HELP! with GSP's

Whew! Almost had a heart attack and a "what the heck" there with the ramshorn snail.

I've been feeding Peabody those and IMO he cracks ramshorns easier than pond snails. They have more "meat" in them, too :)

From watching him eat, in order of shell hardness:

Mystery babies, pond snails, ramshorn babies

Question: would it hold true that the tougher the shell, the better for keeping the teeth trimmed? I mean, if he's really working at getting into the shell, he's using his teeth more and that should result in healthier teeth, right?

If this is true, then I'm going to feed him more mystery babies than the others on off days.

Roan
 
MTS are hazardous IME.

The shell density is significant to some extent, but the routine crushing/scraping is the key. Some folks kid themselves that a once or twice a week "treat/treatment" is sufficient. Puffs with fast-growing incisors (SAPs are the worst IME, DPs the least, most lurkers are trivial also) in my tanks have a diet ~ or >90% snails. I have very few tooth problems as a result. Larger puffs (GSPs, Fahakas, T. mbu) get grocery/fishmarket crunchies instead, again as the majority of their diet. Scraping the flesh out of bivalve shells is as effective as crunching snails. As with human tooth-brushing, regularity is the biggie.
 
The shell density is significant to some extent, but the routine crushing/scraping is the key.
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One thing that has worked for me with Colomesus asellus (South American) puffers is the introduction of a "feeding rock", a large flat piece of granite that I pour the puffers food onto, as they pick the food off the rock they get wear on their teeth.....over a year now and I haven't had to trim teeth (was previously trimming about every 4-5 months)
 
RTR said:
The shell density is significant to some extent, but the routine crushing/scraping is the key. Some folks kid themselves that a once or twice a week "treat/treatment" is sufficient. Puffs with fast-growing incisors (SAPs are the worst IME, DPs the least, most lurkers are trivial also) in my tanks have a diet ~ or >90% snails. I have very few tooth problems as a result. Larger puffs (GSPs, Fahakas, T. mbu) get grocery/fishmarket crunchies instead, again as the majority of their diet. Scraping the flesh out of bivalve shells is as effective as crunching snails. As with human tooth-brushing, regularity is the biggie.
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Another WHEW! from me. I was rather concerned because I have been feeding Peabody snails 5 days a week. I'm giving him a ghost shrimp one off day and krill the second off day.

All other fish we're told that variety is the key. Sounds like with puffers, snails are the key.

I've actually noticed (or maybe it's wishful thinking) that his teeth are getting smaller. Hrm, no, I'm pretty sure they are. When he used to beg for food I could clearly see his teeth, now I can't see them as well.

Roan
 
Firsttanks said:
One thing that has worked for me with Colomesus asellus (South American) puffers is the introduction of a "feeding rock", a large flat piece of granite that I pour the puffers food onto, as they pick the food off the rock they get wear on their teeth.....over a year now and I haven't had to trim teeth (was previously trimming about every 4-5 months)
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I've been thinking of, when Peabody goes full marine, adding live rock to his tank for him to have fun with. Will keep his mind occupied, that's for sure.

What are the thoughts on that? Will he eat bristle worms? Or are they dangerous to him?

If the rock is not there for filteration, but rather recreation, will I need a protein skimmer? Or can I stick with a regular filter arrangement as with FW?

Roan
 
Snails are the key for some puffers, but far from all. The "lurkers" (Congo, Arrowhead, Palembang's, some of the "target group") rarely touch snails. The ones with fast incissor growth give away a predisposition to high crunch diets. Snails are easy to breed and have fat and healthy. My lifespan study on F-8s was ~/>95% snail diet. Ditto for all SAPs. Ditto Auriglobus species. GSPs I feed similarly until they pass F-8 size, then it is grocery store/fish market leftovers (crab and lobster broken-off legs, shell-on shrimp, a few mussels, smallish clams, etc.).
 
ok another update, i finally got the snails there own 5 gallon tank with an air pump, heat/plant light, and have 2 unknown species of plant in the tank, the girl said it was the only plant species that they get with snails, and so far there about 10 snails left from feeding and whole crapload of very small baby snails crawling along. Thanks for everyones help!
 
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