The Puffer Forum

Hi everyone. I was wondering... how often should I be feeding this small dogface puffer? Right now he's just a little over 2" long. I've been feeding him every day, chunks of food like krill, shrimp, squid, silversides. Is every day too often? Thanks!

A tiny bit everyday, as long as there are no left overs is okay. As he grows, cut back on the daily feeding and move it to every 3 days or so. Puffers have been known to over-eat.

Thanks. Yes, he looks a little plump. What I usually do is put in a big chunk of food and let him bite into it for a few minutes, then take the food out. It's easy to do because the little guy is in QT right now. 2 more weeks then goes in the 150gal.

First off that is one of the best looking little nigropunctatus I have seen! I absolutely love the brownish coloration with the gold rimmed fins (I have a 7" whose coloration is exactly like yours).

As Yunachin mentioned - he is right on. When they are small - everyday - just a little bit is fine - having a plump belly is a good thing! But yes as they get older, every 2-3 days is more than fine. The only drawback if you are keeping other fish in the tank is that after the 2nd or even 3rd day, they tend to get a little aggressive as they anticipate their meal coming and may do a quick nip on a passing fish - not to eat them per say but really just a "get away from me - I'm hungry!" nip....

Also the varying diet you mentioned sounds good - keep up the hard shelled inverts as much as you can - it keeps them busy and also wears the teeth