My New Dwarf Puffer

[razer121]

I have a new puffer!!! dont worry ive done my research on these little guys, and i have plenty of snails for him/her i was so excited when i went to pick him/her up ......so 3.99 later and i have this beady eyed little puffer fish, which just happens to follow my every movement! its so cute well im going to wait untill he is settled and then turn the lights on and get some pictures

 

[razer121]

hehe!! heres the tank...

and here he/she is

how cute huh? i cant wait to get some better pictures!

 

[Kitty_Nin]

Aww, very cute! I love your tank, very simple and zen. I'm jealous, I'd love to have a puffer but I don't have the tanks.... yet

 

[Hunterprey]

Cute little Puffer got a name yet?

 

[razer121]

oh i wish i could get a name but he/she has gone into hiding since coming home...he/she was out yesterday having a nib at a snail....but well thats the only time he/she comes out! so at the moment no name.....

 

[Jonty]

Aww... I'm going to have to get a puffer in the future - no space atm.

BTW they are intelligent and inquisitive, so I'd recommend more plants and stuff for that tank to entertain him

 

[razer121]

ha so ive been told but with such a small tank...it makes it a pain to scape! but anyways....

im in i cannot get enough of this little guy!!! such a cool lil puff....does he have the ability to puff? i know that sounds daft as he is a puffer but still....

 

[jennybugs]

Lovely tank and little guy, but I agree with Jonty in he would really like more things to explore round to keep him entertained so he doesn't get bored. A busy tank makes for a happy DP and it's not so much for cutting up the line of sight as keeping him busy with things like slate caves or even coconut caves or terracotta plant pots etc.

One thing I will say is he's a bit thin. Not unexpected when they're fresh from the LFS, but if he eats and his tum goes sunken/flat like it is soon after eating again, then it may be a good idea to get some Wormer Plus for internal parasites and give him a dose of it to make sure he hasn't got any.
Ideally their bellies should be nice and rotund

not long and slender like one of mine was when I first got it

Hopefully he just needs someone to give him loving meals to plump him up a bit, but I just wanted to mention it just as something to look out for

 

[razer121]

terracotta plant??? whats that?? i will get him a pot and some stone tomoz down town, but....

i spoted a little worm in the tank reall tiny about 4 mm in length and white, could this bee a sign of it? and where can i get the wormer stuff?? could u suggest a better food then snails and blood worm?? currently i have no blood worm only dryed and frozen,

 

[jennybugs]

terracotta plant??? whats that?? i will get him a pot and some stone tomoz down town, but....

i spoted a little worm in the tank reall tiny about 4 mm in length and white, could this bee a sign of it? and where can i get the wormer stuff?? could u suggest a better food then snails and blood worm?? currently i have no blood worm only dryed and frozen,

A plant pot made of terracotta coloured clay

The worms I am talking about are internal worms and not ones you'd see in the tank as such. I'd fish the worm out if you see it again.
Wormer Plus can be bought online (Google it) and is very good.

There's nothing wrong with frozen bloodworm. I feed my puffs frozen and live bloodworm (always good to keep a regular stock in the freezer), enriched brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp, small snails and they even like frozen tubifex worms although they make my skin crawl

 

[razer121]

ah lol i didnt see the "pot" on the end i was speed reading it last time i do that....ive got one but im in the process of boiling it, i might even have some bogwood setup for his little tank aswell can i ask, in your dp what is that?? the thing that your puffer is feeding from??? i search for the wormer and got lots of different mix of results, would interpet be ok?? i have a bacteria and a internal one

 

[jennybugs]

The thing in with my dp is a great way of feeding the puffers...it's a worm cone feeder.

ebay

You put live worms in it and they try and wriggle out of the holes and straight into the waiting puffers mouth

I can't comment on anything other than the Wormer Plus http://wormerplus.co.uk/ as I haven't used anything else. I don't need to as this covers all sorts of things and is safe for the filters and the tank. It does kill some snails though so make sure you don't have any live ones in the tank.

The dp will like the bogwood too and the tannins won't bother the puffer. I have abig bit in my bibe and it looks fantastic

 

[razer121]

well, the worm tube feeder has been orderd but im not getting any post at the mo... so ive no idea when i will get it. i do however need some advice....

he wont eat anything ive tryed so many different foods! any suggestions?

 

[jennybugs]

This isn't uncommon with puffers when they first get into a new tank.

Try soaking his food in garlic juice before feeding it to him. In small doses, garlic is good for an appetite stimulant. Usually once settled the puffers will suddenly get so hungry they start eating.

Try putting the food in the flow of the filter too to simulate live foods. They like to hunt their food down so chasing it round the tank might help.

Eventually it will get used to seeing you come to the tank and the sudden appearance of food and will start begging. With mine, as soon as they see me in the room they come to the front of the tank and follow me round the room

Another thing...with the snails, in order for them to eat them shell and all, they need to be no bigger than their eyes. If you have slightly larger snails then lightly crush them first before popping them in the tank in front of the puffer. Don't bother with trumpet snails, just pond snails and ramshorns.

 

[razer121]

well, he is definatly eating...but only the snails, and the snails that are bigger then his eyes...well there is some dead ones lol, erm ive ran out of bloodworms but i do have some more on there way....when i get them i dont know as soon as the post sorts itself out! hopfully they wont be dead!! thanks for the advice, he already has started to notice me but does not tend to come to the front just yet