Topaz Puffers

[joncairns]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep the little beaks down on these fish. I have been feeding them the odd cockle,hoping they would use their beaks to open the shells. I give them live river shrimp when I can but that is not very often. Any suggestions about what to keep in the tank or feed them would be appreciated,as I have heard that if they do not grind them down it can be bad for their health.

Thank you,

Jon

 

[AdAndrews]

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep the little beaks down on these fish. I have been feeding them the odd cockle,hoping they would use their beaks to open the shells. I give them live river shrimp when I can but that is not very often. Any suggestions about what to keep in the tank or feed them would be appreciated,as I have heard that if they do not grind them down it can be bad for their health.

Thank you,

Jon

with puffers, feeding them hard foods, such as crab, cockells, and clams(de-shelled) only cuts down the teeth a little bit, the age old puffer dentistry needs to be followed to ensure that their teeth dont overgrow. the method is to prepare a tub full of tank water, and put some clove oil in, this sedates the fish.. the next step is to remove the fish from the tank and put him in the tub for around a minute until he has calmed down. then get some cuticle scissors, turn the puffer on his back and just cut the tips of..

i will get you a link if you give me 2 mins


EDIT: http/homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/pufferdentistry.html

 

[joncairns]

Hi there,

Many thanks for that, it is a very informative website.I will refer to it when mine need doing.

Jon

 

[jennybugs]

If you get the right balance of crunchy foods, most puffers shouldn't need their teeth trimming. Colomesus assellus may occasionally need teeth to be trimmed but as a general rule they shouldn't need it too often at all if fed the right things

If you find your puffers aren't getting the whole cockles opened, lightly crush them with a hammer prior to dropping them in the tank. That way the puffers have to munch through the shell to get to the meat inside That technique works for my F8 puffers quite nicely.

 

[Infidel_Uk]

can i hijack this, thread ?

i know its cheeky but ..

can i get away with buying snails in every 4th week and feed my f8`s [ when i get them ] on other food the other 3 weeks ?

im hoping i wont have to breed snails for 3 puffers ....

 

[iliveinazoo]

can i hijack this, thread ?

i know its cheeky but ..

can i get away with buying snails in every 4th week and feed my f8`s [ when i get them ] on other food the other 3 weeks ?

im hoping i wont have to breed snails for 3 puffers ....

Figure 8's beaks aren't as troublesome as other puffers and so they don't need as much hard foods, you could buy some frozen shrimp from your LFS and keep it in your freezer because even the soft shell of the shrimp will help with the beak.

just keep an eye on them and you will get the feel for how often you should give them hard food

 

[Infidel_Uk]

can i hijack this, thread ?

i know its cheeky but ..

can i get away with buying snails in every 4th week and feed my f8`s [ when i get them ] on other food the other 3 weeks ?

im hoping i wont have to breed snails for 3 puffers ....

Figure 8's beaks aren't as troublesome as other puffers and so they don't need as much hard foods, you could buy some frozen shrimp from your LFS and keep it in your freezer because even the soft shell of the shrimp will help with the beak.

just keep an eye on them and you will get the feel for how often you should give them hard food

ahh cool,thanks so much

 

[jennybugs]

Just to add, you don't really have to do anything specific to get snails to breed....a small tank with water, warmth and light (a warm windowsill would be enough) and a few bits of plant like elodea or suchlike and then just make sure you pop a bit of food in every now and then. The rest the snails can manage to do themselves Pond or ramshorn snails will multiply in no time

 

[Infidel_Uk]

Just to add, you don't really have to do anything specific to get snails to breed....a small tank with water, warmth and light (a warm windowsill would be enough) and a few bits of plant like elodea or suchlike and then just make sure you pop a bit of food in every now and then. The rest the snails can manage to do themselves Pond or ramshorn snails will multiply in no time

thats cool but i dont want a million snails, lol i mean IF i did breed snails id only be throwing a few in every 2 days , am i justified in breeding snails ?

would you ? is it worth it ?

im not being rood , just asking really, because i have no clue !

 

[jennybugs]

Yes I would still breed them. They don't grow that fast so you wouldn't necessarily be overrun in no time