Feeding Dwarf Puffes

[azn_fishy55]

(Note: I always have bad luck feeding my fishies LOL)
Okay I have tried Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms so far and the only thing my Dwarf Puffers eat are the Brine Shrimp. Some puffers eat the bloodworms but the others just nibble on it. Thay haven't been eating since last saturday, I REALLY don't want them to die so please help me.

 

[poppab02]

If you have a good lfs in the area with a big plant setup go there and ask them for some of their small pond snails. Most all of them will just give them to you for free and your Puffers will definitely nibble on them for a good while.

 

[Fluff]

Mine loved live blackworms and wouldn't touch brine. It also wouldn't eat ghost shrimp although I had a good many in there and they were constantly breeding. It would eat the very small pond snails from time to time though.

 

[Gryph]

Mine are very finicky. They will always, without fail, eat the snails I put in, and I can generally get them to eat live blackworms, since they wriggle. Sometimes they'll eat frozen bloodworms but half the time they don't. You just have to keep trying til you find the right thing, and keep those snails coming!

 

[azn_fishy55]

Okay next time I go I will ask for some snails,I tried live black worms and the puffers and all the fish ignore them.

 

[Snuffleupagus]

Yeah, the dwarf puffer pickiness is the one drawback of an otherwise really, really cool fish. Mine so far has refused everything except for live worms and snails. I've gotten him to nip at freeze-dried bloodworms by shaking them with tweezers to try to emulate movement, but he won't actually eat it, and eventually the ghost shrimp comes over and snags it.

I set up the dp tank in the hopes of relocating it to my office, but I'm not sure I want to deal with the logistics of feedings live food anywhere but home.

 

[azn_fishy55]

T_T three of my six dwarf puffers had disspaeared...they don't seem to be eating.

 

[Snuffleupagus]

Have you been able to get a hold of any snails yet? If you can't find any locally you can buy some from some place like aquabid.com, or even ebay. There are probably online companies that sell them as well. My first puffer died because it wouldn't eat, so I know how it is (of course, back then I had him in a community tank with lots of fast, eager fish, and I was only feeding freeze-dried and flake foods).

 

[azn_fishy55]

I haven't gone yet because my mom is pissed at me for getting a B+ on my report card, the rest were all A's. I'll try aquabid.com, is it safe to use a credit card there????

 

[Snuffleupagus]

I haven't gone yet because my mom is *beep* at me for getting a B+ on my report card, the rest were all A's. I'll try aquabid.com, is it safe to use a credit card there????

It's an auction site, and in my experience PayPal is pretty much the standard method of paying, though I imagine there are those that would take checks. Hopefully you can do the PayPal method, because it sounds like your puffers could use snails relatively soon. I bought a starter culture of pond/ramshorn snails for a total of $6 (including shipping) from a nice girl there, and they came in a couple days and are now breeding like crazy in an older plastic container.

 

[azn_fishy55]

I got the last three to eat blackworms and sadly guppy fry(is it cruel to let them do that?).

 

[Snuffleupagus]

I got the last three to eat blackworms and sadly guppy fry(is it cruel to let them do that?).

It's only natural to be concerned, but don't worry, the blackworms hardly feel a thing.

Seriously, though, seeing as guppy adults are probably the most common feeder fish, I wouldn't feel guilty about the fry.

 

[azn_fishy55]

ok thanks