Stocking a 15 Gallon for GSP Food...Recommendations?

dfbiggs

I want to start a 15 gallon that will either be full salt or brackish. This tank will be specifically used to grow food for my GSPs that are full saltwater. Since my GSPs are still very small @ 2" I would like to be able to feed them snails/ clams..etc that are their eyeball size so they are forced to crunch the shell to wear down the beak. It seems that a lot of saltwater snails have very hard shells compared to pond snails or ramshorns. My GSPs have a hard time breaking the ramshorns shell so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a saltwater snail with a thinner shell. I would like to raise a mixture...any suggestions?

Even better....anyone know the food native to their region...its hard to find this info.

Reefing Madness

Spotted Green Pufferfish, Spotted Green Puffer, Green Spotted Puffer, Spotted Puffer, Tetraodon nigroviridis

onefish2fish

dont know their native snail food but stomatella snails have a soft shell. they are such great cleaners that will reproduce for you its almost a shame to just feed them to a puffer though. ghost/glass shrimp might make a good time to time food. i actually read something today about someone raising cherry red shrimp to use as feeders. someone mentioned the nutritional value ( like feeding freshwater guppies to saltwater fish ) and some argued theyd be more nutritional then brine. i have to agree there and you could always gut load them ( feed nutritional food to them right before using them to feed )

will they eat non live foods? if they do i would def mix it up

dfbiggs

I was aware of what they need. But I don't know what specific species of snails, clams etc that are found in Asia; Sri Lanka to Indonesia and north to China that they normally feed on. According to this link it is general like any types would work but I am trying to somewhat mock their natural diet.

dfbiggs

Yeah I love inverts too so I was at first thinking of using nerite snails but I would have a hard time feeding them to my puffers because they are adorable and great cleaners too. I have RCS and I can't imagine using them as feeder shrimp...too pretty and too expensive (if you have good quality ones). I like my live food to come from the same water parameters as my GSPs. #1 Just because it seems right #2 If any of the live food doesn't get eaten I don't want it to sit for days being tortured by being in the wrong environment.

I have gotten them to eat flake food during my move and I think it was only because they were starving after a long trip on the road. For now I have them on soft foods like squid & clams(no shell) from the freezer section of the grocery store.

I will check out those snails...thanks..