I Could Use Some Feeding Advice for DPs ...

[CyberBob]

I have 10 DPs in a 30g tank. Please dont start the debate that I have too many. I only meant to have 8, but 2 appeared out of nowhere.

Anyways, I have been fedding them Ramshorn Snails every day since I got them. One male guards the snails of course. The latger ladies have started to fight back now. But, the ladies seem to be eating very well, no skinny puffs. I have been tying different dried foods also. A couple of them seem to like dried mysis shrimp. But, I haven't seen any others eating the dried foods. I have tried dried bloodworms, dried tubifex cubes, dried brine shimp cubes and dried baby shrimp. The food does dissapear overnight, but I can't tell who is eating it. It could be the otos, pleco or the black neons. But, I haven't seen anyone but the DPs show any interest in the dried food so far. I use a floating feeding square so that I can easily keep track of it.

Anyways, I had an overabundance of snails (close to 2000) when I got these lil DPs. I have 3 tanks which I breed them in. They are given their choice of ramshorns or MTS. I don't expect them to eat the MTS, I mostly have them in there to clean the gravel a bit. But, I have found some empty MTS shells. Lots of empty rams shells. I have to skim them off the surface every now and then. But, I'm actually starting to run a little low on rams. I've been thinking of adding pond snails to their diet also. I'm wanting to make just one 10g breeding tank for their food if possible. I have a 10g setup right now with MTS, rams and ghost shrimp. I've been feeding them snails from my other 2 tanks to reduce the numbers in those tanks.

My question is ... Are there any dried foods that anyone has had experience with for DPs?
What might I try to encourage them to eat other foods then snails?

Thanks Ahead of time.

[eieio]

no success with any dried or freeze-dried, but good success with frozen bloodworms (defrosted & rinsed)

[Lil' Swimz$]

Ya, don't expect them to eat anything dried. Get some frozen bloodworms, very easy to feed and a package for less then $10 will last you a long time.

[Pufftastic]

My DPs happily accept a variety of frozen foods: bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, and even daphnia. They also love pieces of crab or shrimp (if I have seafood for dinner, they do too). I've never tried freeze-dried foods.

Be careful with those MTS. Their shells are very hard and could damage your puffers' teeth.

[Phoenix91]

I have a pond snail breeder tank set up, i think it might contain some stray ramshorns too, and my dps love them. I feed the small snails and leave the bigger ones in to breed. i occasionally throw a slightly bigger one in and watch as it tries to crawl away before the dps discover it.

I've had success with frozen bloodworms, my large dp loves them but it did take a while for the smaller one o be interested. Even now he has the occasional nibble and then begs for snails. Added bonus my betta fish go nuts for the worms.

I didn't even try freeze dried foods for them.

[Purifire]

Most puffers will snub dried foods. I agree that frozen/thawed/rinsed is the way to go.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Be careful with those MTS. Their shells are very hard and could damage your puffers' teeth.

DPs don't actually bite down on the shell. They suck the snail out. This species has the unusual trait of not having dental problems, even on a completely soft diet.

[CyberBob]

Update:

After a lot of deliberation, I finally decided that 6 DPs in a 30g is a good number. I was basing the number on 5g for the 1st and 3g for each additional. Now I'm basing it on 5g each. I had 10 total and I think it might have been a lil crowded. My ammonia level sky rocketed over the last week also. Don't worry, I have already added Prime. Last week I added 5 DPs to an existing 5. Seems it was too much of a bioload. I am running a penguin 350 in their tank to hopefully help with the bioload of the puffs. I returned the 4 most aggressive, which were also the smallest. Perhaps they were pre-teen males or something. None of them had a brown line, but perhaps they were just too young

The Ladies do seem to be exploring more with the bullies removed. I'm pretty sure I have only ladies now. I see a lot of fat round white bellies.

While I was there, I picked up some frozen bloodworms (32 cube pack for $4) and some live brine shrimp (150+ for $1). I fed them the brine shrimp (after running them through a net) when I got home and they all seem to be eating them. I'd almost say they are having fun chasing them. I swear I can see a smile. They snubbed their nose at freeze-dried brine before. I plan to give them the worms once I can't see anymore brine swimming aound. I asked the lady at the LFS what she had been feeding them before I bought them and she said they only ate live brine shrimp and frozen blood worms. I wouldn't mind breeding other live foods for them. I'm not sure if breeding brine shrimp is worth it. They probably aren't good enough to be a staple food. But, if the frozen bloodworms work out and last a while ... I might make that about 50%+ of their diet, keeping ramshorns on the menu. Are bloodworms nutricous enough to be considered a staple food? I'll prolly buy some pond snails on eBay this weekend and add them to my breeding tank. I am currently breeding ramshorns, trumpets and ghost shrimp in a 10g. I also have a clownpleco and 3 cory cats in there. I have a aqueon 30 filter on the back to help with the bioload. I'm not sure if the tank could handle much more, whatcha think?

4 of them are still eating dried mysis shrimp after they have soaked by the way.

