My new Fahaka Lucy(fer)

[stevenallenbarnard]

I got her/him (guess it really doesn't matter anyways, huh) from brownsnoutuk yesterday. She is about 6" long and has a 6' 120g tank that she only shares with her "food" (convict fry/snails)

I've noticed though that I've seen her go after the snails, but not eat them. it's like she'll chomp at them, but not break the shell. could this be because she's not really all that hungry (she looks well fed) or could she be having problems. these snail are about 1-1.5" across. any advice?

I've got someone coming by with a camera later today so I should have some pics then.

[Mzungu]

What kind of snails are they? And did Brownsnoutuk tell you what he'd been feeding him/her? Maybe he/she's just not used to the food you're offering yet. It's also possible that he/she's just stressed from the move, and will start eating once a bit more comfortable in the new home.

Can't wait to see pictures. :)

[fishboyt]

Congrats! Try feeding her smaller snails.

[FrontosaurusRex]

Diggin the name. :evil:

[thekarens]

Zoe so far completely ignores snails. She does love shrimp/crab/clams, etc.

[stevenallenbarnard]

chris brought me a supply of the same foods he was giving her. I've offered bloodworms which she ate at. I'm sure it's stress combined with just not being that hungry. you can definatly tell brownsnoutuk took good care of here. she does look tiny all by herself in this big tank. hard to belive in a couple years it'll be too small.

[imagirlgeek]

Yeah, just give her some time. Puffers are so smart...think of it like adopting a dog. They need time to get used to their new surroundings and owner. She'll come around.

[Brownsnoutuk]

She wont be able to eat the adult snails I gave you. Theyre too big for her mouth. They will produce thousands of babies if kept in a seperate tank and you'll have a nonstop source of snails.

Try some of the smaller snails and she'll tear them up.

[stevenallenbarnard]

ohhh, well, I can't seem to find any of the small ones, lol. I'm about to go to HEB and get her some shrimp since it's on sale.

[TaTeR ToT]

Congrats!
cant wait to see pics:)

get a 10g and put the adult snails in it, dust the bottom with a fine sand, and add a small air power sponge filter, no light is needed.
then just give the snails a few sinking pellets every day, and you will have litterally thousands of small snails in a week.
this is what i did for my old fahaka, also, prepared crab meat, table shrimps cut into small pieces, and fresh fish meat were my puffers favs.

[TaTeR ToT]

ohhh and clams!
pop em open, and let her go to town

[stevenallenbarnard]

i got her some shrimp earlier, luckily she's small so she doesn't eat a lot. $1 fot me about 2 weeks worth. plus all the feeder convicts i have in there with him. i put the larger snails in my 58 since it's the only other tank i have, it only has more convict fry. tell you what she loved the shrimp. her little gut's so full.

[stevenallenbarnard]

http://houstonfishbox.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=29141

pic from chris's ad. trying to get more later.

[edmlfc]

I know you had asked if there was a way to tell if your puffer was male or female. The answer is no, not with a fahaka. Well almost no...... If in a couple of years your puffer starts to lay eggs then you will know it's a female. ) That dosen't mean it's a male if it never does. The only way to tell is to cut the puffer open and I know you don't want to do that. If you say it's female then it's a she.

There are very few puffer's that have a visible difference in the males and females. Fahaka's are not one of them.