A little feeding advice for a Porcupine Puffer

[alfieferenzo84]

I got him about a year ago and he used to eat all kinds of frozen foods but now that he is bigger about 5inches+ he will only eat uncooked shrimp so i usally drop one med size shrimp in the tank a day
But i am having major trouble with nitrates and wounder am i over feeding as they told me to ask how often to feed and ect
so if anyone knows please let me know, i thought i read a while back that when there young feed everyday then once older only feed every 3 days?
So let me know also what else do you suggest to feed him?
he wont eat myist,brine,squid,mussel
only eats uncooked shrimp fav. and sumtimes when i run out of food after 2-3days he will eat krill
thanks

 

[srfisher17]

Your last sentence has the answer:"and sumtimes when i run out of food after 2-3days he will eat krill". Shrimp is his favorite and he always gets it, he won't starve if he goes a few days without eating.. Also, I wouldn't give a puffer any food that he has to tear apart to eat; lots of "crumbs" that will contribute to your nitrate problem. These fish grow big and need food; but, just like with other fish, don't give him more than he will eat within a few mins. Shrimp should be cut, shell & all, into bite size pieces and keep trying other foods. Freeze dried krill, soaked in Selcon, is a good choice.Give him a piece of plain cuttlebone (for birds) to gnaw on--their teeth need the trimming. I just glue a piece to a small rock and put it in the tank.

 

[alfieferenzo84]

well i know he wont die without food for prolly a week but i want him to be healthy!
Also we do cut the shrimp up but he likes to chew it then spit it out and play with it and ect, krill is very tiny and omg he plays with 1 pice for like a min lol just to make a big mess and in the end he barely eats any of it so i donno what to say about that, he not like my other fish that just eat it, he likes to play i guess???
i know we need to find other food for him to! But he does eat the crabs. snails to trim his teeth and they look about the same always so i dont think that is a problem but i know we do need other food sources!
Thanks

 

[limitedslip]

puffers are like a fat kid at mcdonalds, they have trouble stuffing all the food in their mouth at once. so most puffers stuff all the whole piece in their mouth, spit out what they can swallow, and do it again. That is very normal and typical behavior. In fact, if you have other fish, its a great way to feed them at the same time

What is the size of the tank, and does he have any other tankmates? This could be contributing to the nitrate problem, if you are overstocked, or hte puffer is in too small of a tank.
also, as for food selection, mine eats abolutely everything, but there's one food it'll go crazy for, SILVERSIDE. you might want to try that, cut a piece into 3, and try feeding one of those pieces, my puffers will spit at me if he sees silverside sitting on top of hte tank, and he cant reach it...so thats just my 2 cents to food selection.

 

[alfieferenzo84]

Originally Posted by Limitedslip
puffers are like a fat kid at mcdonalds, they have trouble stuffing all the food in their mouth at once. so most puffers stuff all the whole piece in their mouth, spit out what they can swallow, and do it again. That is very normal and typical behavior. In fact, if you have other fish, its a great way to feed them at the same time

What is the size of the tank, and does he have any other tankmates? This could be contributing to the nitrate problem, if you are overstocked, or hte puffer is in too small of a tank.
also, as for food selection, mine eats abolutely everything, but there's one food it'll go crazy for, SILVERSIDE. you might want to try that, cut a piece into 3, and try feeding one of those pieces, my puffers will spit at me if he sees silverside sitting on top of hte tank, and he cant reach it...so thats just my 2 cents to food selection.
i think mine is picky he used to love silversides then wouldnt even look a them, Then he started to eat myist but now that he is bigger he dont even bother with them, pretty much its krill or raw shrimp!
i have a 75 with 2 other small fish clown fish, clown goby so its prolly boarder line, the puffer is only about 5inche had him for a yr so he is growing very slow!!! I want to move him to a 120-180 when i move out!
ill try playing around with different size food and see if i can find a way to make it less mess as i am having trouble with nitrates and this maybe one of the reason so they told me to come to this part and ask how oftem to feed!!!

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by Limitedslip
puffers are like a fat kid at mcdonalds, they have trouble stuffing all the food in their mouth at once. so most puffers stuff all the whole piece in their mouth, spit out what they can swallow, and do it again. That is very normal and typical behavior. In fact, if you have other fish, its a great way to feed them at the same time

What is the size of the tank, and does he have any other tankmates? This could be contributing to the nitrate problem, if you are overstocked, or hte puffer is in too small of a tank.
also, as for food selection, mine eats abolutely everything, but there's one food it'll go crazy for, SILVERSIDE. you might want to try that, cut a piece into 3, and try feeding one of those pieces, my puffers will spit at me if he sees silverside sitting on top of hte tank, and he cant reach it...so thats just my 2 cents to food selection.
mine hates silversides, if I feed them he will glare at me and swims under a rock. then way late at night I'll catch him nibbling on it. Like he is sneaking it so that I don't find out. My puffer loves nori, the jerk will go through a sheet before my sailfin even notices it in the tank. Maybe he just likes to chew it. Because he shreds it and it floats around my tank.