The Puffer Forum

hello i have 4 dwarf puffers and they wont eat krill or blood worms they just want ramshorn snails well the petstore doesnt sell them but they give them away whenever they do but since thats all they want to eat can i order from drsfostersmith and buy either Olive Nerita Snail, or Japanese Trapdoor Snail theses are the only snails they sale also i cant find anywhere or any website that sells ramshorn snail i will be adding theses snails to their own tank to breed them . also i want to know how many snails should i feed my puffers each day since they will only eat snails thank you for your help . if you know of a website i can order ramshorn snails from please let me know thanks again

Welcome. Krill is not a good staple for them anyway. They need to be trained to eat other foods which takes patience and perseverance on your part but is best for their health. There are articles in our Library on proper foods and how to train a stubborn puffer to eat.

Neither Olive nerites nor trapdoors are appropriate for dwarves, IMO. It sounds like you are in the US and, if so, I recommend buying snails from Wilma. Cheap, very good quality, and fast shipping. http://www.jayscustomcomputers.com/wilm ... page1.html

hello boxermom and thanks will you give me the website for wilma thanks

I did.

Do you think they would actually starve to death? I have three Dps one loves blood worms, the other two have not eaten more than a couple of snails in two months. I can't bear to look at them they are so skinny. I am dieing just to provide tons of snails. Is it ok to just eat snails?

Where are you located Crushingmyself.

Another question concerning DPs and snails. I'd guess if you want to breed your snails in the same tank than your DPs you'd need a whole bunch of them so some survive the puffers to be able to breed! But if you have a whole bunch of snails in your DPs tank would the DPs eat more than they need and get themselves constipated? And if you offer other food for a variety, would they not touch it because they've been eating the snails while you were gone?

I would recommend against trying to breed snails in a puffer tank. The chance of success is very low.

No, they won't starve themselves to death. When they get hungry enough, they'll eat. I would recommend against feeding a snail-only diet as well. They need a varied, nutritious diet for optimal health.