The Puffer Forum

Sounds like an expensive treat to me!

My Mandarins are eating bloodworms mostly and whatever they find in the rocks theres lots of critters in there. My GSP doesnt bother them, infact ive seen the Mandarins chase the puffer away a few times of coarse this may change with time.

I know little or nothing about puffers (That is why I am on this web site. BUT let me say . G.S.P.s are Species only. (Thay get more aggressive as thay age). Thay are Brackish fish (Some even say marine). So on both counts community tanks , angles etc are not good. Thay have large teeth, Large appitites, and are hunter preditors... Getting the picture?

He returned the Manderins.

I have been feeding my ceylons about 2-3 times a week. They eat until they look obese. i dont want to encourage that so i just let them eat heartily and then leave them be for a couple days. They poke around the tank, roll over shells and gernalyl search for more but never seem to be any worse for the mini fasting periods.

Though they do start to beg actively after about 15 hours but i'm learning to just let it be, they'd eat daily like that if i let them. I did when i first got them but after reading about over feeding on here i started lowering it from one full shrimp to pick on to about a third that is removed the following morning.

The one i'm really worred about over feed is our Humpback puffer Fred. He is such a character but, at least when theres enough light to see him, he's a loafy little bugger. He's on the twice a week diet as well.

Is it ok to feed smaller puffers more often? I have a rather small modestus i feed something small to daily. He might be an inch and small change long now and is always on the go picking at anything that moves in his tank.

Thanks for the input and i love this site

jason

For smaller puffs, skip 1 day/week.

I agree with PP. I feed my small puffers once/day until their bellies are rounded, and skip one day of feeding/week. It's really hard, I know. They are such cute beggars!

ok I dont feel so bad in letting my GSP skip a day now.

But he's making me feel SOOOOOOOO guilty each time I go by the tank, he zooms up to the glass and goes up and down up and down begging for food...

When a GSP is young can u feed him once a day? or also once in a few days? And how many times when he gets older?

It is not the frequency of feeding as much as the total quantity fed. I do no want any of my puffers fed past a lightly rounded belly. Young puffers get that 6 days a week. Mature puffers get that ever other day. Very large puffers and mature lurkers get that about every third or forth day.

how often should i feed my SAPs?

1x/day, 6 days/wk.

Does no one else have problems with getting their other fish fed? My scats, BBGs and tiger barb have to fight tooth and nail just to get a bite away from the puffs... So I try to put some flakes and greens in there in hopes they will at least get some of that (def not the BBGs)... I swear the scats must be eating a lot of scat because I hardly ever see them eat. lol So I have to sometimes feed the puffs more than I would just to make sure the other fish are eating... gluttons.

slightly off topic, but, i was reading this site. it said puffers have to eat hard food. this sorta worried me. is freeze-dried shrimp hard enough?

Nope. There's a good article in our library about foods to feed them.