What to do with Picky Puffers

[Jennifer V]

Hi All! 

My pea puffers have suddenly gotten very picky. My wife usually feeds them and has the magic touch because they eat fine for her but she's out of town for several days and I cannot get the little guys to eat well for the life of me. We feed them frozen bloodworms, spirulina gut loaded brine shrimp, pieces of plankton and a variety of snails. Tank parameters are fine. 

What do I do to tempt them to eat better? 

[Gigrantor]

I always think of what my grandma used to say. "If they're hungry, they'll eat." That was in reference to us not eating our supper, but I think the same applies to fish. Don't worry about it too much! Fish sometimes don't eat in the wild for days or weeks, so skipping a couple meals here or there isn't a big deal. However, if it goes on for an extended period of time and you see them losing mass, maybe look into running some meds to ensure they're healthy (especially with puffers). 

I've had fish be "picky" when I first get them and I assume that's because what I am feeding them is different that what the person before me was feeding them. Most take 3-4 days, but then are swarming the food with the rest of the fish. 

[Jennifer V]

On 12/20/2021 at 6:39 AM, Gigrantor said:

I always think of what my grandma used to say. "If they're hungry, they'll eat." That was in reference to us not eating our supper, but I think the same applies to fish. Don't worry about it too much! Fish sometimes don't eat in the wild for days or weeks, so skipping a couple meals here or there isn't a big deal. However, if it goes on for an extended period of time and you see them losing mass, maybe look into running some meds to ensure they're healthy (especially with puffers). 

I've had fish be "picky" when I first get them and I assume that's because what I am feeding them is different that what the person before me was feeding them. Most take 3-4 days, but then are swarming the food with the rest of the fish. 

Thank you! Food is love in our house so it's really tough when any of our animals refuse it. I'll try skipping a couple meals to see if they change their behavior.