The Puffer Forum

I will get getting a GSP in the next couple weeks but what to have a breeder tank set up to breed my own supply of food. I intended on doing snails, pond or ramshorn, but was wondering what I could possibly keep/breed in the tank with them as food. I wasn't sure what snails, shrimp, crab, etc would be compatible for that situation and also wouldn't eat the eggs of one another.

I have tank setup and ready to go I just want to get started as soon as I can and breed/keep as much of a variety as I can.

Any ideas??

Mixed breeders are a no go, it doesn't work. If you wish to breed shrimp or crabs or crays etc they will need their own setup to suit their needs. Welcome to the forum

bertie 83 wrote:Mixed breeders are a no go, it doesn't work. If you wish to breed shrimp or crabs or crays etc they will need their own setup to suit their needs. Welcome to the forum

Thanks!

I had been lurking for a bit and finally decided it would be best to join and help with any questions I may have.

I could have sworn when reading through some topics that someone had mentioned having a breeder tank with snails and something else, crayfish/etc., but it was an older topic and wasn't a whole lot of explanation on how the tank was set up, etc.

Would I be able to raise/breed different species of snails together? Like pond and ramshorn?

What else can be easily bred (beside snails), are healthy/nutritious, and could be a larger part of a GSP's diet? If there is anything.

If you mix snails, one type will dominate its just pointless tbh. In mixed breeders snail eggs get eaten. Crayfish are generally easy to breed.

bertie 83 wrote:If you mix snails, one type will dominate its just pointless tbh. In mixed breeders snail eggs get eaten. Crayfish are generally easy to breed.

Okay. Thanks. Would I be better off doing pond or ramshorn?

I am not too familiar either but thought maybe pond would be just fine at first as far as size and such and maybe do ramshorn later with breeding?

Is there a particular kind of crayfish that is easy to keep/breed and great for GSPS to eat? And any info on the setup?

I have a 5 gallon setup now that I intended on using for the snails but would obtain a larger aquarium if needed for crayfish/etc.

Sorry, I've got so many questions!

Either snail is fine, I think pond snails reproduce faster. Google self replicating crays and have a read, you will likely find it useful.

bertie 83 wrote:Either snail is fine, I think pond snails reproduce faster. Google self replicating crays and have a read, you will likely find it useful.

Will do, thanks!

That actually sounds familiar, from reading through topics on this forum I'm sure.

hi while you guys are on this topic, i was also curious about shelled foods you can breed; Is there any i could breed in my marine tank sump? like snails etc as i am unsure about the breeding of any species in captivity (if no1 has an answer before i find out i'll let you all know) other than snails is there anything really? thanks for any replies

cal_mul wrote:hi while you guys are on this topic, i was also curious about shelled foods you can breed; Is there any i could breed in my marine tank sump? like snails etc as i am unsure about the breeding of any species in captivity (if no1 has an answer before i find out i'll let you all know) other than snails is there anything really? thanks for any replies

found mini turbo's (collonista spp.) max size 0.25" (6mm) of which they can reproduce well in some systems. hope this is of use to some people i am going to try and add to the main tank and see what the outcome is. still looking for other things that could reproduce in marine though.

I personally would not breed stuff in a sump, it all adds to the bio-load of the tank. Snails poop lots lol

I just ordered some ramshorn snails and red cherry shrimp to have on hand, and hopefully breeding, for food for my soon to be GSP.

I'm actually pretty excited, can't believe I am for what it is though haha.

Snail breeding for me has been a pain. I've tried dedicated 10 and 15g tanks and once snails get established they produce no more. I've started to use 5g buckets starting with a handful of mature snails and after a week or so of egg laying, I remove the adults and let the eggs hatch and grow...Rotating between two 5g buckets.

That pic is a bit too large.

I set it t0 800x600 in my Photobucket...It even says that in the properties. IDK, I reset and saved it again to see what happens.

bertie 83 wrote:I personally would not breed stuff in a sump, it all adds to the bio-load of the tank. Snails poop lots lol

hmmmmm, i didn't consider that and i am currently wanting my No3 as near to 0 as possible so i might not bother.
found a lifesaver though, after plenty of hunting around in shops i found Sainsburys sell shelled king prawns
so that should tidy him over till i find a better shelled food for him. in your experience would the shells of these prawns be enough to grind the teeth down if feed 3 times a week and obviously vary with other foods?