puffer eating crayfish

[jeff_purdon]

i was just wondering how big my puffer has to be for him to eat a crawfish. right now hes about and inch and a quarter long. i also have a smaller figure 8 puffer that just joined the tank but i know hes probably way to small to be fed a crawfish. i was also just wondering how long the crawfish would survive in brackish water (sg 1.o1o) if the puffer didnt eat him right away. or any other live crustacion for that matter. thanks for the help

[Nick]

I have seen no sign that brackish water causes any remotely immediate death in crayfish. I had one live a few days at full marine before my puffers finally pulled him from the live rock, and that is with no acclimation at all. A 1.25" puffer isn't likely to be eating any reasonably sized crayfish anytime soon though. Try ghost shrimp.

[jeff_purdon]

i've tried ghost shrimp before and i thought they got eaten but when i did my water change and cleaned the tank a few days later i found the ghost shrimp hiding out. any other small creatures they could nibble on?

[Agnate]

If you can find baby crayfish, they would work. Just look for live foods that are half the length of the puffer or less. So if your puff is 1.5 inches, look for something that's around 0.75 inches.

Puffers still have instinctual hunting skills even when they're tiny, but ghost shrimp are pretty quick and easily hide (due to the fact that they're clear). I find Pill bugs are great if they're the smaller ones, assuming your puff sees you put it in the tank.