The Puffer Forum

any advice on how to stimulate appetite of Dwarf puffers and F8 and GSPs? thanks!

My dwarf puffers really liked live bloodworms, but in a heavily planted tank they were more concerned with catching their own food than anything I offered them.

Of course, make sure your water is clean, the tank is cycled and they are in the proper salinity for each species (dwarfs-freshwater, Figure 8s-low brackish, GSP's- mid brackish to full marine, depending on size).

Please post more information on how you are keeping your puffer(s).

Do you have three types of puffers in one tank? If seperate tanks, how big and what SG?

For all 3 of those... crush some garlic and soak their food in it - garlic is an appetite stimulent.

i have 3 DPs in one 10g tank with some new plants growing, and 1 F8 and 1GSP in a 30 gallon tank with a few other community fish that they do not seem to be bothered with.

should the garlic be fresh or dried? and how do i soak it? should the garlic be poured in a water cup with the food?

Fresh garlic, and yes, sitting it in a cup with food is a perfect way. The DP tank sounds fine, but you will have to remove the community fish from the tank with the GSP and figure 8, and gradually increase the salinity with marine salt mix. You will also need another tank in the near future, because the needs of the GSP and F8 will differ very soon, and the current tank isn't big enough for both as they grow up anyway.

Make sure you use tank or declorinated water to soak the food and garlic. The GSP needs high end brackish and the F8 needs low end brackish, so they are incompatible. And they don't make good community fish. There's a very high likelihood that the puffers will either chew on the other fish or not get enough food if the other fish are faster moving fish. F8s need at least 15g by themselves, and GSPs need at least 30g by themselves, not counting anything else in the tank. So you'll be needing two additional tanks for them in the very near future.

have you read the article?

yes I have thank you