The Puffer Forum

Snails have been banned from every single pet store on the island! What the hell am I supposed to do about that?! I mean, it's necessary for the survival of Dwarf Puffers!

Can I give them snails from the ocean? They're easy to find and can grow to be up to the size of a toonie.

I suggest you hunt hunt hunt until you find some and then start breeding them. I'm sure an aquariust in the area somewhere already has a colony living in one of their tanks. What Island are you on if I may ask?

No live plants in any of your fish stores? You'll usually find some hitchiking on there. Otherwise, there are plenty of other crunchy foods for them to eat. Have you seen the feeding article in our library?

Newfoundland Canada... Not many pet enthusiasts around here, I'm afraid. I'll keep my eye out for any opportunities to get them.

I'll have a look PufferPunk, but snails are definately the best in my opinion. I think small mussels should do for the time being though.

I wouldn't recommend it. Where are you located that there are no freshwater snails?! Ah, just saw the latest post. Snails are almost always on aquarium plants at stores whether they like it or not. I hope you find some, and if you do, definitely start breeding them! Maybe the mussels would work...how small are they?

Actually mussels are great puffer food. You freeze them for a few weeks to kill any parasites or bacteria, thaw one when you need it. The shell will open and you can scrape most of the meat out. Feed the shell with a little meat on it, they scrape their teeth on the shell trying to get the meat off. The left over meat can be sectioned, usually in quarters and fed the next night. Same can be done with FW clams, though some puffers don't care for it. I use them all the time.

They're about 1.5 times bigger than the average freshwater snails used for feeding Dwarf Puffers.


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Great advice! I just really need something for them to graze their teeth on. I think the freezing technique will work well, or at least will work as well as anything else.

DPs don't really have tooth trouble anyway, unlike other puffers.

Brent wrote:Newfoundland Canada... Not many pet enthusiasts around here, I'm afraid. I'll keep my eye out for any opportunities to get them.

I'll have a look PufferPunk, but snails are definately the best in my opinion. I think small mussels should do for the time being though.

Hey, My boss is a newfie, lol. do you have any family or friends outside of the island who could ship you enough to start a breeding colony. Are they illegal or is it just that no one is carrying them anymore.

It was banned because some idiots started to flush them down the toilet and they infested sewer canals... And only a few Torontonians and a couple relatives from Montreal and Ottawa. Other than that, my whole family lives in NL.

The plants at stores do occasionally have snails on them, so I'll just be all non-chalant and buy a plant with a few snails included. : )

Edit:// Might I ask for your bosses name?