Puffers

[Chunk Da Funk]

Just bought 3 GSP's and love them to death nearlly as much as my wife (only been married 4 weeks but i dare say that will change with time ).

As it says in the title I'm not really looking forward to when the time comes to cut teeth. Having poored over most of the forums and done many searches on "Puffers", "GSP", "feeding snails", "breeding snails" etc etc. I cant find anything to point me in the right direction, What i want is a simple but effective way to breed my own snails for food.

My GSP's live in there own tank which i fishless-cycled for 8 weeks and believe it is spot on with regards to NO3, NO2, GH, KH and pH, and has not changed since adding the fish 5 days ago. i also just started to bring SG as i understand this process should be done at 0.001 a week is this correct?

I have also got a community tank but don't want to fill this up with snails, so this obviously means i need another tank (sssssshhhhhhhh don't let the misses hear me say that). could i get away with a small tank to breed snails say 30w 30h 10d (cm's) and fill it with some plant life for the snails to live off.

So these are my real questions:

Would the breeding tank need a heater, filter etc?

How long would it take to start seeing results?

How often should my Puffers be fed snails?

Currently i'm feeding frozen Cockles (about one each) in the morning and frozen Bloodworm in the evening (standard size Pellet) is this ok?

Is it safe to use R.O in a water change, if so can i pre-load 25 litres containers with buffer, PH and salt and then store it until i need it (thinking of buying 4 to save time on keep going to the lfs)

Sorry for all the questions just want to get it right for Rod, Jane and Freddie (yes you can stop laughing now)






Todays word of the day is ........... pradeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppp

 

[AMS]

Just bought 3 GSP's and love them to death nearlly as much as my wife (only been married 4 weeks but i dare say that will change with time ).

As it says in the title I'm not really looking forward to when the time comes to cut teeth. Having poored over most of the forums and done many searches on "Puffers", "GSP", "feeding snails", "breeding snails" etc etc. I cant find anything to point me in the right direction, What i want is a simple but effective way to breed my own snails for food.

My GSP's live in there own tank which i fishless-cycled for 8 weeks and believe it is spot on with regards to NO3, NO2, GH, KH and pH, and has not changed since adding the fish 5 days ago. i also just started to bring SG as i understand this process should be done at 0.001 a week is this correct?

I have also got a community tank but don't want to fill this up with snails, so this obviously means i need another tank (sssssshhhhhhhh don't let the misses hear me say that). could i get away with a small tank to breed snails say 30w 30h 10d (cm's) and fill it with some plant life for the snails to live off.

So these are my real questions:

Would the breeding tank need a heater, filter etc?

How long would it take to start seeing results?

How often should my Puffers be fed snails?

Currently i'm feeding frozen Cockles (about one each) in the morning and frozen Bloodworm in the evening (standard size Pellet) is this ok?

Is it safe to use R.O in a water change, if so can i pre-load 25 litres containers with buffer, PH and salt and then store it until i need it (thinking of buying 4 to save time on keep going to the lfs)

Sorry for all the questions just want to get it right for Rod, Jane and Freddie (yes you can stop laughing now)






Todays word of the day is ........... pradeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppppppp

I used to breed MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) when I owned a GSP, quite easy. Many people say MTS are too hard for puffers and they break their teeth, which isn't true, Neale can add more to that subject. All I used for breeding was a standard ten gallon tank with a heater and filter. I saw results very quickly, they are prolific breeders.

Yes, the cockle and bloodworms are good foods, but a little more variety should be added such as frozen krill, mysis shrimp, prawns, etc. Frozen cockle in shell helps a lot with grindin down their teeth. How long have they been without a teeth trimming? (either through hard shelled foods or manually trimming)

Yes, RO water is fine to use so long as you remineralize with RO right or a similar product. Just curious, why are you using RO water?

As you may already know, GSP's become very aggressive when they mature. Right now as juveniles they may get along fine, but with age they will be intolerant of each other unless you have 30+ gallons per puffer.

 

[Flumpus]

In addition to the foods AMS mentioned, give frozen clams on the half shell a shot. All my fish seem to love them, and the puffers will take chunks out of the shells (small chunks right now, as they're small puffers).