The Puffer Forum

Another thing, as I mentioned in my other post, I have had my DPs for a few months, and they seem to be getting on well, but I cant get them to eat any frozen food other than bloodworms... they will eat live daphnia, but not frozen, and I cant get hold of live daphnia that easily, and I have tried feeding them mysis shrimp and they will eat one or two at most and then spit them out. I have chucked in some snails from my other tank, in the hope they may become established to the extent that there may be the occasional small juvenile for the puffers to eat, but instead they just nipped at them until they died and were mainly wasted because they didnt even seem to eat the meat from the dead snails. Is a 99% bloodworm diet a bit nutritionally poor for these little chaps?

Trying to breed snails in a puffer tank is usually a hopeless effort, as they will do exactly what yours did, even with really big snails. Breeding them in a separate container is the only way to be successful at it.

If your puffers aren't dangerously thin I would recommend forcing them to fast for a few days and then offer them some other variety of food. I did this with a very picky puffer, and he is still picky, but he eats four different types of food at this point. I would also soak the food in vitamins so they are getting enough nutrition. Soaking in garlic may entice them to eat different foods as well.

I must say I have to chapion the use of garlic in getting puffers to eat. My Mbu Clooney has recently been introduced to small squid/octopus tentacles. He spat them out the first few times but when I soak them in garlic paste with a little water for a few hours he scoffs them down He has now accepted them as "food" so I rarely have to use garlic

I am by no means an expert, but with my two DP's they wouldn't touch anything but frozen bloodworms as well. I have been to many petstores buying up any different types of frozen foods I can find. I have had some success with little shrimps, and brine shrimp, but only if I put them (one at a time) into the tank (thawed of course) and sort of swoosh them around with the small spoon I always use at feeding time. If they don't take it right away I swoosh again to make it look like it is swimming. They have started accepting new foods, but they still Love their bloodworms. So, don't give up, it may take a bit of time to accept the new foods.
Jennifer