When puffers eat snails are they suppose to eat the shell?

[Miller535]

I have f8's and the few times that they ate snails they ate the snail and left the shell. But One site i went to said that they are suppose to eat the shell. Is this true? If so then why dont mine? If not then how does eating the snails grind their teeth down? If anyone has any info on this I would greatly appreciate it.

[Pufferpunk]

Depends on what kind of snail & what size. Generally they should be as large as they're eye.

[JoseDepacos]

My F8's crush up the shell in their teeth till they get the meat and spit out little bits of shell as they chew. I'm certain a little bit of shell is swallowed as well.

[Miller535]

I can't even get mine to eat the snalils most of the time and when they do they dont eat the shells

[Brandon8521]

What sizes are the snails yoru feeding. The reason for them to be about the size of there eyes is so they can fit them into there mouths whole and then crunch them up. If I feed bigger snails to my GSP then all he will do is eat what parts stick out of the shell and maybe crunch a little at the snail and then leave it alone, but if there small enough to fit its mouth then he crunches on the whole shell.

[Miller535]

They are olive nerite snails(that I am also trying to breed). They were the smallest snail I could find. My puffers are so young I have never seen snails as small as their eyes.

[Brandon8521]

When you start to get babies then you can get some that are small enough for them to eat whole. Untill then if your worried about there teeth then you can use shell on store baught shrimp and clams on a halfshell. Although i would think they would be scraping there teeth on the snails when trying to get the mushy insides out. You can even try to break open the snails b4 hand to help them out.

[Miller535]

What do you mean by store bought shrimp? And clams on a half shell?

[JoseDepacos]

Most grocery stores have frozen or fresh, shell on RAW shrimp and fresh mussels and clams (frozen is acceptable too as long as they are still in the shell). Let your puffer nibble on the shrimp or half a clam till its belly is slightly rounded. Then promptly remove the extra so the puffer doesnt over eat and so the rest of the food doesnt rot. The shell on both the shrimp or clam will help to wear its teeth. Again, be cautious not to let them over eat. Puffers are known to eat till they die like some dog breeds. They just dont know when to stop.

[lesleyanndunn]

mine get the whole snail in mouth, u can hear shell being crushed
then bits of shell spat out and falls to sand
so im sure some shell is being consumed as well
for bigger snails that cant fit into their mouth
i slightly crush against tank glass, and the puffers then eat shell & snail
then spit out some shell again!

[Brandon8521]

Most grocery stores have frozen or fresh, shell on RAW shrimp and fresh mussels and clams (frozen is acceptable too as long as they are still in the shell). Let your puffer nibble on the shrimp or half a clam till its belly is slightly rounded. Then promptly remove the extra so the puffer doesnt over eat and so the rest of the food doesnt rot. The shell on both the shrimp or clam will help to wear its teeth. Again, be cautious not to let them over eat. Puffers are known to eat till they die like some dog breeds. They just dont know when to stop.

+1 that what I was meaning sorry for being unclear.

[pufferpuggirl]

They are olive nerite snails(that I am also trying to breed). They were the smallest snail I could find. My puffers are so young I have never seen snails as small as their eyes.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but nerite snail shells are much too hard for a puffer, and I would not offer them to my puffer for fear of tooth breakage. Also, from my research on nerites, you will not be able to breed them because the eggs need to be in saltwater in order for them to hatch, and I believe it's a bit more complicated than that. I had nerites and they would lay eggs all over the glass, but they never hatched naturally because the average fish-keeper can never replicate the conditions necessary for them to hatch.

In regards to other snails, such as ramshorn, well it depends on which puffer, but my Mbu and Fahaka both eat the entire snail, sometimes spitting bits of shell and sometimes not. The smaller puffers seem to crush the snail eating the meat and letting the shell fall to the substrate.

[Marukka]

In case anyone searches this issue you want your puffers to eat the shell for "teeth" maintenance.

GSPs will devour an entire large mystery snail (shell included) and keep going until there's no trace of it... I crack the snail before dropping it into the shark frenzy.

I've found they will target the meat on ramshorn but have no interest in the shell even when I crush them beforehand.

Obviously breeding mystery will be your best bet because they aren't cheap. I know most don't want to hear that because breeding mystery takes a lot more work than ramshorn which multiply like bunnies.

Nerite Snails are gorgeous and can be drip acclimated to your brackish tank. They will reproduce in brakish water only and usually avoid being eaten because their shells are much too strong for any brackish puffer to crack.