Puffer outcompeting other for food

[jwreffner]

All of a sudden without warning, my Stars and Stripes puffer decided he liked seaweed. My Cowfish and Surgeon have been grazing for months on the stuff and the puff never touched it. So as of a week ago, he started chowing down on it and now my Surgeon and Cowfish are not getting enough seaweed in their diet.

The only thing I can think of to do is use the grid feeding clip from Ocean Nutrition to keep the puff from getting it:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...ips/T1/F23BX+0012+0146/EDP/2769/Itemdy00.aspx

My fear with this is that the puffer would bite thru it and eat the plastic grid. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can do besides move the puff to another tank? I can't do that at this point because I don't have a suitable tank for him.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[LRS078]

Put algae in two separate locations in your tank. Just use two el cheapo algae clips or two small rocks and some hair style rubber band thingies.

Give the fish more than one place to graze on the stuff..... It certainly will not hurt your puffer to eat some greens.

 

[Petstorejunkie]

my s&s just starting joining in on the algae fest as well, and ironically i too have a cow fish, ... and an emperor angel. puffers doo very well on an omnivorous diet, and if he is eating all of the algea put LOTS more in there, and LRS's suggestion of two locations is a good idea too. eventually the puffer will get full and the cowfish and tang can chow down. also you can feed peas to your puffer, to halp fill the nutritional gap he is trying to fill with the seaweed, the bits of peas that he scatters around as he eats will get scooped up by the tang and cowfish. but when you are feeding peas do not stop with the nori.

 

[jwreffner]

A couple of problems I see with your comments:

1) The puffers will not quit eating...they will eat themselves into a coma. They will make a mess in the tank and polute it if you do not pull them back from eating 24x7.

2) If I put 2 seaweed clips in the tank, he will eat one within 30 seconds and move over to the other and munch it down as well. Their is NO controlling his appetite.

3) As far as the peas go, I do not feed my fish terrestrial plants/veggies. Terrestrial plants contain cellular walls unlike marine plants which do NOT contain cellular walls. Marine fish cannot digest the cell walls in terrestrial plants like they can the cells in marine plants.

Thanks,
Jay

 

[LRS078]

To my knowledge a puffer has NEVER eaten himself/herself to death.... Although many try quite frequently. He'll be fine and sooner or later will stop.

I've got a 6-7" golden, a 3" S&S, a 4-5" dogface, and a 4" spiney box (different tanks/etc)....they are all pigs, they all eat a variety of foods, and they are all quite happy. I know it seems like they wont stop eating sometimes but they will. Also have a cowfish who eats/poo's more than half the puffers.

If you have a puffer you should be prepared for them to make a mess...kinda goes with the territory. If the mess is a problem, there may be a nano cube bug tank (reef/invert) in your future.

As for the peas....I know a 14" guinea fowl that has been getting peas for half a decade and still does quite well. Many people have used peas for years and I've never heard of any issues directly associated with it. (as opposed to say...the vitamin E problem with dried krill) So peas have cellulose cell walls and the fish don't necessarily digest that part of it. When the puffer chomps down the shells of his food in the wild does he digest them completely? The puffer will do the same thing our bodies do...pass it on though. Ever heard of someone having problems from eating salad? In fact, its not uncommon for people with out of control apetites to chow down on "terrestrial plants". It doesn't hurt anything and provides some good variety in their diet.

I trust you try to control your puffer's algae apetite by feeding him the usual meaty mix first to let him "get his fill" before putting the algae out right? Out of curiousity, what else are you feeding the puffer besides seaweed?

Just curious....

PS you can try the funky feeding clip...the puffer may bite through or he may not. Either way your are only out the two bucks of the clip. That said, the cowfish may not be able to get anything from the clip due to horns/mouth structure.

 

[stars&stripes]

all plants have cell walls. terestrial or marine.

 

[jwreffner]

I feed them:

squid
brine shrimp
mysis
clam (puff hates it)
mussel
and several different types of seaweed for the herbivores.

 

[Lakeside518]

Agree with LRS078

Put algae in two separate locations in your tank. Just use two el cheapo algae clips or two small rocks and some hair style rubber band thingies.

Give the fish more than one place to graze on the stuff..... It certainly will not hurt your puffer to eat some greens.

My puffer was like that.. Seems to have grown out of it.. Never touches the stuff now.. Is wierd. He'll prolly go back to it. Has been couple weeks since I've noticed him feeing on it.