The Puffer Forum

has anyone attempted to feed their Dog Face Puffer Nassarius Snails?

Nassarius snails – These are one of the most interesting snails you can add to your clean-up crew (even though you will not be seeing much of them) and they target an area of the tank not addressed by the snails listed above - in the sand bed. These snails actually bury themselves in the sand and are excellent at sifting and stirring the sand as they burrow through it. They have a long siphon tube that protrudes from their front and you can often see it sticking out of the sand if you look closely. They will also come out of the sand bed to eat (again, a neat thing to watch) and will feed on many forms of detritus that other snails ignore. They do require a deep sand bed (at least 4”) for their survival and should only be added after the tank matures for several months after the cycle. These snails are relentless eaters and are a must for agitating your sand bed.

IMO, their shells are too hard to crunch.

Pufferpunk wrote:IMO, their shells are too hard to crunch.

Really? I've heard of GSP being able to eat them. Has your DFP chipped a tooth?

I don't have a DF. Just because they haven't lost a tooth yet...

Pufferpunk wrote:I don't have a DF. Just because they haven't lost a tooth yet...

I like the idea of the puffer going through the sand and snagging a snail since they burrow in the sand. If it can be fed, I would like to carry them. What experience have you had with them?

My puffers killed all theirs. They couldn't get through the shells, so they stopped trying. First they nipped off the snorkels, so they couldn't hide. Then, chewed them out DP style once they came out of the shells again. Shakespeare could get the whole shells in his mouth, so every now and then he'd remember they once had something in them, and chew on the shell for a bit like it's chewing gum. They all got lost under sand in the move to CT tho.

Nick wrote:My puffers killed all theirs. They couldn't get through the shells, so they stopped trying. First they nipped off the snorkels, so they couldn't hide. Then, chewed them out DP style once they came out of the shells again. Shakespeare could get the whole shells in his mouth, so every now and then he'd remember they once had something in them, and chew on the shell for a bit like it's chewing gum. They all got lost under sand in the move to CT tho.

kk Thank You. what good snails are there for saltwater that are able to be bred? I was going to breed ramshorn and just drop them in there but unsure how freshwater snails might affect em

Just breed the ramshorns, way more efficient. My GSPs, F8 and my fiancées narrow lined dogface all eat freshwater snails.

Nick wrote:Just breed the ramshorns, way more efficient. My GSPs, F8 and my fiancées narrow lined dogface all eat freshwater snails.

sounds like a plan. Same with the red cherry shrimp I'm presuming?

Yup. Might want to start a marble cray tank, too, for when he gets bigger and the shrimp are no longer crunchy. Once he can swallow them in a bite, they're not really giving him crunch anymore, shrimp are much softer than snails.

Nick wrote:Yup. Might want to start a marble cray tank, too, for when he gets bigger and the shrimp are no longer crunchy. Once he can swallow them in a bite, they're not really giving him crunch anymore, shrimp are much softer than snails.

I haven't looked much into Marble Cray Tank. I'll go Google it Any heads up on if they can be bred in same tank as Ramshorn if 10-20g with filter/aerator/heater?

They'll most likely eat the snails. But if you have a 20 gallon, you could probably put in a divider and do both in one.

Nick wrote:They'll most likely eat the snails. But if you have a 20 gallon, you could probably put in a divider and do both in one.

I guess I could do that, then at least I would only need 1 filter/heater

lol never mind. I just read that I can instead just breed them in a tub. I'm thinking one of those big rubbermaid rectangle tubs. Pretty easy to do WC's on them and couldn't hurt to throw on a filter though.

Bummer. I was looking into it and it is better to raise them in an aquarium. I guess I'll pick up a 20-30g or something and juse raise em in there. Oh well, it will add to my collection of random ranks

You could get a 30 gallon and fit the 20high snail tank under it, at least conserve yourself some space.