obese puffer ?

[congo dude]

ok this is gunna sound a little odd but is it possible that my congo pufferfish has grown to be fat ? im always feeding him 'one more bloodworm' and i think hes got to fat ( if its possible ) he dusnt seem to be ill because hes still feeding fine and swims still ( although not as much as wen he had a slimmer appearance ) he also dusnt bury in the sand any more just sits on top of it so could any of this be linked to being a fat puffer an wat shud i do ? thanks

 

[glolite]

Put him on the congo diet, less blood worms more crustaceans to make him work for his food.

 

[WILDER]

Cut down on the feeding or the fish will get ill, with dropsy or swim bladder desease.

 

[congo dude]

thanks for the advice.... another thing the guy at my lfs sed if u eva run out of crusteaceans u can feed them garden woodlice/pill bugs ? is he right ?

 

[glolite]

Yes but with every live food there is the possibility of introducing disease. Personally, I would get some frozen food fromm the lfs. It takes 15 mins or so to defrost and is safe.

 

[SirMinion]

Cut down on the feeding or the fish will get ill, with ... swim bladder desease.

Unlikely, as he doesn't have a swim bladder

Seriously, feed him less often, twice a week is fine, and make sure he gets a BALANCED diet. bloodworm alone does not contain all he needs to stay healthy.

He should be happy to take most things that sink & wriggle, although remember, Congos are the only puffer that won't eat snails.

If using garden creepy-crawlies, be ABSOLUTELY sure that they've not been in contact with pesticides or fertilisers.

Yes but with every live food there is the possibility of introducing disease. Personally, I would get some frozen food fromm the lfs. It takes 15 mins or so to defrost and is safe.

The benefits of these foods often outweigh the risk.
All our puffers and other fish get live foods and we've had no problems.
A healthy fish has a healthy immune system that can fight off most diseses brought in with the food.

Also, Congo puffers can be very very hard to wean on to dead foods, so there may be no option anyway.

 

[congo dude]

thank you sooo much for the advice im sure the congo will appreciate it !

 

[Opcn]

aren't congos piscavores? should a balenced diet inclde some fish, live or dead?

 

[SirMinion]

aren't congos piscavores? should a balenced diet inclde some fish, live or dead?

Yes they are, but as you can not buy feeder fish in the UK, I don't tend to mention them as a food source to UK fishkeepers.
Also, fish are quite fatty (especially goldfish) so if giving then to the congo, it should be left even longer between meals.

If the congo will take dead foods, then weaning it onto frozen lancefish or whitebait would be an ideal once a week food.

 

[Opcn]

thats why you buy guppies, perhaps a salt water feeder stick would begood, a plexyglass stick to make the dead fish look like its moving, would work.

 

[congo dude]

good news ! my congo is now weaned on dead lance fish and eats it once a week thanks for all ure advice