no live foods for gps's

[undersea-community]

my gps has to be the biggest wussy when it comes to live food. he has went from eating anything he can get his mouth on just frozen mussel, blood worms, squid, clam, prawn,brine shrimp and many other varieties of frozen foods the only live thing he will eat is snails and ghost shrimp( he's even too affraid to eat a red claw crab that is in the tank with him). at least 9-10 months ago when i got my puffer i heard he needed to be kept by himself and he is a very aggressive fish i have looked up everything about these little guys, but people seem to not have respect and just disagree with me and they dont even have the proof to do so. anyways i am a newbie on here and i havent set up much stuff yet but i was hoping people have similar reactions with their gps's of course all puffers and fish have their one slightly different personality. anyways i just wondered if anybody doesnt have such a violent puffer and can have tank mates.

 

[cguarino30]

Green puffers aren't really a predatory species per se, at least, not in the sense that say an arapaima or a peacock bass is a predatory fish. The reason that people generally recommend that they be kept alone is the fact that they are very aggressive, and will bite and nip most tankmates until they die of exhaustion, then eat the dead tankmate. In my experience, if your tank is large enough, (over 30 gallons) you can keep them with suitably fast and tough fish (monodactylus work quite well) or at the very least, with more of their own kind. Keep an eye out for any aggression, though. I would also highly recommend that you stop using live feeder fish as food for them, as, while in many cases they will eat them, it's not really healthy, and a puffer will be much happier and healthier eating the foods he is currently accepting from you. Good luck

 

[undersea-community]

true i have seen these little guys nipp a hand in the tank while moving decor and such. i have a yellow spiny eel, gps, black sailfin molly, and 4 bumblebee gobies in a 50 gal. i think i am soon going to be moving the yellow spiny eel into a 40. and i also agree about feeder fish it is just fat it is more like candy to them and not too much nutrients in it. but i have also been keeping him on a very well fed diet of different sea foods ever week. also a buddy of mine lives out in shelter cove ( the only beach around where i live) and i always ask him to freeze some mussecle for me. " fresh from the ocean". also where i live is very none polutive and i find many earth worms that he enjoys. i was also wondering if you knew about the posiblity's with the eel and an african butterfly fish in the 40 gal?

 

[cguarino30]

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about yellow spiny eels, but I can tell you that African Butterflyfish have fairly significant needs in terms of soft, acidic water, which, I would assume is the opposite of what you have been keeping the eel in, judging by his tankmates, which are all fairly hardwater, high-pH fish. But again, I'm just speculating.

 

[mr.reef24]

welcome to APF

lance