Well, there has been a lot of questions and threads being submitted by aspiring Dwarf Puffer owners, so I thought I'd share a "secret" of mine that all dwarf puffer enthusiats can try out. I've never heard of anyone else using this technique, and I sort of happend upon it on a whim.
I don't feed my Dwarf Puffers directly. Ever. No live worms, no frozen blood worms, nothing.
My Dwarf Puffers are sustained entirely on a naturally replenishing population of Malaysian Trumpet Snails (the other MTS).
Now, many puffer enthusiasts will advise against feeding MTS because their hard shells will break your puffers teeth, which is probably true for the larger species, but not for DP's.
This is because DP's do not bite the shells of the snails they eat... anyone who has owned DP's and watched them eat pond snails, knows that they bite the foot of the snails, and sort of suck them out of the shell.
So when I noticed that my low-light/low-tech 10g planted tank had an explosion of MTS, I decided to introduce a pair of DP's (the existing residents were 5 amano shrimp, and a gold CAE).
As a habit of my past experience with DP's, I had blood worms ready and was feeding them daily, and never saw them eating the snails.
Once the package of frozen blood worms finished, I decided not to buy another, to allow the DP's hunger make their hunting instinct kick in, and it did. After about 2 days, the DP's were prowling the tank picking off the larger MTS (since their foot is more exposed when they're moving). Hunting and eating MTS will take practice for DP's, because it's not as easy as with other common pond snails, because MTS have a trapdoor.
After about a week, I couldn't find any snails and I assumed that the DP's had wiped out the MTS population, so I planned to go buy more blood worms.
That night, I dropped in some shrimp pellets for the CAE, and seemingly out of nowhere, MTS started coming out of the gravel like zombies from the grave. And they were showing up everywhere. The shrimp pellets were covered in MTS, so that it looked like a ball of spirical shells.
The DP's first reaction? Lunch time.
All of this was over 6 months ago, and I have never fed my DP's blood worms, live worms, brine, etc... There is no need to; the MTS provide all the nutrition they need, and are able to replenish themselves fast enough with a few pellets week. The DP's also keep full, round bellies.
Why does this work?
The MTS are much more filling and nutritional than bloodworms, so instead of your DP's having thin bellies only a few hours after feeding, they stay fuller, longer, on a natural diet of live food.
How do I setup a similar tank?
Total cost of the 10g planted setup should be around $100-120 and that's a generous estimate.
10g tank, with at least 2" of normal cycled aquarium gravel is fine. Some driftwood should be provided, live or plastic plants are your choice, but live plants are optimal. $10 for the tank, $15-25 for the filter, $10-20 for the gravel, $15-20 for a hood with screw in bulbs for lights.
Lighting for plants should consist of the 10w CF (compact flourescent) lights in the fish section of wal-mart at about $5 each (you'll need 2). Buy 2 packs of the "grow your own plant" Aponogeton species, and 2 packs of the Dwarf lily at about $3 per pack.
To start a culture of MTS, you only need a few individuals... a bare min of 2, but the more you start off with, the faster your colony will grow. Once you've introduced the snails, feed a few shrimp pellets (5-6) per week, or one a day.
Shrimp can be added to control nutrient buildup (my tank never had an algae problem), but once your plants start sprouting from the plant bulbs, nutrient buildup won't be a concern.
Allow the setup to run for at least 2-3 months before introducing a pair of Dwarf Puffers (you want to keep a 1:1 ration of m:f).
Before introducing the puffers, you want to be sure that the MTS are everywhere, and that you have a good mix of larger adults and lots of smaller ones of varying sizes. A size gradient in the snails ensures your population is sustainable long-term.
Why MTS?
MTS reproduce at a faster speed than any of the commonly available freshwater snails, and the juveniles grow faster as well. Snails are the natural diet of DP's and have much more nutritional value than frozen blood worms or brine (which loose most of their nutrition in the freezing process).
Growing your own MTS also allows you to ensure your DP's are eating live food free of parasites (unlike feeding live black worms from the LFS).
Tank Maintenance
50% water changes weekly, with gravel vaccuming to remove debris. Feed a couple pellets a day for the MTS, and that's it. You want to keep your water chemistry stable, so it's okay if your PH is anywhere between 6.0 to 7.8, just as long as it remains stable. (Our water is hard and base; stays at 7.8 to 8.0, even with driftwood).
