My first Dwarf Puffers!

[mandi]

I researched DP's last summer but was heartbroken when nowhere in my town had them, and no one could order them for me (a few tried to sell me small GSP's saying they were DP's). Then yesterday I stopped into my favorite LFS just to browse... and someone had just brought in baby DPs to trade in for store credit!! I was THRILLED. I would have loved to have chatted with the guy, as I've read that DPs breeding in captivity is pretty rare -- but he was busy using his store credit to buy a big lionfish.

ANYWAY... I have a questions about feeding.

I have frozen bloodworms for them, and when I fed them last night (about 2 hours after bringing them home) -- they both gobbled them up. I also have lots of snails (hitch-hikers on plants, in several of my other tanks, pond snails I guess?) so I tossed a few in to the tank, though I haven't seen either of the DPs even look at them yet.

How much or how often should I be feeding them? (Bloodworms, etc.)

Other than frozen bloodworm and snails, and occasionally brine shrimp (I read these have virtually no nutritional value and should only be a "treat") -- is there anything else I should vary their diet with??

[Edit -- just remembered another question]
Right now I have both my DPs in a well-planted 10 gallon tank. They're both very little now. They appear to be females -- no wrinkles and no dark line on the tummy, BUT it could be because they're so young/small that I can't see the wrinkles. I read 5-gal per DP is really the minimum -- should I start setting up an extra planted 10gal in case they both wind up being males, or do you think they'll be ok? (Right now they swim around together, but don't pick on eachother at all.)

 

[pica_nuttalli]

you sound so informed!! I don't know what to tell you about potential aggression, but as for snails: I've got a SAP and the way I think of snails/ghost shrimp is that they are a supplement for between feedings. Live food is in there mostly to provide something for the puffer to hunt/play with; I feed him prepared food for nutrition. But then again, DPs are supposedly a lot pickier so

 

[mandi]

Thanks! ) I try my best to do as much research as I can in advance!

I'm still not sure about food quantity though, can someone clear this up -- how often should I be feeding them the bloodworms? Once a day? Twice a day? Every other day?

I don't want to overfeed them. Right now I've been feeding them once a day (when I get home from work).

 

[glolite]

Hiya, I'm pretty new to dps as well. Only got the one and he's on his own. I feed him bloodworms twice a day and he eats 3 or 4 then ignores the next so I guess he's full-up. Plus you can see their little tummy fill up as they feed so can tell if they're full. Mine gets 2 tiny snails every other day as well and brineshrimp once a week as an extra treat. They are cuties aren't they

 

[mandi]

Hiya, I'm pretty new to dps as well. Only got the one and he's on his own. I feed him bloodworms twice a day and he eats 3 or 4 then ignores the next so I guess he's full-up. Plus you can see their little tummy fill up as they feed so can tell if they're full. Mine gets 2 tiny snails every other day as well and brineshrimp once a week as an extra treat. They are cuties aren't they

Thanks!

And yes, I agree, they're adorable!!