A Puffer meets a Mussel ( Dinner)

vinsaltank

Member
Would anyone know why I cannot post a 4.2meg zipped movie.
I have posted small movies like this before.
In (.zip) format.
Thank you.
 

moraym

Active Member
Spotted puffers always look funny. Before converting my brackish tank I had a few that were fun to watch.
Have you been to the LFS and asked for free snails? The small pest snails that are everywhere in freshwater tanks w/ plants. My LFS had so many they'd give them to me and I'd toss them all in the brackish tank. It was fun to watch the puffer slowly come up to them, bite the end of the snail off, and just pull the snail right out of his shell. Like taking the cream out of a Twinkie, only less delicious.:happy:
 

vinsaltank

Member
I actually have a ten gallon tank set up for nothing but snail reproduction. ( well some feeder guppies are in there too) I did recieve some free snails , apple , ramshorn, mystery etc.
Just a handful of babies from my LFS.
I have the temp up in my snail tank and I put a cuttlestone in recently ( for shell growth) , and I am feeding them everything from shrimp bits, algea sheets, and P.S. snails love parboiled aspergus leftovers from dinner..
I take about 10-15 pea sized snails from it a week, for a special puffer snack.
Its a puffer frenzy when the snails hit the water. From bouncing in the current on the floor of the tank to JET engine speed in 2 secs.
My 2 sons get a real kick out of it.
It is truly amazing to see the strength in the jaws of these little smart hovering blimp shaped dogs..
Crunch and Munch.. time...
I also feed these guys dried krill, earthworms ( from my wifes compost pit... TUG-O-War time if the worm is big enough), squid, frozen bloodworms,frozen krill, mussels and I tried a littleneck clam..( which they managed to pick at and torture for like an hour before he was lunch. But they even got in that HARD shell.
Ever heard of spotted puffs breeding in tank? I have alot of courtship type action between 2 of my larger puffs, and I just increased my salinity to 1.020.
I read spawning takes place in marine conditions. So I kicked the salt up a few points.
The fact that these guys can go from No salt to 1.025 is awesome too. But I am keeping it higher these days because these guys are +1 year old.
 

moraym

Active Member
I never experienced spotted puffers breeding in my tank. Although I may have missed it since surely any offspring would've been taken out by the large 3-year old scats, archers, mono, and the 18" moray (who used to snap towards puffers, but never got one thankfully).
When I moved my fish to a full marine environment, I gave the spotted puffers to a friend's brackish tank. So I have never seen spotted puffers in a full marine tank to observe mating habits.
All brackish fish have better coloration if placed in a full marine environment as they mature. Also need it to spawn. Although it has impacted my eel's feeding habits for some reason, everybody else in the tank has been in full saltwater for 8 months and feeling fine.
It's good to meet someone w/ a brackish tank and brackish fish, they're few and far between. And I personally liked my brackish tank better than a lot of sw tanks.
 
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