Well, good luck, and please let me know if you have questions, I'd love to help.
HTH
I don't feed my Dwarf Puffers directly. Ever. No live worms, no frozen blood worms, nothing.
My Dwarf Puffers are sustained entirely on a naturally replenishing population of Malaysian Trumpet Snails (the other MTS).
Now, many puffer enthusiasts will advise against feeding MTS because their hard shells will break your puffers teeth, which is probably true for the larger species, but not for DP's.
This is because DP's do not bite the shells of the snails they eat... anyone who has owned DP's and watched them eat pond snails, knows that they bite the foot of the snails, and sort of suck them out of the shell.
So when I noticed that my low-light/low-tech 10g planted tank had an explosion of MTS, I decided to introduce a pair of DP's (the existing residents were 5 amano shrimp, and a gold CAE).
As a habit of my past experience with DP's, I had blood worms ready and was feeding them daily, and never saw them eating the snails.
Once the package of frozen blood worms finished, I decided not to buy another, to allow the DP's hunger make their hunting instinct kick in, and it did. After about 2 days, the DP's were prowling the tank picking off the larger MTS (since their foot is more exposed when they're moving). Hunting and eating MTS will take practice for DP's, because it's not as easy as with other common pond snails, because MTS have a trapdoor.
After about a week, I couldn't find any snails and I assumed that the DP's had wiped out the MTS population, so I planned to go buy more blood worms.
That night, I dropped in some shrimp pellets for the CAE, and seemingly out of nowhere, MTS started coming out of the gravel like zombies from the grave. And they were showing up everywhere. The shrimp pellets were covered in MTS, so that it looked like a ball of spirical shells.
The DP's first reaction? Lunch time.
All of this was over 6 months ago, and I have never fed my DP's blood worms, live worms, brine, etc... There is no need to; the MTS provide all the nutrition they need, and are able to replenish themselves fast enough with a few pellets week. The DP's also keep full, round bellies.
Why does this work?
The MTS are much more filling and nutritional than bloodworms, so instead of your DP's having thin bellies only a few hours after feeding, they stay fuller, longer, on a natural diet of live food.
How do I setup a similar tank?
Total cost of the 10g planted setup should be around $100-120 and that's a generous estimate.
10g tank, with at least 2" of normal cycled aquarium gravel is fine. Some driftwood should be provided, live or plastic plants are your choice, but live plants are optimal. $10 for the tank, $15-25 for the filter, $10-20 for the gravel, $15-20 for a hood with screw in bulbs for lights.
Lighting for plants should consist of the 10w CF (compact flourescent) lights in the fish section of wal-mart at about $5 each (you'll need 2). Buy 2 packs of the "grow your own plant" Aponogeton species, and 2 packs of the Dwarf lily at about $3 per pack.
To start a culture of MTS, you only need a few individuals... a bare min of 2, but the more you start off with, the faster your colony will grow. Once you've introduced the snails, feed a few shrimp pellets (5-6) per week, or one a day.
Shrimp can be added to control nutrient buildup (my tank never had an algae problem), but once your plants start sprouting from the plant bulbs, nutrient buildup won't be a concern.
Allow the setup to run for at least 2-3 months before introducing a pair of Dwarf Puffers (you want to keep a 1:1 ration of m:f).
Before introducing the puffers, you want to be sure that the MTS are everywhere, and that you have a good mix of larger adults and lots of smaller ones of varying sizes. A size gradient in the snails ensures your population is sustainable long-term.
Why MTS?
MTS reproduce at a faster speed than any of the commonly available freshwater snails, and the juveniles grow faster as well. Snails are the natural diet of DP's and have much more nutritional value than frozen blood worms or brine (which loose most of their nutrition in the freezing process).
Growing your own MTS also allows you to ensure your DP's are eating live food free of parasites (unlike feeding live black worms from the LFS).
Tank Maintenance
50% water changes weekly, with gravel vaccuming to remove debris. Feed a couple pellets a day for the MTS, and that's it. You want to keep your water chemistry stable, so it's okay if your PH is anywhere between 6.0 to 7.8, just as long as it remains stable. (Our water is hard and base; stays at 7.8 to 8.0, even with driftwood).
Well, good luck, and please let me know if you have questions, I'd love to help.
HTH
