I'm so frustrated. I have a 3.5" porcupine puffer and a 3.5" clown trigger in a 72g tank. Despite numerous attempts the porcupine puffer will only eat krill. I've gotten the clown to eat squid/clams/shrimp. My main problem is when these fish eat(especially the puffer) they make such a HUGE mess. The puffer will take a krill in his mouth and shred it into 30 pieces and only eat probably 1/2 of it. Little pieces of meat float all over my tank and despite have close to 2000 g/h circulation I still get spots where food collects. I'm tired of having to remove this food every time I feed them. I don't know why these fish can't eat the little pieces of food after they finish with the larger pieces. They are alway soooo hungry when I approach the tank so I konw that has nothing to do with it.
Why can't my fish eat right?
- Thread starter jamal-188
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Anemoneman
Aquarium Advice Addict
Porcupine puffers will act like they are starving even when full to the point of bursting. They are pigs. You may as well get used to cleaning up after them. If you get lax you will get a huge algae oubreak from all the extra nutrients in the water.
One soluton may be to get a queen conch, a large one that the puffer can't molest, to eat the leftovers. Maybe a big hermit crab would work too.
One soluton may be to get a queen conch, a large one that the puffer can't molest, to eat the leftovers. Maybe a big hermit crab would work too.
wrkalot said:
I actually tried this on a few ocassions. I would let him starve for 3 days and he still won't take anything else. Should I try 4-5 days? I do use garlic guard and rotate a few vitamins but I'm just worried he's not getting everything he needs from the krill. My LFS has some large Crowie's maybe one of them would clean up the mess decent?
Anemoneman
Aquarium Advice Addict
Cowries should work. Can't get 'em around here... 
pecan2phat
Aquarium Advice Freak
Careful on the Krill jamal, years ago I couldn't resist a Golden Puffer that I saw @ a LFS, so $200 later, he was nice & happy in my 90g tank. I mean this guy was great, animated and the star attraction of the tank. Well he got to liking freeze dried Krill and that's all he would eat most of the time. Sometimes he would eat some silversides, but that was messy too. In short, over a period of about 12-15 months, he died after losing his intestines. Kind of like a long whitish thick string from his bowels.
Later on, I talked to some people & did some research & the constant everyday diet of freeze dried krill did this to his intestines.
Later on, I talked to some people & did some research & the constant everyday diet of freeze dried krill did this to his intestines.
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