Juvinille Dwarf Puffers

[StingrayKid]

I ordered some DP's off of Aquariumfish.net and they came in just a minute ago! I opened the box to find that they were about 1/2-3/4 long. That seems kind of small. What kind of food should I give them because of their size? Will they eat shrimp pellets? I'll be getting some snails soon, will they like those? I'm a little worried because I'm afraid they won't eat.

 

[LadyMinion]

Congrats on the new arrivals! Yes, they are suprisingly small, especially if you've never seen one in real life before.

They should take bloodworm - if you feel that is too big try some live daphnia or brine shrimp. It may take some time to "wean" them onto frozen. Have you spoken to the store you bought from and asked what they feed their dwarfs?

Oh, and I have yet to find a puffer that refuses snails - you may not see them eat them but you'll know when you find the empty shells floating on the surface.

 

[StingrayKid]

I can't buy live daphina or bloodworms around here, but I can grab some wild snails from a nearby lake. The lake is extremely clean and I'll wash the snails off before I put them in the tank. As for brine shrimp, I can buy the eggs and hatch them with water and aquarium salt. Do you think they'll eat frozen foods yet? And one of the puffers has an orange stomach. Is that normal? The others have metalic bottoms.

 

[LadyMinion]

Not sure about the wild caught snails - maybe someone else can help you there. But I would say wait until someone verifies that it is safe before you try.

The brine shrimp sound good - I take it your using sea monkeys?

They may take frozen, give it a try. If they don't seem interested, try dipping it in the water and wiggling it. It's possible the dealer fed them frozen anyway.

Puffers can change colour but I've never seen any of mine with an orange belly, just sometimes a bit pinkish. He could just be stressed - keep an close eye on him for the meantime and let us know if anything changes.

 

[StingrayKid]

It's now more of a yellowish... I'm going to call about the food in just a moment.

 

[StingrayKid]

I called them. They fed them frozen brine shrimp. They said that they'd eat anything that moves, like live brine srimp or frozen. I think I'll hatch some of those and get some snails.

 

[LadyMinion]

I called them. They fed them frozen brine shrimp. They said that they'd eat anything that moves, like live brine srimp or frozen. I think I'll hatch some of those and get some snails.

Good good! Over the next few weeks, you can try them on all sorts of new foods but at least you now know what they're used to.

Sounds like the one with the yellow belly may be stressed. Should be right as rain by this time tomorrow.

 

[StingrayKid]

That's good. I'll probably buy some brine shrimp eggs or buy a sea monkey kit thing. You know, the ones they sell at toy stores.

 

[SirMinion]

If your tank has a current (and dwarfs love a moderate current) frozen foods will 'move' and attract the fish.

This was how we weaned our fearsome foursome onto frozen bloodworm.

But live food is always best.

 

[samsung-401]

U should take some pictures of your dwarf puffers and post them.

 

[GP]

That size is perfectly normal.. Just give them a couple months and you will notice them getting bigger. Not too much though, they only get around 1 inch..