Dwarf Puffer Profile

[Terrance]

I'm not sure either because I never bought daphnia before or looked into buying them. Your question is better suited for the FW/BW General Discussion of this forum. Sorry!

 

[Tcal01]

I want to start a puffer tank in my 10 thar IM not using. I was going to do 1 male and 1 female. Should i introduce them into the tank at the same time? Will they eat MTS and common garden worms?

 

[Terrance]

You can intro them at the same time, but observe carefully. Any snail is fine for DP because they are smart enough to go around the hard exterior shell and straight to the meat. Garden worms are ok as well as long as you did not use any chemicals. If the worms are very large, then cut a piece of the worm off for feeding.

 

[Tcal01]

What else would they need in addition to that? Sorry if this is redundant :/

 

[Terrance]

Lots of tank decor and weekly 50% water change.

 

[Fishy Aston]

Can they be kept with other medium sized fish like silver dollars angelfish mollys?

 

[Terrance]

Its possible, but its unlikely to work in the long-run.

 

[janky]

So I got a DP yesterday... this little guy is awesome!

I was wondering about the food scenario...
It's probably just cause s/he's new to the tank, but it seems oblivious to food. I dropped a couple blood worms right above it's head and he just swam away uninterested.

There is a snail bloom in the tank and he's in there with about 8 RCS, so I'm sure he would not have any problems getting food right?

Does it take them a while to feel comfortable enough to eat? And is it fine to feed him bloodworms/krill/beefheart? Or should I pick up some frozen baby brine shrimp?


Thanks in advance. I refer back to this thread all the time to research these guys so I appreciate you posting it

 

[Terrance]

He will need to get used to you feeding him. Wild fish are accustomed to hunting fish. They need to learn that you are serving food on a platter. Try to feed different things until he starts eating.

 

[janky]

So far he loves eating snails. We drop one in the tank and he circles it and then charges it and shakes it all around in his mouth... it's pretty amusing to watch!

However krill, dried shrimp, pellets, bloodworms... all a no-go.

It's not good to feed him snails everyday is it? I'm thinking of picking up some small, raw baby shrimps from the grocer and chopping them up to give him pieces.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Feed baby sinking cichlid pellets, for more nutrition!!!

 

[Terrance]

Its fine to only feed snails because they are nutritious.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Oh really, because they don't need to eat snails to survive and they don't have a beak to trim...

 

[janky]

well I picked up some tiny raw shrimps from the grocery store and chopped up a piece. I give him little chunks and he loves it!!

It's funny to watch him grab a piece and shake his head around all aggressively like a dog with a chew toy

 

[Deep Seven]

I've heard they like live blackworms if you can find a source nearby.

Can I ask where you got the puffer from? I'm having trouble finding anyone selling them.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

Well that's great!!!

Go on thatfishplace.com they sell online...

 

[Terrance]

Oh really, because they don't need to eat snails to survive and they don't have a beak to trim...

You are right. DPs don't need snails to survive and don't have teeth problems, but snails are still very nutritious when comparing to dead food. My former DP never bit the shell. She went straight to the meat. Snails are also easily accessible and cost $0 (pest snails). Better to feed the live snails than dead food. Basically most of the live food is better than dead food. Live black worms included. When I feed my other puffers dead food, I soak them in aquarium vitamins.

 

[janky]

I get mine at a local mom&pop LFS - they always have like 5-6 of them in a tank so crowded with plants its hard to even find the little guys. They're like $5 a piece.
If you're in WA state it's called "A Place for Pets" in Burien.

He ate the live shrimp we put in there too. Since we have a planted tank that's just undergoing a BURST of snails + shrimp I think we'll have plenty of food for a while - I counted 32 baby snails today. Up to about 12 RCS and it looks like one is preggo.

I can't find bbs or live blackworms anywhere. All I can find in the way of carnivore food is frozen, never anything live

Also, read that in the wild DP's are mollusk hunters anyway... so I don't think the snails are a bad choice, just like to give him variety

 

[janky]

Is it normal for them to be kinda pale?
He's healthy and floating around and eating, but he's not very colorful and kinda pale.

 

[FreshwaterTropical]

It could be depending on what color he is normally???