whetto

does anyone have any info on what i could feed my green spotted puffer and dwarf puffer to keep their beaks worn enough so they dont starve? i put some ghost shrimp in with them since they seem to love eating them, and they like krill and freeze dried brine shrimp, but i'm worried that these foods aent hard enough for their beaks to wear down enough. thanks!

Gunnie

Puffers love pond snails, and the hardness of their shells will help keep the puffers teeth worn down. Do not feed them malaysian trumpet snails. Their shells are too hard and will break the puffers teeth.

whetto

thanks,this may be a stupid question, but are there any chain stores where i can find pond snails? or what would be the easiest way to get them.

felixfefe

^^I think you can buy them in most fishy stores!! , ive read about people growing them themselves actually...That's a nice cheap way to do it i think..Perhaps not in the same tank though, as i think it can get a bit out of control. Googling it will probably yeald useful information! http://www.dwarfpuffers.com/care1.htm, there are a couple of articles down the bottomish end of the page that may be useful!Goodluck! I'm going to get a puffer soon! I cant wait, they're so cool!
Little doggy faces! Hehe!

Gunnie

Look for snail or their eggs on plants for sale at your LFS. It's common to get snails as hitchikers when you buy aquatic plants. Once you have them, it's usually hard to get rid of them, so you won't need that many to start with. You could easily get one of those plastic 1 or 2 gallon tanks, and breed them for your puffers. You would just need to provide filtration and some food like veggie wafers. They will also eat dead leaves off any live plants you had in the tank.

P.S. You could also ask if you could have the small snails for free. Most hobbyists and lfs consider them a nuisance, and they might be happy to give them to you.

whetto

oh those little things. yeah my local petsmart was very eager to give them to me for free! im guessing that the puffers loved them cause i dropped about nine or ten into the tank and havent seen any of them since. i also put about six ghost shrimp in the tank, and while i havent seen the dwarf puffer pay much attention to them, it is loads of fun watching Hulk, my GSP hunt and track them until he finally catches one! hes getting to be a fat little guy and always swims to the side of tank i'm watching from after he eats as if to thank me.