How the hell do you look after a puffer

[Hendre]

Hey guys. I am thinking about what to do with my 70 gallon tank after i sell my pink tail chalceus and featherfin syno(when its bigger) and my knives pass on.

I thought puffers would be cool. Only thing is:
-my tank is too big for dwarf puffers
-bigger puffers are too big or brackish
-i have NO clue how to trim teeth.
-i have NO clue how i can keep crunchy food rolling on my tiny budget (getting bigger atleast), i just have frozen bloodworm, prima and earthworms
-apparently south american puffers need frequent trimming.

Can anyone help me with this?

 

[krichardson]

Do you have any types of crabs available to you?

 

[kno4te]

They need crustaceons to chew on. That will help to grind their teeth down own if you decide to kee puffers. Like krich said.....any crabs etc available?

 

[Hendre]

Do you have any types of crabs available to you?

Not alive. Probably just stuff at the supermarket. Any aquarium shrimp is also terribly hard to find

 

[krichardson]

Not alive. Probably just stuff at the supermarket. Any aquarium shrimp is also terribly hard to find

The puffer may take dead supermarket crablegs and such,as long as the stuff is not seasoned or anything.What about crayfish,can you get those?

 

[Hendre]

The puffer may take dead supermarket crablegs and such,as long as the stuff is not seasoned or anything.What about crayfish,can you get those?

No clue. As far as i know there is not much going on regarding crayfish in south africa.

I am not getting puffers soon so this is just to learn

 

[Angelphish]

If you aren't getting puffers until your knives pass that's going to be a long time.

 

[Hendre]

African knives live around 8 years apparently

 

[Fat Homer]

Just as a heads up, there are a few food options from markets / supermarkets for Puffers...

Frozen Clams / Mussels / Crab Legs / Crays...

You can also setup a small 5G tank with sponge filter and breed ramshorn / apple snails to feed your puffer...

Earthworms, Massivore, NLS also work as more staple foods to get some good growth happening...

Anyway, whats the dimensions on the 70G coz there are quite a few species of F/W puffer out there...

 

[Hendre]

The puffer god has spoken. It is a 48x 18 x 18.

I have a few plastic tubs lying around. Can i just fill one up, add a small filter and chuck snails in? Or do they need heating.

Also my budget is tight so hikari is never going to happen unless my aquaponic system has astronomical success