The Puffer Forum

Isn't he soooo cute????








He's about 4 inches long, and eats like a freaking pig!

...Which brings up a question...just how many cubes of brine shrimp, etc. should this guy be eating...1 cube per feeding just doesn't seem anywhere near enough for this guy.

We've tried giving him squid and an oyster...he was afriad of both of them...I'm thinking he might just be a little young yet...might try garlic though if he keeps avoiding them because he can't just eat brine shrimp/krill.

Anyways, he seems happy in his new home...very calm...doesn't try to hide or anything...in fact, his favorite corner of the tank is the one right next to the couch where we all sit.

He's soooooo cute, what a proud parent you must be

I'm just soooo jealous

He should be on on a better diet than brineshrimp.
Check out the feeding article in the library

Rocker wrote:He should be on on a better diet than brineshrimp.
Check out the feeding article in the library

I have read all the feeding articles, and I fully understood well before I got him what he needed to eat. At the pet store, all they fed him was brine shrimp and krill, and I'd imagine that since they had him over a month, he's just not sure what this other stuff is because he's never seen it.

At any rate, I'm slowly introducing other foods as mentioned earlier, but in the meantime, since he isn't eating anything but the shrimp and krill...is 1 small cube per feeding adequate (feeding him 3x a day)? Seems like a little amount of food for a large puffer.

Very cute puffer! Maybe give snails a try. I've heard they are irresistable to puffers.

Whilst you are feeding him brine shrimp then he will never get used to taking other foods. You are making it alot harder for yourself and the puffer than it needs to be. Brine shrimp is not enough nor is it a good diet for a puffer. they require a lot more nutritional food than the brine shrimp..

I would not feed him for 3 days & then offer him better foods, soaked in vitamins.

Pufferpunk wrote:I would not feed him for 3 days & then offer him better foods, soaked in vitamins.

Will try this. Thx.

Also Ive noticed that if you dangle the shrimp/krill/whatever seafood in the water and sort of shake it, then the puffers take a lot more interest in it. They think its alive which is more appealing to them. Hope this helps

Wow, that was one absolutely gorgeous puffer! This most certainly make me want a SW tank! Luckily I can't afford it

bonnie3188 wrote:Also Ive noticed that if you dangle the shrimp/krill/whatever seafood in the water and sort of shake it, then the puffers take a lot more interest in it. They think its alive which is more appealing to them. Hope this helps

Didn't work on my GSP. It wasn't until I stopped doing it, and turned my back to her, that she started eating. Actually she fooled me. When I turned my back on her, she could eat without me taking away the shrimp again. Suddenly I had a very, very full puffer But I guess that moving the shrimp that made her interested in the first place. I also squeezed out some "juice" from the shrimp into the water, so she couldn't resist the taste/smell.

BTW brine shrimp - can anyone give me a description and another name (if there is one). I'm having trouble with the translation here. I don't quite know what kind of shrimp this is.

Brine shrimp are the little things often known as 'Sea Monkeys' (Artemia salina). They are sold in frozen cubed form, and sometimes people hatch them to feed them for small fish fry.

bonnie3188 wrote:Also Ive noticed that if you dangle the shrimp/krill/whatever seafood in the water and sort of shake it, then the puffers take a lot more interest in it. They think its alive which is more appealing to them. Hope this helps

My little Toby is stalking me as soon as I come in view of the tank, and anything I put near the tank he tries to eat. No need for making krill dance for him.

Adorable Porc, I am so jealous of you! These guys are the most interactive puffers IMO. Be sure to share with us via more pictures.

Tiny tiny salt water shrimp about 1/4" long max, freeswimming with many legs. Sea monkeys.

OraLacerta wrote:Brine shrimp are the little things often known as 'Sea Monkeys' (Artemia salina).

Ah! Artemia was the magic word. That's what we call them in Norway. I even have what I need to breed them myself. That's a nasty business though (Tried once. The whole thing fell down on the floor after they had started hatching. And it stinks!).

I never thought of giving that to the puffers. Would they like to go hunting at newly hatched artemia? I would have thought them too small!

BTW, thanks for the explanation