How often to feed....?

[clareanded]

Hi there,

We have a MBU Puffer (Moobo) who is now about 1 year and 2 months old. Moobo was 11 months of age when we bought him and were told to feed him once a day but give him a day off approx one day a fortnight.

Moobo's just over 5" (when he stays still for the tape measure!) in length but since we've bought him he filled out and is now fairly "chunky". His belly is flat before tea time and also a healthy colour. In other peoples opinions is our feeding regime satisfactory, I've read that Puffers over a year should be fed every other day??

Also, are there any tips in feeding live food, something for him to chase! I can't seem to buy Ghost Shrimp / River Shrimp in the LFS's near me and am hesitant to buy online (due to the water quality the shrimp (for example) would arrive in). I've been told to fish for shrimp in local rivers but am dead against this as I am sure the Mbu's system is not acclimatised to local diseases / bacteria.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[Boxermom]

I consider feeding schedule more of a size issue than an age issue. At 5 inches, I wouldn't feed more than once every 3 days, just enough to slightly round his tummy without it bulging. I definitely would not catch wild shrimp and feed them to him, not without a quarantine of a minimum of 4 weeks. Anything live should be quarantined first though. They don't really need live food. I make my puffers work for their food by either using stainless steel tongs and make them chase the food around the tank, or I throw pieces of the food in different parts of the tank so they have to swim around to get it.

[Pufferpunk]

Have you read the great mbu article in our Library? There is also a good story about keeping them, stickied at the top of this forum.

[clareanded]

Cheers for the replys guys, I will gradually reduce his feeding down to every 2 days and then 3 days (much to his disappointment!). I have read the MBU article thanks and do have some tongs already but on your advise will ditch the live shrimp idea!

What about other fresh seafood (not frozen), shelled cockles / muscles, scallops, crab claws etc... My sister lives near the sea sides and you can buy these fresh from fishermen. I assume the same quarantine rules would apply....

[mikweg]

I feed my mbu on frozen whole shell cockles they cost £5.99 for 1/2kg in the uk so at Barrys current size a bag lasts around a month. I try to vary it with Prawns when we have them and the odd langoustine treat

[Pufferpunk]

Just be sure to freeze them to kill off any nasties. Then thaw in cool vitamin water.

[manutius]

I think all the answers to how often and what to feed Mbu are in my article. Not wishing to buck the trend here but I fed Clooney every day one mussel for the first few months and then reduced this by feeding two days on one day off. I introduced cockles out of shell and prawns early on too as I didn't want him to get used to one food. Variety is key to keeping them healthy and interested in food. You can also get some snails from LFS tanks probably for free and these would be good for him too. After about a year I started to introduce shelled foods, one cockle initially now 5 years on he eats crab claw, clams in shell as well as the usual fodder. Your seafood store is perfect for him too, bags of frozen clams and mixed seafood are much cheaper options than LFS food.

In terms of how much to feed it depends on your puffer, you will be more at risk of overfeeding than underfeeding. Feed a little and then see if the tummy is slightly rounded after a few minutes and adjust amount accordingly at the next feed. Think nicely satisfied and not Christmas Day bloated

[Rocker]

I have dropped my feeding schedule down to once a week for the majority of my puffers. I find they look a lot better and are more alert and active. The smaller species such as the Carino's I feed two to three times a week.
I consider anything more than this as over feeding.

[Boxermom]

I have found the same thing, Rocker. Feeding too often made them seem more lethargic, they were much more active when I scaled back feeding.

[manutius]

thats pretty interesting, but after my problems of Clooney suffocating after eating too much in one go I think I would stick to smaller meals.