getting my first fahaka this week! Question about snails

[cjam93]

Just a heads up, my little puffer when I got him, and even still at 7" after 3 months, will only eat snails and crayfish. I tried shrimp, worms, clams, frozen black and bloodworms, live blackworms and other frozen food including clam with no luck, but that was just my experience with 1 fahaka! Sometimes I can get him to eat chopped nightcrawler when mixed with snails.

I did worm him when I got him.

Thanks for the warning! I plan to worm him as well. How did you treat him if he was only eating snails and crayfish? I was thinking I would need to soak some type of frozen in the medication to get it into him?

I trained my old fahaka to recognize anything i was holding in my small blue container was basicaly her dinner...

So after a while, everytime she saw me go pick up that container, she would know she was getting fed soon...

If you really are having problems getting your puffer onto new foods, soad the food first in a garlic extract to help get them enticed to try it... Normally once they reaize its food, then they are good to go...

Ill remember that about the garlic thanks! How did you go about training your fahaka to know the blue container meant food?

 

[lightsout]

Just a heads up, my little puffer when I got him, and even still at 7" after 3 months, will only eat snails and crayfish. I tried shrimp, worms, clams, frozen black and bloodworms, live blackworms and other frozen food including clam with no luck, but that was just my experience with 1 fahaka! Sometimes I can get him to eat chopped nightcrawler when mixed with snails.

I did worm him when I got him.

Wow that's one picky fahaka lol. I think the trick is to get them off live right off the bat when they're tiny for a few months then re-introduce live later on.

 

[Fat Homer]

Ill remember that about the garlic thanks! How did you go about training your fahaka to know the blue container meant food?

Simple, everytime before i fed her i made she she saw me holding the blue container and pulling out whatever defrosted food i was going to feed her... I would then make sure she saw the food before adding it into the tank...

After a while she would recognize the blue container as her food container, and eagerly wait for me to show her what shes getting before heading yo the top of the tank waiting for me to drop the food in for her...

From then on, even new foods she was willing to try coz she knew anything coming out from that container was for her to eat...

But to be honest, get her onto a pellet as well while young, coz meaty foods are easy to get them eating imo...

 

[cjam93]

Awesome thanks guys!

 

[hart24601]

Thanks for the warning! I plan to worm him as well. How did you treat him if he was only eating snails and crayfish? I was thinking I would need to soak some type of frozen in the medication to get it into him?



Ill remember that about the garlic thanks! How did you go about training your fahaka to know the blue container meant food?

There are some wormers that are absorbed without having to be consumed. I have been using Levamisole for years on all my W/C fish and never had a single problem.

Good luck with feeding! I hope you can train it, sounds like most others have had better luck than I have. I still try almost every day though! Takes a test bite and spits back out.

 

[cjam93]

Awesome thanks!! I fed him some bloodworms last night and he ate a lot. I stopped offering them because he was getting so big and I read they do not know when to stop eating. Hopefully will continue eating like that! How often at this size should I feed him? I tried this morning but he wouldnt eat this time.

 

[Fat Homer]

W

There are some wormers that are absorbed without having to be consumed. I have been using Levamisole for years on all my W/C fish and never had a single problem.

Good luck with feeding! I hope you can train it, sounds like most others have had better luck than I have. I still try almost every day though! Takes a test bite and spits back out.

Just curious, are you defrosting your puffers food using the tanks water? Coz i've noticed some fish wont eat food defrosted in tap water... Im guessing probably due to whatever is in tap water possibly making the food smell different...

 

[hart24601]

I don't want to derail the OP, but I tried a whole bunch of things the 1st two months - tap, tank, soaked in frozen and live worm water, soaked with earth worm juice, snails juice, crayfish... All sorts of things. He never ate Frozen blackworms/bloodworms, live blackworms - nothing besides snails for the 1st month. I still try but not quite as vigorously at this point.

He loves crayfish live and frozen thawed in any water along with fresh and saltwater snails. If I chop live earthworms with snails he will eat them sometimes, but not 100%.

 

[Fat Homer]

^ have you tried Garlic Juice extract? The smell of that tends to be quite powerful and enticing for a puffer to try...

Also starving them for a week or two also helps if they are being super stubborn...

 

[cjam93]

Don't worry about derailing the topic, all this information will be really useful to me as well! My guy, who I have named Cleatus haha, he will eat bloodworms and snails so far. I tried NLS but he didnt want that. At his size, should I worry about feeding snails to often? I dont want to feed them a lot and him have problems because of the snail shells! Thanks so much