Is live only feeding a total pain in the butt?????

[kindafishy]

This is a spin-off from another thread I started.

I want to get dwarf puffers for my 64 liter (17 gallon) to do a planted species tank.

The ONLY thing holding me back on DP is the live only feeding issue, knowing that :

1) I have only ever had fish that accept flakes / pellets at least some of the time (no experience)
2) I live in a really really remote rural area so the practicality of replenishing stock would (might?) be an issue. Only 1 LFS --- at 20+ miles away.
3a) I travel quite a bit for work, and feeding would be hubby's responsibility when I am gone (approx 2 x per months, few days at a time). I can't see him having the patience or the desire to do anything other than flakes / pellets (which he was good about with my previous tank)
3b) I can't see him putting up with any sort of snail farm and, for that matter, the idea doesn't thrill me either!
4) ok, there is frozen BUT what if the DP refuse it, and also if I am limited to that don't they have less nutrients?

One thing -- since I do live in a rural area, and we have a stocked lake on our property, I would have access to fresh bloodworms. So that is (maybe) a plus. BUT these are the kind that fisherman use as bait -- I think they are a bit fatter / bigger than what everyone seems to be referring to as bloodworms. Would these even be appropriate???

Dilemma, dilemma....

I would love to hear your experiences / opinions about the 'live only' feeding experience.

This is THE deciding factor on whether I go Dwarf Puffer or German Blue Ram.

THANK YOU!

 

[GodFan]

I hav always been scared of live feeding. I only have flake food fish as well. I want to get a fw flounder and maybe some other "live only" fish. I am gonna keep an eye on this thread lol Good luck!

 

[kindafishy]

I hav always been scared of live feeding. I only have flake food fish as well. I want to get a fw flounder and maybe some other "live only" fish. I am gonna keep an eye on this thread lol Good luck!

And here I thought I was the only person a little freaked out at the prospect of live-only feeding.... Good to know that I have some company!

 

[Ausfish]

I'm pretty sure most people dedicate a tank or two just for keeping, breeding and raising live food

 

[kindafishy]

I'm pretty sure most people dedicate a tank or two just for keeping, breeding and raising live food

So if that wouldn't be a viable option for me (mostly because I would like to stay married!! lol), would live-only not likely work??

 

[GodFan]

I think dps take frozen food. That would be much simpler.

 

[Terrance]

Picking up a tiny snail is like picking up a lady bug or other small insects. There is nothing slimy about it because once you touch the snail, it hides in its shell. Most people think they are really cool looking when crawling around community tanks.

If you and your spouse can't managed to grow snails, then don't get DPs. You can throw in any kind of worms (dead or alive); however, the bigger the worm, the more mess you will have in your tank and the more likely you will end up overfeeding.

I have a snail farm and a worm farm. Worms are absolutely disgusting to me, so I only pick them up with thin, long tweezers because they are covered in dirt and feel slimy. I use my hands to pick up the snails because they are clean and not slimy.

IMO get the Blue Ram. It fits your situation more.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

For your pufferfish - they like snails and crayfish.

So setup a 2nd tank, and raise the snails and crayfish.

 

[kindafishy]

If you and your spouse can't managed to grow snails, then don't get DPs. You can throw in any kind of worms (dead or alive); however, the bigger the worm, the more mess you will have in your tank and the more likely you will end up overfeeding.

I have a snail farm and a worm farm. Worms are absolutely disgusting to me, so I only pick them up with thin, long tweezers because they are covered in dirt and feel slimy. I use my hands to pick up the snails because they are clean and not slimy.

IMO get the Blue Ram. It fits your situation more.

Thank you Terrance for your frank reply. I was afraid that this might be the case... while I am disappointed in hearing this, I do want to be a responsible pet owner and realistic in my choices!

 

[kindafishy]

I think dps take frozen food. That would be much simpler.

Yes, I have heard this --- but is frozen enough?

 

[Terrance]

Yes, I have heard this --- but is frozen enough?

Frozen blood worms can't be fed to these little buggers in the long term. Frozen brine shrimp is ok. But I think both will get really expensive over time.

You could try feeding them frozen raw shrimp at the grocery store. Just buy the ones without the shell and head if you don't feel comfortable taking them off.

I have heard that some owners feeding them raw shrimp, but I can't seem to get my dwarf to eat raw shrimp. She only eats snails.

You will probably have to chop one end of the shrimp into strings so it can fit the DP's mouth.

But what if your DP won't eat the shrimp at all?

 

[ilostnemo]

what type of dwarf puffer?

 

[Terrance]

there's more than 1 type of dwarf puffer?

 

[ilostnemo]

there are a couple. most common one is a gold bb

 

[Terrance]

I've never heard of gold bb. What's the full name?

 

[ilostnemo]

Carinotetraodon travancoricus
then there is

Carinotetraodon imitator

 

[ilostnemo]

then you have carinotetraodon irrubesco. they get to 2 inches. so i would consinder it a dwarf

 

[Terrance]

Right, so you meant the whole carinotetraodon species.

I'm not entirely sure if the person who seperated travancoricus and imitator knows if its another species or just the same species that is evolving.

 

[ilostnemo]

yeah lol. you can feed them bloodworms for sure to get them to eat. call lfs and see if they sell live black worms

 

[kindafishy]

what type of dwarf puffer?

Carinotetraodon travancoricus