The Puffer Forum

First I was excited to see Arothron Mappa as puffer of the day! I sure do love mine.

I wanted to inquire about the diet portion. Pufferpedia indicates almost specifically, in parentheses, not to feed fish. Is there a specific reason for this? I imagine if any puffer eats lots of fishes in the wild, it would be the Mappa, in part due to its size and also just because, well it lives in the ocean and there are bound to be sickly/dying/dead fish it would eat.

I feed all of my puffers a pretty wide variety of foods. One thing they particularly seem to love is tilapia. I don't feed it exclusivly by any means but wanted to inquire as to the reasoning behing the 'no fish' in the diet section.

Thanks!

Eric

They are not piscivores. Also feeding puffers small fish can promote aggressive behavior making many tankmates (especially smaller tank mates) inadequate

In the wild, with no corners and tanks, it's basically impossible for a puffer to catch another fish, just not fast enough. They MIGHT pick at dead or dying fish, but also unlikely, fast predatory fish will steal the meal first. As a result, fish are too fatty for their health. If you're feeding lean fillets and keeping it to very occasionally, it likely won't be a problem.

Yes typically their fish consumption is pretty low - I usually start with Tilapia pieces along with fresh salmon to get picky eaters to start...salmon to krill to a mix of several different items usually isn't a hard sell

I believe it is not fish flesh, per se but feeder goldfish that are the worst of all foods to feed any fish. As long as the majority of your puffers foods are crunchy in nature (crustaceons), feeding fish flesh should be OK as an addition to the diet. I suggest freezing & thawing later, in vitamin water.