The Puffer Forum

Here are pictures of my bigger guys. I have 4 of them and they are all around 2" and bigger.









I had just put in some snails and they are stalking them. I love these guys, they are so friendly.

Beth

I would recommend removing as many of those snail shells as possible. There may be remaining flesh inside them that will rot and increase the bioload, by quite a lot if the number of those shells is any indication.

Thanks boxermom. I had just fed them, those are the ones you are seeing.

Good lord, how many do you feed? They look healthy, just be careful about overfeeding. Their tummies look like they've had a bit more than they should.

wow, i've never seen so many big f8's in the same tank. Thanks for the pics!

I usually take a handful of rams from other tanks and feed them everyday with a fast once a week, usually sunday. I throw away snails I have so many, lol. How do you know how much to feed? With my other fish it is as much as they eat in a minutes. That seems to be hard to do with puffers. I have read the articles about feeding and they caution overfeeding especially young puffers but how do you know if they are being overfed?

Thanks, Beth

When it comes to my puffers, I have to remove the food in less than half a minute. Else they will get very, very full. When giving shrimp, I sometimes have to remove the shrimp in 10 seconds! If I don't, I will have puffers ready to burst! So the thing is to watch as they eat, to see how they do. At least with food bigger than they should eat. With small food, I give them the right amount in the first place. That of course needs knowledge of your puffer(s).

It takes some time to figure out but their stomachs should be slightly rounded but not bulging. At 2", I recommend feeding every other day.

That would be one of the issues with feeding multiple puffers. You cannot feed them individually, and the larger, more aggressive ones, tend to take the food from the more meek...So overfeeding is seen as a solution; to ensure everyone gets their share. Not necessarily the best solution.

I don't agree with BM's recommendation that @ 2" they should be fed every other day...(especially if you are feeding them until only slightly rounded)...Unless you are putting them on a diet to thin them out.

IMO
Given the level of activity, the small size (still growing), and their metabolism...I am more comfortable feeding 1/day ...6 days a week
Average meal size would be 1 of the snails in the picture above/fish/day. The trick is ensuring each fish gets it's snail..and it is not stolen by one of the more aggressive fish

Thanks all. It seems that I am really overfeeding. When I say a handful I meant a handful, lol. It looks like they will have an off day tomorrow then I will start on the 1 snail per puffer.

Your right about the aggression with food. That is how I started to overfeed. One of the puffers wasn't getting enough food. I think I just keep going until I really over do it now.

I appreciate everyone's comments! They are so cute, they deserve the best!

blb wrote:They are so cute, they deserve the best!

I totally agree on both

Any idea how you will manage to keep the more agggressive ones from stealing all the food?

Just curious...I have issues with 2...fed at opposite sides of a tank roughly the same size...

blb, what was your tank size with those guys?

They are in a 20L now but are upgrading very soon. I have electricans coming to give estimates on my fish room. Once I have the electric in I can move everyone and they are going into a 40g. There hasn't been any fin nips and seem to get along but I know that might not last long.

Peregrine, I have been thinking about that all night, feeding. I am thinking what I will do is start out giving 2 snails each and watching. I would like to drop it down slowly and watch and see that everyone is eating. If need be they might only eat every other day or I could have them fast twice a week. I will just watch and see what happens. They are used to a lot so was thinking if I went straight to only 1 snail per puffer then there might be aggression or the weakest might not get enough. It will take time but these guys are sooo worth it.

What do you all think about my plan with feeding?

I fasted them all weekend since they were well fed. I put in 8 snails this morning and thought there would be a feeding frenzy but was pleasantly surprised. They all found their own snail after a couple minutes and ate. I had put the snails all up and down the tank. Tomorrow I'm going to go down to 7 snails. Will let you know how it goes.

Beth