Feeder fish?

T

tinister

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Dec 11, 2004
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Hello. I'm new to this forum. I just bought a Target Puffer about 3 weeks ago. I have him in a 25 gallon fw tank by himself with about 15 tiny feeder fishes. There are snails in the tank also and I sometimes feed him tubiflex worms, but he likes to eat the feeder fishes. He's gone through half of them in the past 2 weeks and I'm thinking about restocking the tank once they're all gone.

Is there anything bad about feeding puffers feeder fishes?
 
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I went ahead and made this post a new topic as you will get more direct responses rather than in the Welcome to Brackish post. Welcome to Aquaria Central! Feeders can be a problem if fed constantly over time. Puffers are primarily crustacean eaters and the feeders have a high percent of fat in them which can lead to fatty liver disease over time. The worst problem with feeders however is they are parasite invested (99 percent of the time) so each time you feed them you put your fishes health at risk. I would just stick with invertebrates and also add some fresh shrimp from the grocery store to his diet. He will be much happier in the end! Anyway, hope this helps and Welcome to Aquaria Central!
 
Yes, head over to an Asian market and get some crawfish and chop off their tails. Freeze the tails, and thaw them. Then feed them to your fish fora nice treat!
 
Wow. Thanks for all your responses. I think I will let the remainder of the feeders get eaten (mustn't waste food) and then lay off them for a while. I think I will try to set up a snail farm in a separate smaller tank. I read that snails are good for puffers because the shells help to keep the puffer's teeth at a manageable size.

I really like this Target Puffer. I've had other puffers before - 3 Figure Eights - but they were never really healthy and all died within 6 months. This Target is the healthiest - as well as the largest I've seen at my LFS. And the color pattern on this one is quite nice - an almost orange brown with a bright red spot near the tail that matches the red in its eyes.

I will post pics when I get a chance.
 
Frozen Shrimp and Crayfish....?

I forgot to ask: if I decide to feed my puffer frozen shrimp or crayfish - would I have to carefully monitor to make sure that the pieces are eaten? I imagine that that kind of food can funk up a tank pretty fast if left sitting.

What has been the experience you guys have had feeding your puffers frozen shrimp, etc. - does your puffer go to them like bees to honey?

I'm thinking that maybe I could use a kabob stick to sort of hand feed my puffer. Stick a piece of shrimp to the end and wave it in front of it's face. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again for the welcome and the advice. Tinister :p
 
If it has a orange/red spot by it's tail it is a T cochinchinesis (Fang's puffer), not leiurus (target).
 
tinister said:
I forgot to ask: if I decide to feed my puffer frozen shrimp or crayfish - would I have to carefully monitor to make sure that the pieces are eaten? I imagine that that kind of food can funk up a tank pretty fast if left sitting.

What has been the experience you guys have had feeding your puffers frozen shrimp, etc. - does your puffer go to them like bees to honey?

I'm thinking that maybe I could use a kabob stick to sort of hand feed my puffer. Stick a piece of shrimp to the end and wave it in front of it's face. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again for the welcome and the advice. Tinister :p
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The kabob stick may work, but one of my Figure Eights won't tolerate it. It got scared of me when I took a pic of it and i forgot to turn off the flash, so it scared the poop outta him.

Monitor so it all gets eaten and thaw thoroughly. Puffers stomachs can get screwed up if they eat unthawed foods.

I cut my crawfish tails (uncooked) into meal-sized portions then feed them to my gobies and puffers. They inspect it and when they learn its food, they go crazy!
 
PUFFERPUNK - - Hmmm. The LFS listed it as a "Red Eyed Puffer" - which I discovered to be false after some research. I found a pic somewhere that showed a similar puffer to mine with a spot near it's tail. That site identified it as a Target or Twin Spot Puffer. Now that you mention it - the puffer in that pick wasn't at all brownish orange - more like greenish. And it's spot was dark in the middle. My puffer's spot is definitely red in the center - with a band of dark around it.

Do you have a pic of a Fang's Puffer? I will try to take a few pics of my puffer this weekend. Tinister
 
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Unfortunately, although puffers are much more frequently imported these days than they were previously, most LFS have little to no knowledge about them, including their names. Puffers generally are mis-ID'd more often than they are correctly ID'd, and web and text resources have the same issues as LFS. Puffers also change their appearance quite a bit depending on mood, health, and tank environment. This does complicate the issue for both the LFS and the hobbyist newly interested in puffers - almost nobody sees them often enough and researches them enough to always certain of identity. The grouping (by appearance) that includes your fish is one of the more difficult to ID - they confuse me constantly.
 
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