The Puffer Forum

I posted some video of my GSP eating shrimp from my hand, here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFsuMa5R0ko

Nice.

Aww..he's so cute! I can't wait until mine gets bigger like that.

Aww he is so cute!! I love the blowing bubbles and the jumping. My gsps never come to the top of the tank to eat I have to bring the food to them, sometimes I think I am their pawn!

Hehe, I always use the tactic of showing the food to them before I feed it so that they KNOW the food is coming and get all excited. Works well on Abe, as he splashes the water crazily and furiously tries to eat me through the wall of the tank. Hehe!

If I'm feeding freeze dried foods I shake the can like cat treats and they come to the middle to see what I'm doing but never come to the top unless they are really hungry!

lol yeah my puffers will go anywhere for food but they never jump ever they stay in there water fully and sit and wait

This ones a real treat, his body comes totally out of the water when I hold food for him. He's nipped me a couple of times changing his water. I got him at a wal-mart a year ago and he was in horrible shape, sunken belly, his top fin nipped down to a nub and he was almost totally black in color. I used flubendazole and melafix on him and after a month he was in great shape. I don't think he would have lived if not for the flubendazole, I'm pretty sure he was infested with parasites. I have another smaller green spotted puffer in a divider next to him that is nearly as agressive he'll jump out of the water as well. A figure 8 and Archer fish are also in the tank, the F8 is much less aggressive and I have to sneak him food because the GSP gobbles anything you put in the tank. I fed the large GSP a crayfish a couple of days ago and he went into a feeding frenzy, unfortunately for him, the crayfish latched on to his jaw when he was trying to eat him and he has a couple of scars from the fight. I wish I had filmed it. I'll probably film the next crayfish I feed him.

My GSP's Pillow and Blanket will take a mysis out of my hand and even jump a bit out of the water to take them. They are only small though and can't get all the way out yet. It's fun to watch them compete with each other and battle for food.

I don't get all this teasing with the food and making them jump etc. you wouldn't make a puppy or a kitten put their heads under water to eat would you?

teaching fish tricks can act as a mental stimuli for them, and keeps them interested...

look at the oscar training tricks on youtube.... they're fascinating...

many people do teach their dogs/cats tricks and they're almost all trained using food... sit for a treat, return the ball for a treat...

i'm also guessing there would be a fair chance that puffers would breach the water to nab insects and things in the wild, (on icy ground here, cannot prove it...) I do know my oscar hangs below the surface, eyes fixed on hunting insects above the water line.... and he will jump out the water to get food if allowed too..

I'm not sure they'd do it if they weren't happy to do so, puffers are pretty stubborn...

fair enough, point well put I'll shut up again now

no don't shut up...

you raised an interesting point... you can't fold so easily....

I didn't say I was folding LOL just keeping my thoughts a little more to myself my concern was just "fish out of water" it's never a great scenario is it... but if they're happy enough then so am I

Don't keep your opinions to yourself!


share, share, share....


I agree, taking a fish out of water is a nasty thing to do... but if the crazy thing jumps itself... well....


One of my puffers made a suicide jump and i found him 30 minutes later on the kitchen floor (being stared at by my 3 month old kitten).. miraculusly still alive, put him back in the tank (to live his last minutes in peace) and he flipped himself over, deflated and started swimming.... and a year on he is happy as larry....