The Puffer Forum

noobie question... how often and what type of snails should you feed gsp's?

they seem to like freeze dried bloodworms fine and i threw some crab in there today which they gnawed on for a while but didn't seem to eat any of the meat. had some guppies in there (left over from cycling the tank) that almost blew up their stomachs eating so much of the crab.

if i was to throw some crab shell in there daily, do you think gnawing on that would be enough with the bloodworms?

Ramshorn or pond snails are fine. Some people feed apple snails. Just avoid MTS (trumpet snails) because they're really hard and the puffers can break their teeth on them.

I've never had a problem with my GSPs not finishing a crab, they love them! Are you feeding live crabs?

Frequency of feeding has to do with size. How big is your GSP?

Crab is often already cooked when you buy it, so watch out for that because you want to feed your puffs only raw items.

I breed pond snails for my puffers, that way I get them in all different sizes for my different sized fish. My modestus gets several of them every day, whereas my fluviatilis and GSP get a few every other day.

I mean, not size really, but age... Like, a real little guy gets fed daily, and as he gets older/bigger, he gets fed more at a time, but less frequently. Idk the exact amounts.

I just joined this site and am brand new with puffers so I will need lots of help. I have two 1 1/2" spotted puffers ina 12 gallon brackish tank. My first brackish tank. Everyone is fine. I got four snails small brown ones from the fish store, and am trying to raise them. In the meantime, can I feed Krill? If so, how much and how many?

I know I will need a larger tank soon and am willing to do that. These guys are ...............................so cute.

When I lived in Florida a friend of mine had a porcupine puffer; however, I'm not ready for a 75 gallon tank yet.

Thanks,

Margo

You should probably start a new topic if you want responses to any of your other questions. Go to "Meet and Greet" and post a new topic there.

Make sure to read the PufferPedia article on spotted puffers, as well as the Library article on diet (th elink to the second can be found in the first). Did you cycle the tank? And are you using aquarium salt or Instant Ocean for your water? Do get that new tank ASAP; keeping your puffers in too small a tank will stunt them. Don't wait for them to start growing. That's all I've got for ya. I don't know too much about SPs.

So my GSP won't eat the clam shell...I've read posts on people's GSPs eating the shell or at least grinding their teeth on it. I just held it half way in the water and as soon as the GSP started chewing on the meat I dropped it in. He just eats the meat and not the shell. If I were to feed him the crab, how do I go about doing that? And does anyone have any tips on how to get my GSP to start swimming around the whole tank as opposed to swimming only on the very top portion and left to right? The only times I have seen him in the middle or bottom area is when he goes for the frozen blood worms or clam. He's in there with 6 African cichlids, 3 bala sharks, 6 baby tiger barbs, and 2 large plecos. Could this be why he is quite timid as a GSP? would it help to throw another puffer in? I know that not all of these guys are BW fish but they seem to be adjusting quite okay.

Any thoughts would be great

hippopothomas wrote:So my GSP won't eat the clam shell...I've read posts on people's GSPs eating the shell or at least grinding their teeth on it. I just held it half way in the water and as soon as the GSP started chewing on the meat I dropped it in. He just eats the meat and not the shell. If I were to feed him the crab, how do I go about doing that? And does anyone have any tips on how to get my GSP to start swimming around the whole tank as opposed to swimming only on the very top portion and left to right? The only times I have seen him in the middle or bottom area is when he goes for the frozen blood worms or clam. He's in there with 6 African cichlids, 3 bala sharks, 6 baby tiger barbs, and 2 large plecos. Could this be why he is quite timid as a GSP? would it help to throw another puffer in? I know that not all of these guys are BW fish but they seem to be adjusting quite okay.

Any thoughts would be great

You need to remove most of the meat so he has no choice but to scrape the shell to get the meat.

You can feed crab any way you want. some drop in live crabs, others get whole or crab legs and just hold a bit and let them bite at it, or make it into small portions.

Lots of plants and decor will help make your puff more comfortable and it will explore the tank more. It could just be excited to see you though, because you bring the food
Snails to hunt will make it explore too.

How big is your puff and what size tank is it? Unless you have a very large tank, it is most likely oversotcked which can cause high nitrates and sometimes bullying. both of which lead to stress.

There's only a handful of puffers that truly enjoy other puffers. GSP are not really one of those. Refer to "Alone, but not lonely" in the library (located under the learn tab) there's lots of good articles on feeding and other things, so have a look around.

Your puffer is the only brackish fish and the others will not do well (disease and death) in salt (ocean/sea salt, not aquarium salt)

I think that covers it, but if you have more Qs please feel free to ask. Hope that helps