how to get puffer to hunt

[celbrise]

I have had my puffer for almost a year now and it is doing fine the problem is it doesn't hunt for it's food and when i try giving it live snails it shy's away and will peck at it once or twice and just swim away. with dead food like froozen shrimp shell on it will go right for it. it cannot open up clams yet as it's still small. how do i get it to start hunting for food? only thing i can feed it atm is live snails my state doesn't sell live ghost shrimp at pet stores and its expensive just to ship here.

also another question i actually found 1 person selling live ghost shrimp in my state not sure if he is still selling them but if so is $10 a good deal for 100? and also how do i keep them alive i only have a 10 gal tank for breeding snails

[sgtmyers88]

You should simply avoid feeding. The puffer will find a way to find something to eat in that tank. (if there is still something worth eating in the tank it most assuredly will hunt it down)

As for the shrimp that is 10 cents a shrimp so I would go for it.

[scpion]

I dun suggest u get that much then.. Shrimps need pretty good water and cycled tank. I would forsee the death rate if them to be pretty high even for a 20 g tank.. Dun even think of housing some with your snails either.. They eat snails..

They are worthless if not fed and housed properly.

[RTR]

Not enough information. Tell us about the tank and water parameters and routine care along with any tankmates present. The set-up and care and foods offer make a great deal of difference in a fish's behavior.

[celbrise]

to be honest i don't know what the peramiters are -.-" i keep forgetting to check on a weekly basis. today i have to clean out my tank, add more salt, and for sure i will check the parameters and give you the numbers although i don't own any fancy equipment it's the cheap strips only. But i have to say i do not think it's the water quality. it's kept in a 53gal tank alone it has a ton of space. when it is hungry it won't even attempt to attack food i put in maybe nibble on the gravel looking for food but not go right for food when i put it in. the only time it will do this is if i smash up a snail ( which im trying to avoid so it can learn to hunt properly ) and when i feed already dead food like frozen shrimp.

as for the ghost shrimp yea 100 seemed a bit too much but their is no where to buy them in my state pet store wise so i guess i will just not buy them

[Pufferpunk]

Nothing fancy about API Master Test kits. Get yourself the proper testing equipment.

[celbrise]

what kind of test kit would you suggest? I have be using those cheap test strips only. I am looking to buy in bulk to save on money/shipping not any time soon but within a year for sure.

[Pufferpunk]

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... 1b2166c62d

[Squaffy]

A good trick with snails...

Put some tank water in a small glass jar, get a clove of garlic and just squash it under a bread board or something, enough to split it (don't chop it)

Get a couple of snails and bash them too, enough to crack their shells but not kill them outright, and plop them in the jar of tank water with the squished garlic clove

Leave them to soak for an hour or two

Then remove the garlic and tip the water and snails into the tank and watch your puffer decide snails are its new favourite food

Worked for mine when he was being picky and definately worth a go - nothing to lose by trying it. Hope it works for yours

My wife often comments on the 'French' cuisine I spoil him with occasionally

Oh and +1 for the API Master test kit. You can just replace the individual bottles as and when they run out

[celbrise]

Hmm don;t see many of those kits in the pet shops but i know one that has them. I will buy those next time. As for the garlic trick sounds a bit harmful to the fish I don;t want to try that out unless confirmed safe lol by others. But yea cracking the shells without smashing the snail would be good the problem is it's hard to do that I can easily smash them with my fingers which shows how fragile they are. I think i will try my first method of just leaving some snails in and if it doesn;t eat them try smashing without breaking and if that doesn't work try the garlic method ( after doing research it's safe )

[bertie 83]

Garlic is perfectly safe, it's a great appetite stimulant

[RTR]

+1 to bertie and Squaffy's comments. Garlic is great appetite stimulant for many critters.

[Pufferpunk]

library/feeding/problems-feeding-your-puffer/

[celbrise]

thanks for confirming maybe i will try that garlic trick with a small snail. thanks for the link as well i keep forgetting to refer to that -.-"