GSP

[ZORLANDER]

Hello all!
I'm new to the forums and to puffer ownership. Would like some advice on snails for my baby. What kind should he eat and where on line can I buy them? I have been to the big pet stores but they tell me they don't have any. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Terrance]

Any kind of snail is ok. I get lots of free pest snails from Petco and Petsmart.

 

[ZORLANDER]

I've tried both big stores here in OKC but they never have any.

 

[Terrance]

Local hobbyist have any free?
Last resort is to buy snails and breed them yourself (pretty easy and inexpensive).

 

[ZORLANDER]

That's the question. Where can I buy them? No one close to me has any...

 

[Terrance]

Petsmart and Petco do not have any snails at all in your area? Thats news to me. I thought some of them have pest snails, but at least one of them would have snails on sale.

Well.. Next option is to buy through the classified section of this forum. Try aquabid.com or other online sources.

 

[Alyxx]

I breed ramshorn snails for mine. You can find them on the forum sometimes, and I've gotten some from eBay before as well. They breed quickly.

 

[bettaowner]

Ramshorns are your best option. They are easy to find and breed like rabbits. MT snails also work.

 

[Alyxx]

Ramshorns are your best option. They are easy to find and breed like rabbits. MT snails also work.

MTS should not be used to feed puffers! The shape of their shells makes the shell very hard, which can lead to the puffer cracking it's teeth or choking on a snail it couldn't crush.

 

[bettaowner]

Really? I read an old issue of tropical fish magazine that said puffers could eat them.

 

[Alyxx]

Really? I read an old issue of tropical fish magazine that said puffers could eat them.

All of the puffer sites and forums I've visited have strongly recommended against it. I'd never risk it.

 

[bettaowner]

I think you're right. I've only kept dwarf puffers. I would at least think a monster puffer like the mbu would be able to eat MTS.

 

[Alyxx]

Yeah, bigger puffers shouldn't have a problem but GSPs shouldn't have them. They're just too hard shelled.

 

[Terrance]

Yeah you're right, bigger puffers can eat MTS. I've read about a fellow feeding MTS to his full sized ceylon puffer.

 

[bettaowner]

Correct me if I'm wrong but a gsp is only an inch or two smaller than a ceylon right. So it wouldn't really make that much of a difference correct?

 

[Terrance]

Not sure.

Inches means very little to us giants. Imagine a guy 6ft tall compared to a guy 8ft tall. Put that into perspective.

 

[Alyxx]

Plus, when you are looking at a juvenile GSP, you're talking about a fish that's just a couple inches long.

 

[bettaowner]

Well a full grown gsp could eat a small mts right?