# Pea Puffers Not eating Frozen Food



## gtu2004 (Feb 17, 2010)

Yes and yes.

They prefer moving/living foods and probably much prefer snails to frozen worms.

I think they're very finicky abt food. In fish stores, they get flakes and maybe some frozen worms/brine shrimps, which explains why they're often very skinny as they don't eat those things unless they starve.

At home, I feed them exclusively live blackworms and occasional live brine shrimps. Those who might have shown a hint of interest in frozen bloodworms right after being bought from a fish store would quickly just go after live stuff a couple days later.


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## cbachmann (Aug 6, 2013)

The woman working at the fish store (it was pacific down in chinatown) mentioned she had been feeding frozen bloodworms. I must have spoiled them with the invert schmorgazboard.


gtu2004 said:


> Yes and yes.
> 
> At home, I feed them exclusively live blackworms and occasional live brine shrimps. Those who might have shown a hint of interest in frozen bloodworms right after being bought from a fish store would quickly just go after live stuff a couple days later.


Can I order brine shrimp online? Is it difficult to culture them or blackworms.


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## gtu2004 (Feb 17, 2010)

cbachmann said:


> The woman working at the fish store (it was pacific down in chinatown) mentioned she had been feeding frozen bloodworms. I must have spoiled them with the invert schmorgazboard.
> 
> 
> Can I order brine shrimp online? Is it difficult to culture them or blackworms.


Petland discounts usually have both. Cheap too. I'd get the smallest portions.


But the guy at Aquastar has fresher blackworms. Downside is he gives you slightly less for the similar price, plus he runs out often.

I think you mean 123 Aquarium on Elizabeth? Pacific has no woman. I was at Pacific last night and there was a big fat puffer for $6. Had to fight myself not to get it.


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## cbachmann (Aug 6, 2013)

gtu2004 said:


> Petland discounts usually have both. Cheap too. I'd get the smallest portions.
> 
> 
> But the guy at Aquastar has fresher blackworms. Downside is he gives you slightly less for the similar price, plus he runs out often.
> ...



No I mean pacific on Delancy street! There's a russian woman there a lot, I dont know her name.

Was it a pea puffer or a green spot puffer? I don't have the room for anything bigger than a pea puffer right now :crying:

Also which petland do you go to? I was thinking of trying the one on the upper west side, which is near me in harlem.


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## gtu2004 (Feb 17, 2010)

cbachmann said:


> No I mean pacific on Delancy street! There's a russian woman there a lot, I dont know her name.
> 
> Was it a pea puffer or a green spot puffer? I don't have the room for anything bigger than a pea puffer right now :crying:
> 
> Also which petland do you go to? I was thinking of trying the one on the upper west side, which is near me in harlem.


Oh I see. I've not seen a woman there but I hadn't visited Pacific for 3 months until yesterday. And it's a pea puffer. Bigger than anything in the same tank by 30-40%. She stood out and very cute.


I buy at the petland near me on W23rd. But I believe all Petlands carry live blackworms + live brine shrimps. You have to ask though. They have live blackworms in a container under the register.


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## cbachmann (Aug 6, 2013)

gtu2004 said:


> Oh I see. I've not seen a woman there but I hadn't visited Pacific for 3 months until yesterday. And it's a pea puffer. Bigger than anything in the same tank by 30-40%. She stood out and very cute.
> 
> 
> I buy at the petland near me on W23rd. But I believe all Petlands carry live blackworms + live brine shrimps. You have to ask though. They have live blackworms in a container under the register.


I just tired the blackworms, they didnt seem have that much interest... do you chop them up?


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## gtu2004 (Feb 17, 2010)

cbachmann said:


> I just tired the blackworms, they didnt seem have that much interest... do you chop them up?


Live blackworms? A couple of mine weren't initially interested, but yes, you can try to pinch them into smaller bite size pieces with chopsticks or something, if you are Asian. If you're not Asian, I can't help.


Now they just take the entire blackworm 5x the length of their body and run away with it.


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## cbachmann (Aug 6, 2013)

gtu2004 said:


> Live blackworms? A couple of mine weren't initially interested, but yes, you can try to pinch them into smaller bite size pieces with chopsticks or something, if you are Asian. If you're not Asian, I can't help.
> 
> 
> Now they just take the entire blackworm 5x the length of their body and run away with it.


Lol Alright, maybe ill give that a shot. They just completely ignored the live blackworms. Maybe they just arent that hungry, been feeding themselves too well?


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## Wanna Puff (Jan 21, 2018)

I read someone once got their puffers eating other foods by displaying snails outside the tank, then dropping the alternate food in the tank ( I think it was frozen bloodworms.)

I know if I'm not hungry I'm less likely to try foods I don't know. "The difference between good food and bad food is three days without food." Very true for humans; if you get your fish hungry they might learn to eat other foods.


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