Baby Fahaka Teeth Question

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tanharold

tanharold

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 10, 2011
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Philippines
Hey guys! So its been two weeks since I got my fahaka puffer. It's around 2 to 3" if im not mistaken. I've been feeding it a variety of bloodworms, prawns(with shell) and garden snails. I've always felt uncertain about garden snails cause I just picked them up from the garden at my house and quarantined them but I realized that I didn't want to risk it. I was wondering if gutloaded ghost shrimps would perhaps be able to replace baby garden snails since mussels still are too hard for them? Thank you!!!

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Ramshorn snails and pond/bladder snails would be best for the needed crunch. Gutloaded anything will provide good nutrition.
I breed ramshorns and bladder snails for my Schoutedeni. Mine will never "graduate" from them as yours will, eventually eating mussles and clams. I am looking into breeding dwarf crayfish as their "shell" is harder then shrimp just for an alternative food source. I've been told that krill shell is hard enough and mine enjoys krill but I still worry.
 
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tanharold said:
Hey guys! So its been two weeks since I got my fahaka puffer. It's around 2 to 3" if im not mistaken. I've been feeding it a variety of bloodworms, prawns(with shell) and garden snails. I've always felt uncertain about garden snails cause I just picked them up from the garden at my house and quarantined them but I realized that I didn't want to risk it. I was wondering if gutloaded ghost shrimps would perhaps be able to replace baby garden snails since mussels still are too hard for them? Thank you!!!

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Fat Homer Fat Homer
 
twentyleagues twentyleagues covered it pretty well, eventually once your puffer puts on some size, you’ll want to get larger crunchy foods that probably dont cost as much such as mussels, clams etc from your asian supermarket or something...

In the mean time, what you’re feeding is okay, but Ramshorn snails etc are pretty easy to reproduce if you can setup a small tank for them... or if its legal in your neck of the woods, marble crayfish is also a great food source for a fahaka as they self reproduce...
 
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Fat Homer said:
twentyleagues twentyleagues covered it pretty well, eventually once your puffer puts on some size, you’ll want to get larger crunchy foods that probably dont cost as much such as mussels, clams etc from your asian supermarket or something...

In the mean time, what you’re feeding is okay, but Ramshorn snails etc are pretty easy to reproduce if you can setup a small tank for them... or if its legal in your neck of the woods, marble crayfish is also a great food source for a fahaka as they self reproduce...
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Ohhh if im not mistaken, foods with shell arent still required at this size cause their teeth can't still? And at what size do you suggest I start feeding it shelled food? Thanks mate!
 
tanharold said:
Ohhh if im not mistaken, foods with shell arent still required at this size cause their teeth can't still? And at what size do you suggest I start feeding it shelled food? Thanks mate!
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No their teeth grow for their entire life. You should be feeding things like krill, ramshorn snails, bladder snails, small crayfish or crabs. From my understanding shrimp shells are not thick enough to wear down their teeth, but they are a good food source.
 
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Yeah, when young feed more snail like crunchy foods, then at around 6-9” start introducing small crayfish into the diet...

Coz even when young you can still feed foods such as mussels and clams, you just need to crack it open for your puffer to get into the meat itself, then when trying to scrape leftovers out, they normally wear their teeth down a little as well...

Once they reach around 9-12” you can just crack the shells open a little bit and let the puffer do its thing... just make sure the clams you get dont have super thick shells and you should be good...
 
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twentyleagues said:
No their teeth grow for their entire life. You should be feeding things like krill, ramshorn snails, bladder snails, small crayfish or crabs. From my understanding shrimp shells are not thick enough to wear down their teeth, but they are a good food source.
Click to expand...

Fat Homer said:
Yeah, when young feed more snail like crunchy foods, then at around 6-9” start introducing small crayfish into the diet...

Coz even when young you can still feed foods such as mussels and clams, you just need to crack it open for your puffer to get into the meat itself, then when trying to scrape leftovers out, they normally wear their teeth down a little as well...

Once they reach around 9-12” you can just crack the shells open a little bit and let the puffer do its thing... just make sure the clams you get dont have super thick shells and you should be good...
Click to expand...

Ohhhh thank you so much guys! Now I understand. I kinda didnt get how but now I understand it in a more fuller sense. Ill make sure to do this! Thanks guys will update you guys soon
 
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No worries and if you have anymore questions feel free to ask, thats what makes MFK such a great community ??
 
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