Bloodworms and Porcupine Puffers

[mal211]

A little hesitant to start feeding my porcupine puffer a bloodworm carnivorous mix. I know puffers are very susceptible to disease and I am hesitant to introduce new foods, especially food not natural to his habitat. I have been feeding silversides and dabbled with clams. Any thoughts on bloodworms?

[leebca]

I'm glad you asked Matt and I'm glad you care enough to ask. You are correct in that Bloodworms are not a natural part of the marine fish diet. Don't use them. The exception would be to tempt to get a fish to begin eating, or for a now-and-then feeding (maybe once a month). You'll find more information on this and other foods in this post:
Fish Health through Proper Nutrition

You should not worry so much about introducing new foods (with regards to disease), so long as they are a normal part of the Puffer's diet. Whole foods should be your choice, including but not limited to Krill (of the right size), ocean plankton, whole shrimp from the sea, clam, etc. The above post should give you some ideas, including some foods you can find in your local seafood store. Regarding disease, a freeze over a 48 hours period is sufficient to kill off all of the higher forms of pathogens. The lower forms, like bacteria and viruses, are even a part of the prepared frozen foods you buy at the LFS, so not worth worrying much about these. We all kind of take our changes with these, to some extent.

You'll need to be concerned about controlling the growth of their teeth. Are you prepared to handle this? Also, they grow to over 15 inches in captivity and it should be in a very large tank -- eventually. They can get bored, and they sometimes just stop eating altogether for a few days to weeks.

Good luck!

[mal211]

Thanks so much for the response. I am assuming the clams will help with the teeth? And yes, I am aware that puffers approach two feet. He is currently 5 inches and is in a take with two eels, 72g and 80lb live rock. I have set aside considerable money to upgrade in the next year. I do not want to venture in to reef tanks at this time but I have no problem splurging a little on a bigger FOWLR tank. They are worth the money IMO. Thanks for the advice on bloodworms! Look forward to trying new foods and experimenting a bit.

[leebca]

The clams will help with the teeth, but ultimately you'll have to grind them down. You can reduce the frequency you will need to do this by providing the clams and foods imbedded in plaster of paris, yet this will need to be done -- eventually -- and periodically.