Figure 8 Eating

[Sara0229]

My figure 8 loves to eat. I'm feeding him mainly snails and re-hydrated tubifex worms (he doesn't like the bloodworms). I am wondering how much food is to much? He seems to eat whatever I put in the tank but then gets so fat he looks as if he might pop! How much is enough for a 1.5 inch puffer?

 

[nmonks]

Feed him once or twice a day, each portion just enough for his belly to be slightly convex. If it looks like he's swallowed a bowling ball, he's overeaten. Fish have quite a short digestive tract, and if you feed them too much the excess simply comes out the other end, messing up water quality for no good reason.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Sara0229]

thanks neale!

oh and i wanted to ask, do you think this is an adequate diet for him? snails and re-hydrated tubifex worms?

 

[simonas]

have you tried with a decent flake as well? My Puffer eats flake
they are gluttons!!!

 

[nmonks]

Well, so long as the snails are gut-loaded, i.e., well fed with flake food and algae beforehand, they should be very nutritious. Nonetheless, I'd keep a bag of mixed seafood in the freezer and offer small morsels from that now and again. Prawns and mussels contain thiaminase so shouldn't be used too often, but cockles are excellent, and so is tilapia fillet, something most puffers will readily eat.

Cheers, Neale

oh and i wanted to ask, do you think this is an adequate diet for him? snails and re-hydrated tubifex worms?