How Much Do You Feed Your Pea Puffers?

[Jennifer V]

I've been battling high nitrates even with ~50 percent water changes every week, so I'm thinking I have an ammonia issue, which leads me to how much I'm feeding my little puffs. I have six juveniles in my 10g right now and hand feed them a combination of frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp twice a day until each one has a round belly, then immediately remove any leftovers and debris. This might be a hard question to answer, but am I going overboard? 

[mynameisnobody]

@Jennifer V How long has the aquarium been set up? Was it fully cycled before adding the pea puffers? Also, is it planted? 
Without further information, my inclination would be to feed once every other day until your water parameters are ideal. The reason I ask if it’s planted is to give some line of sight breaks so the puffers won’t nip at each other. 

[Jennifer V]

1 hour ago, Manny said:

@Jennifer V How long has the aquarium been set up? Was it fully cycled before adding the pea puffers? Also, is it planted? 
Without further information, my inclination would be to feed once every other day until your water parameters are ideal. The reason I ask if it’s planted is to give some line of sight breaks so the puffers won’t nip at each other. 

The tank has been up since early December but we got the puffers in February. It's heavily planted with a variety of different plants so they all have their separate corners so far. I'm planning to re-home the trouble makers once I can establish who they are, as I know that many puffers in a 10g isn't ideal. 

[mynameisnobody]

@Jennifer V Understood. So it seems like you’re doing everything you can. I applaud your proactive efforts. In an emergency you could always add some prime or fritz dechlor to temporarily obsolve the ammonia, but it still doesn’t get to the root of the problem. The only thing that may remain is reducing the number of puffers (which you are doing). If I remember correctly, Cory stated that 1 pea puffers per 3 gallons is adequate. By that calculation, you may be doubling your bio-load, which may be the leading factor to your problems. I hope this all works out for you and please keep us updated. 

[Jennifer V]

14 minutes ago, Manny said:

@Jennifer V Understood. So it seems like you’re doing everything you can. I applaud your proactive efforts. In an emergency you could always add some prime or fritz dechlor to temporarily obsolve the ammonia, but it still doesn’t get to the root of the problem. The only thing that may remain is reducing the number of puffers (which you are doing). If I remember correctly, Cory stated that 1 pea puffers per 3 gallons is adequate. By that calculation, you may be doubling your bio-load, which may be the leading factor to your problems. I hope this all works out for you and please keep us updated. 

Thank you so much for the kind words! I think you're right and my best option is to re-home some of the little guys. In the meantime, should I reduce feeding? 

[Colu]

Have you tested your tap water for nitrates

[Jennifer V]

30 minutes ago, Colu said:

Have you tested your tap water for nitrates

Uhg. Sadly it's at zero so I know the problem is somewhere in my little ecosystem. I tried floating plants -- water lettuce -- to absorb some nitrates but they didn't do well under the lid. I'm assuming because the moisture was too high for them. 

[Colu]

Try Duck weed it grows well in tank with lids

[Jennifer V]

27 minutes ago, Colu said:

Try Duck weed it grows well in tank with lids

Oh perfect! I have a friend bringing me some!