Salt Water GSP live/hard foods?

[firestorm52]

Hi, I just got my first puffer A GSP yesterday. I've been reading on these fourms all day And I want to keep my puffer full and healthy! He is living in a 50 gallon tank with a few other marine fish. (Flame Hawkfish, Cinnamon Clown, Lawnmower Blenny) So I definatly don't want him to be considering my other fish as food So far so good no attacks my other fish actually seem to like him alot, they all sorta stay grouped up and follow each other around.

Anyways I've been reading about people feeding snails and clams and all that good stuff but alot of what they are doing is brackish or freshwater snails and stuff. So I was just sorta wondering if anyone with Marine puffers could give me some advice on the live and hard foods they feed their puffer? And where I would buy such food? As of now he is getting freeze dried Blood Worms that my LFS recommended. He really loves those worms but I'd like to see him hunt a little, and wear down his beak.

Thanks,
Dakota

PS he does a good job of hunting all the featherdusters in my tank

[LilGreenPuffer]

There are several articles on this topic in the Library: library/category/feeding

You'll probably want to invest in breeding snails and start clipping coupons for seafood.

Here's some other reading, just in case you didn't see it before now:
library/puffers-in-focus/an-introductio ... d-puffers/
ug.php/v/PufferPedia/Brackish/T_Nigroviridis/

Freeze-dried bloodworms have pretty much no nutrition. Unfortunately, LFSs are often full of cow poo and don't give you good advice. However, they did GREAT by selling him as a SW fish, not FW!

[firestorm52]

I really like my LFS the advice he has given me has been good on on the other marine fish and what not but I think these were the first Puffers he has sold, its just one guy who created his own buisness about a year ago not far from home so I've been supporting his shop. Thanks for letting me know about the worms. And thanks for the links I was reading a few of those articles in the libary but they all seemed FW, I'd really like to raise SW snails, But I'll check out those links and do some more reasearch!

Thanks,
Dakota

[LilGreenPuffer]

FW snails are perfectly fine for SW fish. I hear that SW snails are insanely hard to breed. I think that nerite snails are pretty easy to breed, and they go all the way from FW to SW.

[sample789]

i read that feeding freshwater stuff to saltwater fish is worse then feeding saltwater stuff to them but i dont think the occasionally snail would hurt but you can also feed ghost shrimp and stuff like that and in personal experience GSPs beaks dont really grow that fast.

[Pufferpunk]

I soak all my FW foods in Selcon & marine vitamins.

[firestorm52]

I've been doing some reading think I found a SW snail that I'll be able to breed if not I'll go steal some outta my brothers 75 gallon reef tank, he has baby snails quite often

Good idea with the soaking food in vitamins I just might do that

[firestorm52]

My GSP just had his first Krill. He loved it! I really need to come up with a name for him.. any suggestions?

[bigfatfish]

I think we need pictures before we can think of names!!

[firestorm52]

meh, Guess so huh? lol I'll go find the camera see If i can't get a few shots of him

[firestorm52]

Wow, I was looking at the price of ghost shrimp at saltwaterfish.com and they want $21.99 ethier I'm looking at the wrong shrimp or you guys must breed them. No way I'm spending 22 bucks for my puffer to have one meal. lol that has to be the wrong kinda ghost shrimp they also have what they call feeder shrimp they are like $7.99 for 10 of them. I've not seen any of my LFS's selling these though?

[Lil' Swimz$]

No, its like that much for a bag of shrimp. I thought that at first too on Drs Foster and Smith.

[LilGreenPuffer]

I get those things for 40 cents each at the LFS. I wouldn't get them online because then you have to pay a ton for shipping.

[firestorm52]

Yeah, I wouldn't buy them online... but none of my LFS carry those. I'll have to ask and see if they can order them or start stocking them or something.

[sample789]

try petco petsmart or walmart i usually only see them there the two fish stores i go to never have them but its fun to watch your puffer hunt them and destroy them, and they should only be like 40 cents a piece not twenty