HELP with Amazon Puffer

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

Does anyone here have any advice on weening Amazon Puffers onto hard foods? I picked up a puffer the other day for $16, and although Amazon Puffers sold for lower prices tend to suffer from undernourishment or internal parasites, mine appears to be very healthy. Perfect form, very active, and gets along with smaller fish. However, I have run into a problem. It is refusing sun-dried shrimp. I tried simply dunking them in the water, I tried tong-feeding, I tried hand-feeding, but nothing is working. Now, I have kept puffers before, so this is not my first time around the block, however the Amazon species is new to me. I have yet to try clams, though I am hopeful that he will give them a chance, as, usually when clams hit the water, they tend to release weird... clam... stuff, and I think perhaps the clam juice (or whatever it is) will attract the puffer, leading it to a hard-shelled treat. However, I still am not sure how it will work. So, if anyone has advice please lmk.

 

[kno4te]

Fat Homer

 

[dr exum]

i had one of these for a bit - fed it snails i bred and blood worms -great fish but i too experienced what you are experiencing-

it seems they require periodic beak trim - i attempted once -not easy - tiny fish -

start breeding snails ?

GL!

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

Thank you for the good advice. Upon further study it appears to be distracted by its reflection, possibly seeing it as a threat, mate, or etc. so I will be on the search for a black background. There are plenty of snails that are breeding in my aquarium, so once the puffer's attention is adverted (via black background) it will start going after those, as opposed to its reflection if all goes as planned.

 

[Deadeye]

As far as the reflection goes, it is just glass surfing because it wants company. Amazon puffers are schooling puffers and stress easily without company. It may do better overall in a group of at least 3.

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

As far as the reflection goes, it is just glass surfing because it wants company. Amazon puffers are schooling puffers and stress easily without company. It may do better overall in a group of at least 3.

Okay... I can make accommodations when deemed required, I just hope it does well with current circumstances. I know they are very personable fish so I just want to keep it happy

 

[Fat Homer]

As mentioned they do prefer being in groups of 3 or more when possible...

as for the feeding, as with most puffers who refuse new foods you have 2 basic methods to start with...

1. is to soak the new food in the juice of a food they already like or even garlic juice / bloodworm juice to try and entice them to eat / try new foods...

2. failing that, you can normally starve them a few days and get them hungry enough to try something new...

Another thing i want to bring up since you seem to have touched on it in your previous post above is to train your puffer to recognize something like tongs as an instrument of feeding, so that your puffer learns overtime to recognize whats at the end of the tongs as a source of food...

this is an especially great way to introduce your puffers to new foods once they understand whats at the end of them = stuff they can eat being that they are quite inquisitive / smart creatures