My new Humpback Puffer: NORBERT!

[quasar]

I didn't get a lot of pics but here he is! Lil cutie, got him today. Only thing is the store I got him from had him on feeders. Any suggestions on what would be good staple and sub?

 

[bottles]

They are mainly piscivores in the wild. I've kept 3 in the past and never had a problem getting them to eat frozen silversides, tilapia, prawn, krill, etc. I also used to feed live crays and small cichlids, although it took a while for the cichlids to get eaten. They are nocturnal lurkers and only need to be fed 2-3 times per week.

 

[quasar]

They are mainly piscivores in the wild. I've kept 3 in the past and never had a problem getting them to eat frozen silversides, tilapia, prawn, krill, etc. I also used to feed live crays and small cichlids, although it took a while for the cichlids to get eaten. They are nocturnal lurkers and only need to be fed 2-3 times per week.

Ya i read they don't need much food because they're not that active? So would shrimp be an ok start for this guy? It just seems all my puffers like costco shrimp so i thought this one might too. If not regular tilapia fillets work?

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[Aw3s0m3]

If that doesn't work right away you can try getting it to associate a feeding stick with food. I've never tried it with puffers but that's how I've gotten various anglers and other "sit and wait" sw predators


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[bottles]

Yes, shrimp would be a fine start. I would try to include whole fish (guts and skeleton included; not just filets) as part of the regular diet.

 

[quasar]

Yes, shrimp would be a fine start. I would try to include whole fish (guts and skeleton included; not just filets) as part of the regular diet.

Iv never fed whole fish to my fish before. Mostly just mussels, pellets, shrimps, BWs, black worms. Is it $$ to feed pieces of whole tilapia?

Also do i need to feed it things with hard shells etc (snails) for the teeth?

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[bottles]

These will not eat snails in my experience. The puffers that feed mainly on fish in the wild don't get overgrown teeth like the other species. I don't feed whole Tilapia, but I use frozen Silversides or home-bred live ciclids. Whole Tilapia at the stores would probably be a pretty big fish. You can buy frozen packs of Silversides at most LFS; they are slim and only about 3" long. You can feed earthworms, but blackworms/blood worms will probably be too small. There's nothing wrong with adding shrimp and mussels to balance out the diet. I've never tried giving them pellets.

 

[quasar]

These will not eat snails in my experience. The puffers that feed mainly on fish in the wild don't get overgrown teeth like the other species. I don't feed whole Tilapia, but I use frozen Silversides or home-bred live ciclids. Whole Tilapia at the stores would probably be a pretty big fish. You can buy frozen packs of Silversides at most LFS; they are slim and only about 3" long. You can feed earthworms, but blackworms/blood worms will probably be too small. There's nothing wrong with adding shrimp and mussels to balance out the diet. I've never tried giving them pellets.

Ok I'll try the silversides. How many do you reccommed for a lil 3.5" er?

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[bottles]

Just feed until the belly is round. 1 or 2 depending on the size should be fine.

 

[quasar]

Just feed until the belly is round. 1 or 2 depending on the size should be fine.

Cool, thanks for the help!

Just one last question lol. Im at work in a market and i wanted to pick up some fish at the fish market for my lil guy. The smallest fish they had was sardines. I bought 2 for now. Would this be ok for the puffer?

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