Feeding hard-shelled to Valentini

[kanicky]

I spent a while searching the forums last night on feeding our newest addition, the Valentini Puffer. Everything said matched what we were told at the LFS, so I'm happy about that

That said, I was just wondering...do I put the mussel/clam on the bottom of the sandbed and let the puffer have at it, or is there something else I need to do? (I know I will probably need to open the shell's side a little bit to make it easier to access...)
How will the puffer actually get the shell open? He's so small, it's hard to imagine his little beak opening a big shell like that...
What about when I feed it shelled shrimp? Leave it floating at the top? Feed it on a feeder stick?
(He went crazy over the mysis shrimp fed today, and has already killed two small hermits, which was quite entertaining...)

 

[kanicky]

Bump?

 

[stanlalee]

if its shelled like a clam or mussell you'll hvae to open it up partially so it can stick its beak in there. Dont just leave the shelled stuff floating around. rubberband or wedge it between some rocks. you can probably just throw a shelled mussel of clam right on the bottom.

 

[joojoo]

I found freeze dried krill the easiest thing with a shell to feed to my Valentini. Frozen will sink. Feeding a clam or mussel would probably only be a treat for him, he wouldn't benefit from any tooth grinding from these since you will have to manually open them yourself.

 

[darthgoby]

I have a blue spotted puffer and have fed him a variety of things. My wife calls him "Puffie" so I will as well.
1.) Clam- You have 2 choices on the clams. My LFS sells frozen clams on the halfshell which are pretty small (about as big around as a quarter or so). I bought a bag of those. I just defrost 1 or 2 and drop them in the tank. My puffer goes crazy over them as do the other fish.
YOu can also get a fresh clam. I pop it open and cut up the meat a little and drop it in the tank.
2.) Krill- You can get either the frozen or freeze dried krill (which is what I use). I put a couple of pieces in the tank.
3.) Shrimp- Just today, I cut up a shrimp with the shell on into about 10-15 small bits (keeping the shell). Puffie was kind of interested but not crazy so.
4.) Squid- Got fresh squid from store. He loved it and had some last night.
I also alternate with frozen mysis, frozen bloodworms, and other frozen preparations.
He gets krills 2-3 times a week, frozen 1-2 times a week, and fresh 1-2 times a week.

 

[kanicky]

Thank you so much for all of the informative replies. I want all of my fish to be happy and healthy, so this is important to me. Thanks again! Any other input is welcome!

 

[stdreb27]

I've had pretty good success feeding shrimp with the shell on. And servings them clams or oysters on a half shell, his beak is staying nice and trimmed. He loves the oysters.