puffer help please...

circesmagic

Member
Sorry to be a pain but...I have tried many things to get this little guy to eat so that he could keep his "beak" trim...he is afraid of clams and muscles, but will eat them if they are out of the shells..how do I get him to actually work for it or could it be that he is just too young? He does eat, just not anything that he has to actually work on.
 

leftyblite

Member
Mine didn't eat the clams for a week or so either, but finally got hungry enough to start breaking them open to get the food. Are there any snails or hermit crabs in the tank? He might be snacking on them when the lights are off. I caught mine doing it several times.
 

ccampbell57

Active Member
Originally Posted by CircesMagic
Sorry to be a pain but...I have tried many things to get this little guy to eat so that he could keep his "beak" trim...he is afraid of clams and muscles, but will eat them if they are out of the shells..how do I get him to actually work for it or could it be that he is just too young? He does eat, just not anything that he has to actually work on.
Just wait till he grows. Once he obtains an "obsession" for food he will eat anything. Mine loved to eat all my crabs (any crab)
 

circesmagic

Member
He will only eat from my hand so unless I have time to stand there holding a clam he is out of luck...we did offer him an open one and he was afraid of the shell but once we took the meat out he ate it.
 

stdreb27

Active Member
Originally Posted by CircesMagic
He will only eat from my hand so unless I have time to stand there holding a clam he is out of luck...we did offer him an open one and he was afraid of the shell but once we took the meat out he ate it.
Mine will chew on the shell and cary it around like a dog carries his bowl.
 

aquafox

Member
Not trying to hi-jack the thread - this just seemed like a good one to pipe in on and ask - how do you know when your puffer is getting enough stuff to wear his teeth down? I've got a striped puffer - and he eats very well but so far I am also a no-go on the real hard shell type stuff....he eats whole shrimp - shell, legs, tail - the whole thing. But I am having no real luck with crabs and snails - he doens't bite the shell - he waits to grab a leg or tentacle and maims them that way - then pulls them out and eats them. I have seen him biting on his live rock from time to time - esp if I put in a new piece - and so far his teeth look fine (he's actually got a chip out of the front that makes me think he has been biting something rough) not too long or anything....but I don't really want to wait till I have a problem to ask.....what do ya'll think??
By the way, he's a striped puffer. I've had him for about a year.
 

srfisher17

Active Member
A piece of cuttlebone, the kind for birds) is great for them. Get the all natural, no vitimins added. I've glued a piece in an out- of -front -view site and mine gnaws on it all the time.
 

aquafox

Member
That is awesome! So they will really bite on it regularly? I am definitely going to pick one up asap! Thanks!
 

texasmetal

Active Member
Originally Posted by AquaFox
That is awesome! So they will really bite on it regularly? I am definitely going to pick one up asap! Thanks!
I wouldn't take it as a guarantee as all fish are individuals, but that does sound like a great idea.
My Green Spotted Puffer has never had overgrown teeth issues and all I feed it is silversides and thawed raw shrimp, shell on. I prefer to give him the tail first so I know he's getting something hard to nibble on.
 
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