hairy puffer eating crayfish

[Arny]

[Stratters]

That was awesome, and slightly unsettling, poor old crayfish being eaten backwards.

Also, I'm now worried I'm not feeding Pig enough.

[Arny]

I think a whole crayfish is more of a treat than feeding one every day. How much do you fed atm strat?

[Stratters]

He gets a couple of chunks of tiger prawn, each about the size of a 5p, or a couple of big worms. I feed him until his tummy is slightly rounded; possibly not quite enough, but I feed him daily. He did eat a whole small freshwater crab the other week (RIP poor Leonard), but I skipped a feed the following day.

He looks really good on it, and has grown an inch in the month I've had him; I do a partial water change each morning, after I've scooped the poop out. Water parameters are always zero, I test twice a week. I've been assuming that as he's growing, and the water isn't fouling, that I'm feeding ok; but he never looks as full as that puff, apart from when he ate Leonard.

[Pufferpunk]

They only need to be fed 2x/week, at the most 3.

[Stratters]

Even whilst he's still growing? Am I feeding too much, overall; or just split into too many feeds? And what are the implications of feeding either too much, or simply too frequent meals but the right amount? I thought I'd got the amount right because he never looks like he's too full, and the water is never fouled.

[Pufferpunk]

Feeding too much, you will see the poop closely resemble undigested food. He will become even more lethargic (than a usual lurker), fat & lazy. Often resulting in fatty liver disease & early death--just like an obese human. How large is he now?

[Stratters]

He's 3,5", he's grown about an inch in the month I've had him; his poo looks like poo, it's brown if he's had a worm, pink if he's had a shrimp meal. He is active, but I absolutely don't want to harm him in any way, so I'll reduce the feeds to 3x? A week

[Stratters]

Rather embarrassingly, I have a photo of today's poop

[Pufferpunk]

Yes, even my more active puffers only get a meal every other day. My adult Congo gets 1-2/week.

[Stratters]

Every other day it is then, I know you told me this before, but he always seems so hungry. I'll ignore the begging from now on, sorry for not listening before

[bertie 83]

Puffers will beg, they are very clever. One of the hardest things about puffer keeping is not over feeding a fish which is pleading starvation

[Stratters]

Tell me about it. The whole time I was feeding the dogs, the cats, the other fishtank, making dinner, there was this sad little face pressed up against the glass. The amount of emotion those beady little eyes show is astounding. I didn't crumble though, and he is sulking in his Pig Cave.

He'll probably take another finger out tomorrow

[RTR]

FWIW, begging is great exercise. Think of it as trip to the gym for the fish every time you walk by the tank on a non-feeding day. Too many lurkers do get fat and die young. Only very active predators can handle daily feeding, and for me that is only while they are very young and small. Even then I do one day a week w/o food. Three feedings a week seems plenty even for the really active predators while still growing, less when mature.

[Stratters]

Well, after a full on sulk for 24 hours; swimming away from me, going all dark and peed off looking when I ignored his begging, he's just had shrimp and is back to Happy Puff.

He's not going to love me tomorrow either