The Puffer Forum

Biff Malawi: The side tanks are for fish-fish con-specific visual interactions. And yes, there is also tank-to-tank water exchange to share pheromones between tanks as well. Both of those functions help reduce male-female aggression within the breeding tanks. I have a thing about visual and biochemi...

Red Panda: Around here, we only rarely see sex-able DP in the LFS. I just buy more than I need, keep them in QT until I have selected the ones I want and return the left-overs. they are likely sxable then, so are worth more to the LFS.

If it was wild-caught, we are unlikely to ever know- we would never be able to get realistic info on the capture and holding and transport of each fish. It could be simply mishandling or injury anywhere along the line.

The pet trade does not often have fish pathologists on the staff. LFS never do.

The neurological release is quite fast. If the fish is puffed with water, the physical process is still rapid, ~ seconds. If the fish is puffed with air, the physical release is problematic. To work, the fish must be in the proper orientation for the open valve to properly aligned to vent the ingest...

Very, very few hobbyists ever set an "ideal tank" of any sort. Then you also have to define what you mean by "ideal". If you want to maximize lifespan for DPs, an ideal tank IMHO would be a 20-long (US tank sizes), which is situated between two other identical tanks., all well pl...

No hobbyist and no tank ever outgrows the need for testing. That is the pathway to problems. You certainly do not need to test every tank every day - that is compulsion. But periodic checks are cheap insurance. Long term tanks (as all puffer tanks should be) can and do "drift" into less-th...

To me, rearing enough smallish snails for a mid-sized fish such as GSP or Ceylon requires a good bit of tank space and care. For these fish and larger ones, seafood and shellfish based diets are more practical and provide the fish better variety than a cultured snail diet. The fish market is your fr...

Huge +1 to Pufferpunk's comments above!

To me, scale is relatively much more easily avoided than cured. I am one of those lazy folks who replace tanks rather than doing the massive labor of cleaning them. I blame my laziness on my poor vision, but that is a feeble excuse, it really is laziness. Scale clearing is laborious and if you try t...

It is extremely risky to operate cracked tanks. Please get an intact tank which can be operated safely. Catastrophic failure of cracked tanks is common and unpredictable. Don't risk fish, your floors, carpets, etc. Discard the tank or use to house a small insect or herp. Also read up on fishless cyc...

The fish might be a bit more secure with a background on the tank. It looks a bit open to me.

+1 to eieio's comments above.

Hard water and high evaporation rates produce mineral deposits on the glass at and above the water line. Those deposits are extremely difficult to clear. 1. Avoidance: -Don't use airstones or filter returns which produce water spray at and above the water surface. -Keep most of the tank's top covere...

Water parameters? Upkeep?

I don't do anything but DPs in small tanks.