The Puffer Forum

I was thinking about buying some pellets to feed my dogface as a part of his diet. You guys think he would even touch it? He won't even eat flake food, he always spits it back out. I am feeding it now krill, shrimp, squid and snails. He also sometimes eat the seaweed i feed the tang.

You can certainly try but remember that they are crustaceon eaters in the wild. It could help w/their teeth.

Pellet/flake food usually lacks the necessary vitamins and minerals for long term use. The problem with these types of food is that there are no expiration dates on the containers and many sit on wholesalers/LFS shelves indefinitely, not to mention they are often shipped or kept at temperature extremes.

Once exposed to air or if the lid is not kept on securely - nutritional content is altered/affected.

With that being said - one can add vitamins to these types of food and it is readily absorbed and a good way to get vitamins in the fish.

I agree you must suppliment the occasional pellet with normal pufferfoods. See our Library for articles on diet.

My puffer eats pellets. Its not his main diet, but when i need to just feed the tank in a hurry i drop in some pellets and he readily eats them! I didnt buy the pellets with an intention to feed them to my puffer, i was thinking of the tangs and clowns but he eats them and seems to like them.
The pellets i use are rather big and i think they are beneficial for his teeth.
But they couldnt be his main diet, i just use them more as an occaisonal snack

I think when there is competition for food, puffers will eat things not generally in their diet.

I feed my Pink Spotted Puffer sinking shrimp pellets every once in awhile as a treat. My puffer and blue head wrasse love em. As soon as they hit the bottom I can see my hermit crabs migrating over to them and they clean up what the puffer and wrasse don't eat.