The Puffer Forum

I have a BIG problem approaching...My wife called me at work today and told me she has booked us a Holiday in the Caribbean....lovely you might say...just one thing....My beloved Puff!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There is no one i can really trust to feed him while I am gone. I have a neighbour who will feed my other tank (Cichlids) thats easy... but I know she won't want to mess around feeding Puff his food, defrosting stuff from the freezer and fishing out any leftovers so they don't rot... I am really in a spot...I don't know what to do....any suggestions??? Pleaseeeeee???

I have tried freeze dried shrimp the last few days, thought that would be easy for her to feed puff with but he's simply not interested in them....what oh what am I going to do??????????????

How long are you going for?, if he's already well fed he should be fine for 2 weeks. Several water changes before you go to make sure the water is pristine may be a good idea as well.

- we don't go anywhere cause we have 2 boxers and no one around me "loves" dogs like we do- so we don't even go see family at Christmas time...you know how much it would cost to kennel 2 boxers?!!

You might talk to your lfs- most in my area maintain tanks in the field- so they could certainly add your house to the stop list- won't be cheap...but it's do-able.

I will be away for 2 weeks.... I am sure my neighbour wouldn't mind going through the process a few times while I am away, just not everyday....I was in the mind that my Puff would need feeding everyday....I feel better now..I was panicking!!!

As for the dogs...I understand that...I have a Cocker Spaniel but my Sister in Law will be looking after her whilst we are away so I don't have a problem there...... Thanks Hilly for some re assurance...as I said, I feel a whole lot better now and I will definately do the water changes..I am very fussy about Puff's water

If you could get you're neighbour to pop in 2 or 3 times while you are away then all the better. If you pre-prepare everything beforehand for whoever and give them a small meal so waste is not going to foul the water as much as a normal full size feeding then it is least likely to go wrong while you are away.

Thanks

To make feeding easier when I am away (either with fish sitter or auto feeder) I have found some dry food that my fig8's love. I think its called Gammarus on the jar, and says sun dried baby shrimp. Just a suggestion.

If you're not going right away, you have tiome to train them to eat freeze-dried foods. Your puffers shouldn't be fed daily anyway. Give them 3 days off & try.

2 weeks without food will be fine .

I would suggest you do a large water change before you go away and make sure all maintenance is up to date. Do you have lights on a timer?

Alternatively, tell the Mrs you can't go!!!

Yeah I'll go if you would prefer

.......don't think not going didn't cross my mind...well for a split second at least.....and then I thought of the golden sands, warm waters, exotic foods and a cocktail or 2 by the pool and I thought...Sod the Puff....lol...just kidding...lol...

I do have my lights on a timer...should I leave them to still come on while I am away or switch them off to help the water qualities hold out???

Pufferpunk....are you saying I should only be feeding my puffer every 3 days now...or just to try to get him to eat dried shrimp????

What type of puffer is he and how big?

I've just got back since the 23rd of december, and didn't have anyone feed my puffers while I was away. All my puffers, 1 x irrubesco, 1 x fangs, 1 x figure 8, 1 x fahaka, 2 x salivator and 2 x borneensis are all still perfectly fit and healthy.