Schoutedeni food?

[twentyleagues]

So I have just gotten a Schoutedeni puffer. Its about 2" give or take. My lfs dewormed "him" and at the lfs was only eating blackworms. Since ive had him home ive tried a couple pellet foods he tried the pleco bug bites but didnt eat it. I thought only black worms is gonna be bad. I have a decent size ramshorn population ive been breding incase I got a puffer. He ate the small ones with a quickness not the larger ones though. Lfs tried blood worms and he wouldnt eat them. I decided to try it as I had some and he ate them fine for me. I went out today to see if he will tolerate tank mates and got some small checker barbs so far so good. I also pocked up some frozen krill which he ate right away too.
So I guess im mostly worried about his nutrition. Im glad I can mix it up a bit id like to see if i can get him to eat some pellets,which I'll work on. But if he won't do you think blackworms, blood worms, krill and the occasional snail meal will be good? I worry about the worms being too fatty and causing issues. Should I feed something more then the others? (Fingers crossed krill)

 

[tlindsey]

So I have just gotten a Schoutedeni puffer. Its about 2" give or take. My lfs dewormed "him" and at the lfs was only eating blackworms. Since ive had him home ive tried a couple pellet foods he tried the pleco bug bites but didnt eat it. I thought only black worms is gonna be bad. I have a decent size ramshorn population ive been breding incase I got a puffer. He ate the small ones with a quickness not the larger ones though. Lfs tried blood worms and he wouldnt eat them. I decided to try it as I had some and he ate them fine for me. I went out today to see if he will tolerate tank mates and got some small checker barbs so far so good. I also pocked up some frozen krill which he ate right away too.
So I guess im mostly worried about his nutrition. Im glad I can mix it up a bit id like to see if i can get him to eat some pellets,which I'll work on. But if he won't do you think blackworms, blood worms, krill and the occasional snail meal will be good? I worry about the worms being too fatty and causing issues. Should I feed something more then the others? (Fingers crossed krill)

Your doing fine especially having the snails. Just offer hard shelled foods to help keep the puffers beak trimmed.
magpie

 

[PYRU]

Snails, clam on the half shell, shrimp, crawfish, earthworms...the usual mostly crunchy diet for a hunter type puffer. Soak frozen in vitamins.

Frozen

• Mussel
• Cockle
• Krill
• Prawn
• King Prawn
• Crabs and crabs legs
• Bloodworm
• Black worms
• Siversides

Live

• Snails
• Crabs
• Crayfish
• Shrimp
• Earthworms
• Crickets (occasionally)
• Meal worms (occasionally)
• Bloodworm
• Blackworms

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Snails, clam on the half shell, shrimp, crawfish, earthworms...the usual mostly crunchy diet for a hunter type puffer. Soak frozen in vitamins.

Frozen

• Mussel
• Cockle
• Krill
• Prawn
• King Prawn
• Crabs and crabs legs
• Bloodworm
• Black worms
• Siversides

Live

• Snails
• Crabs
• Crayfish
• Shrimp
• Earthworms
• Crickets (occasionally)
• Meal worms (occasionally)
• Bloodworm
• Blackworms

Live: scuds
Triops
Aquatic insects
Japanese beetles

 

[twentyleagues]

I need to keep this fairly simple. I dont have a ton of stuff available. I guess I could order online but I don't think he's able to eat too large of items he couldnt eat the pencile eraser sized snails. He tried but couldnt.
Thanks for the feed back!

 

[PYRU]

I need to keep this fairly simple. I dont have a ton of stuff available. I guess I could order online but I don't think he's able to eat too large of items he couldnt eat the pencile eraser sized snails. He tried but couldnt.
Thanks for the feed back!

Crush them. Pond snails and similar are good. Mts and I forget the other one have shells too hard

 

[twentyleagues]

Yeah ive just been trying to see what was interesting to him and what he could handle. Heres a bad photo of the little one now.
He's in a temp 29g tank until I get the 75 back up and running.

 

[twentyleagues]

Live: scuds
Triops
Aquatic insects
Japanese beetles

Scuds and triops I know. I'd like to get a good population of scuds in my system for multiple reasons. You think he'd hunt them? Ive been working (read as procrastinating) on my filter/fishroom set up. I am going to have a settling chamber before the sump that I will be stocking with bladder snails, more ramshorn, and I was hoping scuds. It will have removable coils of "screen" to aid in harvesting them. There has been starts of breeding interests in both my ropes and polys. Whether they will and I will catch it in time who knows but id like to be able to offer the fry scuds for a live food choice. Lol but that's a different story isnt it....i get off track sometimes
What are Japanese Beatles? Some sort of water bug?

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Scuds and triops I know. I'd like to get a good population of scuds in my system for multiple reasons. You think he'd hunt them? Ive been working (read as procrastinating) on my filter/fishroom set up. I am going to have a settling chamber before the sump that I will be stocking with bladder snails, more ramshorn, and I was hoping scuds. It will have removable coils of "screen" to aid in harvesting them. There has been starts of breeding interests in both my ropes and polys. Whether they will and I will catch it in time who knows but id like to be able to offer the fry scuds for a live food choice. Lol but that's a different story isnt it....i get off track sometimes
What are Japanese Beatles? Some sort of water bug?

No they are hard shelled terrestrial pest, invasive in the United States , they attack several plant species such as those in the rose family, roses,blackberries,and hardy habiscus can be severely damaged by them, when I find them I remove them and either freeze them in a bag or feed them live, they are similar (but smaller than) junebugs.

And yes your puffer would hunt scuds quite happily,the young bichirs would likely enjoy them as well.

Other feeders to consider (wild caught is fine): giant waterbeetles,junebugs,garden snails,hellgrammites

 

[twentyleagues]

We have some sort of red and black beetles that are a menace in my area. They are small I thought someone had said they were japaneese beetles I was thinking you meant something else aquatic. Ive been feeding them to our carnivorous plant garden. I dont know if id want to trust something like that with him though.