I bought five dwarf puffers for the planted 20 long that has been infested with pond snails. The puffers began chowing down on snails the moment they were freed from the bag. They've been hunting for a few days now and I couldn't be more pleased with their progress.
These five puffers will be the only inhabitant for this tank as puffs are aggressive and known to shred fins. That's okay though. I've always wanted a tank just for them.
Once I've run out of snails, I'll probably have to grow my own in a small tank so the puffs are kept in food.... Or, I'll take snails from any one who wants to get rid of them.
They're really cute little mites -- curious personality and blue eyes. Enchanting.
Easy and breedable in a heavily planted tank. An alternate food and great staple food is live blacworms. DPs do not need the high crunch factor their larger cousins do - their dental plates are about the strength and mass of an infants fingernails. They are biters and slurpers (rather more like loaches than their crusher and chewer cousins). Use a cone feeder and place a small terra cotta saucer beneath it to avoid the worms establishing in the gravel. DPs examine everything very carefully, orbiting around it like satellites (so cool to watch!) before they bite. That means that if you just drop worms in, many escape. It also allows the lower-in-the-pecking-order fish to eat their share. You don't have to leave the cone or saucer in the tank - putting the saucer in and the cone announces dinner time. They learn quickly. The two-piece cone mean that you can leave the support ring in place and just pull the cone itself.
Keep the worms in blue worm boxes for ease of care.
Breeding snails is too easy... common ramshorns are the best for feeding - they expose more flesh to the puffers. Not too bright, even for a snail.
Thanks everyone. I have been watching them closely and you're right, they are agile hunters and really do orbit around their prey. It's so interesting.... I was having a hard time finding a lot of snails in that tank this morning. They must have been hunting all night long. It would be cool if they bred for me.
So what happens if the black worms get into the gravel?
sherrymitchell wrote:Thanks everyone. I have been watching them closely and you're right, they are agile hunters and really do orbit around their prey. It's so interesting.... I was having a hard time finding a lot of snails in that tank this morning. They must have been hunting all night long. It would be cool if they bred for me.
So what happens if the black worms get into the gravel?
they start construction.
next thing you know the DPs get priced out of the tank and you have some uppity rainbowfish move in..
The other Jeff
Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
In certain households, the spouse freaks at wiggly things sticking out of tank gravel. The hobbyist invests in cory cats (not compatable w/DPs - they fin-nip the cats).
Okay, LOL...... so the worms really don't do any damage then? If they go in the gravel the DP's will eventually see them wiggling around and eat them, right??
I tried some frozen bloodworms today and the biggest one got it and made himself fat eating them, but the other smaller ones turned their nose up at the non-live food. I'm growing out snails and also going to get black worms this week from my LFS. I hope they also have the feeding ring you mentioned.
IME, DPs don't do a good job of getting the substrate-dwelling blackworms. They may get a little nip off the end, but it takes a digger to get them out of the gravel.
