a fellow fishkeeper around here who had him housed with a bunch of other fish, so I didn't hesitate to add him to a tank with other fish. Big mistake, as I found many of them dead & injured the next morning. He didn't seem to mind the pleco at all though & they lived happily together for about 5 years.

[RTR]

Carve over the fish room door: Puffers are not predictable.

We do offer lots of generalizations here, but in the face of individual fish, those may or may not apply. Generalizations are not rules, they are rough guidelines which may or may not apply to any given individual. Trial and error is the operable process for individuals - with awareness of the possible negative outcomes.

HTH