How to Feed Frozen Brine Shrimp to Puffers

Puffers are intelligent and attractively marked marine fish. The many species all share an ability to inflate themselves when stressed. Puffers, which are often housed alone because they tend to become aggressive, relate easily to humans and follow the routines of the aquarist with apparent interest. These fish have strong, fused teeth and a skin which contains a toxin, which is poisonous if eaten. Puffers will eat a variety of fresh sea foods, but are particularly partial to frozen brine shrimp.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium
  • Small, shallow dish
  • Liquid aquarium multivitamin
  • Frozen brine shrimps
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the frozen brine shrimp from the freezer and place it into a small, shallow dish. Brine shrimp are typically frozen and should be kept in the freezer until you are ready to feed your puffer or in between uses.

    • 2

      Carefully pour out any liquid that has accumulated in the dish, after the brine shrimp has thawed.

    • 3

      Shake a bottle of aquarium multivitamin and pour two to three drops over the brine shrimp, allowing the brine shrimp to absorb the multivitamin for a few minutes.

    • 4

      Turn off the canister filter. These filters are normally powerful and you do not want the shrimp to be sucked in through the intake stem and become trapped in the filter.

    • 5

      Use a plastic spoon to scoop up the thawed brine shrimp and place it the stream of a power head of the exhaust stream from the filter. The power head will spread the brine shrimp around and give the puffers an opportunity to chase after it.Spreading the food about also prevents competition and potential aggression, if you are housing more than one puffer in the same aquarium, or if your puffer is part of a community setup.

    • 6

      Be careful not to place the shrimp near the intake stem to a sump. The sump is an aquarium which is positioned behind or below the display aquarium and through which water circulates, via pipes, back to the aquarium. You do not want to loose the shrimp to the sump where they will be trapped in a mechanical filter material.

    • 7

      Capitalize on the opportunity presented while the puffers are feeding to examine them for any signs of illness or the presence of external parasites. Take note of the condition of each fish and be sure that each is visible and not hiding or lying dead, behind the décor.

    • 8

      Turn the canister filter back on after the puffers have fed.