Thanks again for the advice folks.

[LilGreenPuffer]

Hell, no, that 10g can't take more. The clown pleco alone is too much, snails are a lot of bioload, and, oh, the cories need to be in a group of at least six. Adding more filtration doesn't remove waste; it just puts it out of sight.

[CyberBob]

Yeah, I figured it was maxed. But, that's why I only had 3 cories. albino, skunk & emerald. I would'nt mind getting 3 more, but I'm not sure that would be wise in that tank. I can't put them in any other tank either. In my community tank, the gourami and mollies were picking on the cories. then there is the dwarf puffer tank ... I doubt they would do well in there. lastly i have my betta tank ... I already tried the betta tank, not gonna happen.
They are in there to eat any leftovers from the snails and shrimp. I feed them algae wafers and bottom feeder pellets. I also throw in some blanched cucumber every 3-4 days.

The Clown Pleco is a baby and will only get to about 3". He is there to help with the algae. Not sure how much help he will be after a while. I'm hoping I got one of the clowns that like algae into adulthood. The snails doa OK job with the algae if the clown doesn't. I could swap the clown with any of the bristlenose in my other tanks.

The snails certainly are a huge bioload. That'sthe main reason I'm wanting to only have one breeder tank. I'm slowly getting the snails outof the other tanks. Just gotta catch em before they lay eggs.

Any suggestions how to proceed?

[LilGreenPuffer]

Clown plecs get bigger than that - that is, if they have the space they need to keep them from stunting.

[CyberBob]

Clown plecs get bigger than that - that is, if they have the space they need to keep them from stunting.

You're right. They can grow to 4". But, most stop around 3-3.5" even in a 40g. I've been keeping these lil guys for a while now. The bristlenose also stop around 3-4". Perhaps you are thinking of a different breed? The common pleco can easily get 2.5 feet.

This is the Clown Pleco:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panaque_maccus

http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Species ... ame=maccus

[LilGreenPuffer]

Everything I looked up said 5". *shrug* But I think that your tank is still overstocked, even if the pleco only gets to 3". No 3" (or larger) fish should be kept in a 10g tank, IMO.

[bertie 83]

Defo overstocked I would thin out your population a bit or get a bigger tank to prevent any problems wiping out all your fish, not a nice experience so I've been told. I make a point of understocking my tanks so I can experience my fishes personalities when they are happiest , just a thought

[CyberBob]

I've been monitoring the levels and the water quality is stable. 7.4 PH, some aquarium salt, 0 amm, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate. I am running an Aqueon 30, which is more then 3x the needed filtration. It is currently housing 3 cories, ramshorns, trumpets, mystery snail, clown pleco and some ghost shrimp. I do a 50% WC every week in the breeding tank simply because I know I have a ton of snails in there. I also add Prime everytime. It's stable and I'm not too worried about it since it's just my snail breeding tank. If my cories or pleco ever start getting sick, I will move them out immediately of course. But, the cories swim around together all day and look very happy. the clown pleco never moves more then 6" from it's cave. But, that's normal for a clown. It does come out looking for food at least 10x a day. So, it seems pretty happy and healthy also. I won't add anymore to the tank though. I thought it was maxed already.

All my other tanks are happy and healthy also.
I check the levels every weekend with a partial WC for each tank.
If the levels are too high, the tank gets a 50% WC.
I sometimes have a small problem with ammonia.
Darn snails, but that's an easy fix ... Prime and WC.

I have a 30g tank with 6 DPs, 10 black neons, 2 otos, a bristlenose pleco and whatever snails manage to stay alive in it. The DPs have ignored the black neons so far. They were very interested in the Blue Neons when I added them, So they came out right away. 7.8 PH, 0a\0n\0n, 1.001 SL (hydrometer barely moves). I'm running a penguin 350, which is about double the needed filtration. I'm still converting it from a GSP tank to a DP tank. I do a 50% WC weekly and the SL is almost non existant now. The PH has been slowing decreasing from 8.2. Just takes a lil time.

I have a 10g tank with a betta, 3 mollies, mystery snail, ramshorns, trumpets and a bristlenose pleco.
I'm running an aquoen 10 in it. It's currently having a bacteria bloom, but otherwise stats are fine. 7.1 PH, 0a\0n\0n, a lil aquarium salt.

Then I have my 40g community tank.
I have an angel, a gourami, a red tail shark, 10 blue neons, rams, trumpets, apple snail, bristlenose pleco and about 5 mollies. I take the Mollies to my LFS when there is a surge of birthings, but the Angel and Gourami keep the Molly fry in check usually. Sometimes have an issue with ammonia, but again, Prime & WC fixes it right away. PH 7.2, 0a\0n\0n\, a lil aquarium salt. It has an aqueon 30 running, which is what it came with.

I try not to overstock any of my tanks. I try to keep it below the max, but full enough to enjoy many fish.

If you still think any of my tanks are overstocked, please let me know.
But, please also let me know which fish you would move to which tank.
I do monitor my posts, but always feel free to PM me if you like.