# pufferfish and woodlouse?



## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

i just had an idea i dont know if anyone does this but i was thinking wood louse would be good for a puffer
they are easy to culture and have hard shells to help keep their teeth short 
maybe for dwarf puffers?


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## fan4guppy (Jan 31, 2011)

christhefish said:


> i just had an idea i dont know if anyone does this but i was thinking wood louse would be good for a puffer
> they are easy to culture and have hard shells to help keep their teeth short
> maybe for dwarf puffers?


Woodlouse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of the concerns I would have with the idea of this is bacteria pathogens involved in the regards to the species of woodlice.

Such things as Tubiflex worms can carry bacterial pathogens into the aquaria so my concern would be about the possible pathogens of species and how it would affect the tank and the fish in regards to health.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

well anything you feed your fish can have bad bacteria but with a culture you can keep things healthier
starting a culture would be like if you get a wild fish, they could be full of parasites and diseases but in a little time your left with healthy animals
i know that some people with dart frogs have woodlouse cultures for feeding and i had a few cultures before too but i fed those to my convict cichlids just for a little variety without any problems
so if theres no parasites or harmful bacteria would it be good?


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

Ever thought of crickets? They're super easy to keep and breed.


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

im not allowed to have anything that makes noise so adult crickets are not too good especially if they escape


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## fan4guppy (Jan 31, 2011)

christhefish said:


> well anything you feed your fish can have bad bacteria but with a culture you can keep things healthier
> starting a culture would be like if you get a wild fish, they could be full of parasites and diseases but in a little time your left with healthy animals
> i know that some people with dart frogs have woodlouse cultures for feeding and i had a few cultures before too but i fed those to my convict cichlids just for a little variety without any problems
> so if theres no parasites or harmful bacteria would it be good?


The point that Tubiflex worms is fed by some aquarists with some good batches while others contain bacteria that are harmful to fish is the point that I am trying to make. There has been many cases of bacteria in live Tubiflex cultures and have been nutrilized in freeze drying those for the safety of aquarium use.

While some of your woodlouse cultures may be without harmful bacteria and parasites others could have bacteria etc. Would you put your money and reputation behind the product to say it is parasite and bacteria free?

All it would take is for one of these cultures to contain bacteria or parasites that are harmful to the fish and then what would you tell the unsuspecting aquarist about the loss of his and her fish. What you may feed to your fish is your business, until biologists, scientists etc. state that a culture is safe many aquarists would just use speculations in the safety of such a culture.


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## darb (Apr 21, 2010)

terrestrial creatures aren't going to be able to survive in an aquatic environment, I would say that you are going to be fairly safe in terms of risk of catching anything from them.

perhaps worth a try, but I am not sure how well their shells would get digested. I have heard that meal worms can cause digestive problems in larger puffers as an example ...

for dwarf puffers teeth overgrowth isn't a major problem. how about a second tank to grow snails and/or cherry shrimp in?


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## christhefish (Nov 8, 2010)

well i was thinking to add to their diet for more variety 
mealworms aren't very good for anything anyways i heard about them even eating their way out of reptile stomachs 
i think they would be digested more like a shrimp being a crustacean 

anything you do is at your own risk 
there is potential for problems but if nothing was ever tried people wouldn't even have fishtanks


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## Grete_J (Oct 5, 2010)

Why not try kingworms or superworm (if you can find them) cut up? Their chitin (mealworms) is fairly hard to digest with most reptiles, so I could see it being a problem for fish, whereas kingworm and superworms are suppose to be easier. If not, try other reptile type worms like silkies, waxies, butters, etc...


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## Ursus sapien (Apr 21, 2010)

with any live-food culture there is the potential for contamination. The benefits of feeding live food, however, are profound, in terms of health, vitality, resistance to disease, breeding... 
Try sites like Canadart (if they're still around) or CAC Auction to buy cultures of wood louse, springtails and other exotic live foods if you're concerned about transference. Mykiss also has scuds, easy to keep and about the same size as wood louse. He has daphnia as well, which go over very well with my puffs.
Wasn't someone on BCA selling wingless fruit fly cultures as well...
the possibilities are endless.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

im debating geting one of those daphnia cultures for my dwarf puffers and perhaps even cyps
dwarf puffers like daphnia?


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