worried obout underfeeding

[puff(er) daddy]

I'm trying to give my 7inch mappa puffer a stable amount of food per day. I feed him once a day, then every other day, and even tried twice a day. Know he's been eating everyday except Sunday. I can't seem to get a stable amount of food per day.
You guys know the portioned foods (cubed) lfs sale? How many of them should I feed a 7inch Puffer?
I tried the, feed till the belly bulges out thing that doesn't really do it for me because he still acts like he's still hungry most of the time. I want to make sure he eats enough food per day, especialy since he just took a bite of my hand! check fish discussion to hear the story.

 

[skirk]

I know that with puffers in general it is suggested to feed them 3 times a day. However once or twice a day is sufficient (given a nice enough amount). I wouldn't skip feeding him on Sunday though. You should feed until satiation. I know with my lionfish I can actually see there stomach swell enough to know when they've had enough. Of course after a while you just know feed amount and don't have to check anymore. In general, I believe puffers have fast metabolism and should at least be fed once a day, and twice is better. If he is only fed once a day then he should get a lot of food and you're probably not overfeeding him. Sorry, this is a tricky question. Perhaps pufferlover could help you with this.
HTH

 

[pufferlover]

This is the case of a great con job by your Puffer, as I have mentioned in posts before, they are con artisits. I feed my fish once a day and feed them fairly well, but carefully. A Puffer will eat and eat till it looks like a ball and drop to the bottom of the tank for hours digesting it all. Really feed enough to get the belly slighlty bowed then quit no matter how those Big eyes seem to beg. In the case of Krill wiyh my bigger Puffs 8 to 10 pieces each seem to do the job, same with the Squid I use. Believe me they will not starve to death nor get ill because they are fed properly, but if over fed then you can bigger problems then you want or need. I will say tho a baby Puffs belly is easier to see bulge then some of the adults but if watched you can detect it starting to fill out. Sometimes for a treat I will drop in some tetra min tablets for the Puffs to chew on (good for their teeth to) but even then just 2 or 3 each. I find once a day feedings seem to make them better eaters and more active the rest of the day. One other down side to feeding to much is they grow much faster and then you buy bigger tanks more often for them lol (been there-done that-know of what I speak)

 

[mark-24]

Also, make sure to feed a different varity of food. That will keep you fish healthier.
-Mark

 

[puff(er) daddy]

I've been feeding once a day for awhile now and it seems to be going well. I see so much waste on the sand every day it seems to me that I over feed sometimes. That's why I asked that question.
What can I add to the tank to get rid of all the waste so I wouldn't have to clean everyday? The tank is a 125gal 3 plus inches of sand just added 40lbs of l/s no l/r yet. If the l/r is one solution what amount would be sufficient?