hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Dwarf, Red Eye, South American & more. Freshwater puffer talk in here.
Post Reply
User avatar
DMD123
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:39 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi (Hairy Puffer, named Gizmo)
Location (country): USA
Location: Lakewood, WA

hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by DMD123 »

So I have really liked having my hairy puffer and he seems happy in his 40B home but I got this idea. He needs a couple tankmates.... :lol: Im talking some cheap expendable ones like a large school of White Cloud Minnows. Now in my 40B he would eventually catch them and they would all get eaten but if I were to rehome him in my 72g bowfront, I wonder if it might work. He does not like to give chase to his food as seen by a couple of platies I raised and then fed to him. He likes to wait and pounce on them when they get too close. With the white clouds being more top dwelling and the puffer more toward the bottom, could it work? What do you think?
300g Pearsei x1, Bala Sharks x 3, Dabola endli (Tinkisso river) x1, Ansorgii x1
65B Hairy Puffer
65B Angel fish x1, Monk tetra x7, BN Pleco x2
90G red devil
90G Trimac
46G Bowfront Community tank
30G Growout
User avatar
Pufferpunk
Queen Admin
Posts: 32764
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 11:06 am
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Filbert, the 12" T lineatus
Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
C coranata
C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
Location (country): USA, Greenville, SC
Location: Chicago
Contact:

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Fish ARE food!
You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes...

"The solution to pollution is dilution!"
User avatar
DMD123
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:39 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi (Hairy Puffer, named Gizmo)
Location (country): USA
Location: Lakewood, WA

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by DMD123 »

I spoke with someone who had done it with a Congo and white clouds. Yeah a few go missing and you just replace them but he kept the set up for quite a while.
300g Pearsei x1, Bala Sharks x 3, Dabola endli (Tinkisso river) x1, Ansorgii x1
65B Hairy Puffer
65B Angel fish x1, Monk tetra x7, BN Pleco x2
90G red devil
90G Trimac
46G Bowfront Community tank
30G Growout
TrevorA
Dwarf Puffer
Posts: 51
Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2014 5:04 am
Gender: Male
My Puffers: 1 Fahaka
5 GSPs
Location (country): South Leicestershire
England

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by TrevorA »

Lol, why ask if you only want approval :)
RTR
Mentor
Posts: 6155
Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 4:39 pm
Gender: Male
Location (country): East Coast, USA

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by RTR »

Piscivorous (if they really are - most puffers are invert eaters by choice, fish eaters if that is all that is offered) puffers do not "need" tankmates. They need good water quality and visually complex set-up.

I hope you plan on extended QT for any "temporary" tankmates. Puffers are relatively long-lived fish, don't risk their health.
Where's the fish? - Neptune
User avatar
DMD123
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:39 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi (Hairy Puffer, named Gizmo)
Location (country): USA
Location: Lakewood, WA

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by DMD123 »

TrevorA wrote:Lol, why ask if you only want approval :)
Not seeking approval, just seeing if it were a possibility or if any had succeeded.
300g Pearsei x1, Bala Sharks x 3, Dabola endli (Tinkisso river) x1, Ansorgii x1
65B Hairy Puffer
65B Angel fish x1, Monk tetra x7, BN Pleco x2
90G red devil
90G Trimac
46G Bowfront Community tank
30G Growout
User avatar
DMD123
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:39 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi (Hairy Puffer, named Gizmo)
Location (country): USA
Location: Lakewood, WA

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by DMD123 »

RTR wrote:Piscivorous (if they really are - most puffers are invert eaters by choice, fish eaters if that is all that is offered) puffers do not "need" tankmates. They need good water quality and visually complex set-up.

I hope you plan on extended QT for any "temporary" tankmates. Puffers are relatively long-lived fish, don't risk their health.
If I do upgrade the puffer to the 72g bowfront it would allow for some really nice visual complexity beyond what I can do in the 40b. I do regular maintenance to maintain good water quality already so moving up to a 72g would even be better from the dilution of pollution standpoint. I guess I am just asking if anyone has done this. An inspiration is what Ive seen of wild cichlids in the Cenotes that share their waters with tons of live bearers. In the Aquarium it can be possible to replicate if you have the space and a fish that is not an overly aggressive hunter. I have tried this with my red isletas and platies and worked just fine. So I wonder if any have tried similar with a puffer.

I learned the hard way a few years back about quarantining fish before putting them in with established. I added two wild caught fish into my already established tank and lost almost everything. I have QT tanks available and all fish that come in are now quarantined.
300g Pearsei x1, Bala Sharks x 3, Dabola endli (Tinkisso river) x1, Ansorgii x1
65B Hairy Puffer
65B Angel fish x1, Monk tetra x7, BN Pleco x2
90G red devil
90G Trimac
46G Bowfront Community tank
30G Growout
Stratters
Green Spotted Puffer
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:21 pm
Gender: Female
My Puffers: Piggy, a Hairy Puffer
Location (country): Louth, England

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by Stratters »

I wouldn't even think about it. I got Pig some crabs for supper/company, came down the next morning to find a massive puffer and absolute carnage in the tank. Once he'd realised the crabs were in there, he'd systematically hunted down every crab, bar one, and massacred them.
Never trust big puffers. The fingers you save may be your own. RTR
User avatar
DMD123
Fahaka Puffer
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 3:39 pm
Gender: Male
My Puffers: Tetraodon baileyi (Hairy Puffer, named Gizmo)
Location (country): USA
Location: Lakewood, WA

Re: hairy puffer with tankmates... maybe?

Post by DMD123 »

Thanks for the input. Was just an idea but Scruffy is an eating machine and likely would just be a lot of treats.
300g Pearsei x1, Bala Sharks x 3, Dabola endli (Tinkisso river) x1, Ansorgii x1
65B Hairy Puffer
65B Angel fish x1, Monk tetra x7, BN Pleco x2
90G red devil
90G Trimac
46G Bowfront Community tank
30G Growout
Post Reply