Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

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Lilith_Quinzel_NZ
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:14 am
Location (country): New Zealand

Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

Post by Lilith_Quinzel_NZ »

Hey guys,

Great to have joined this forum and hope to learn alot of useful information on caring for puffers!

I recently bought my first 2 puffers without a clue in the world, and was not informed or instructed on how to care for these little guys by the shop owner... I have come to realise that this isn't unusual, which is very worrisome for all the puffers out there about to be bought by unsuspecting humans! (Also needed to do my own research BEFORE purchasing puffers!)

I have a Green Spotted Puffer and a Figure 8 Puffer with me now. Owned for 4 days and absolutely LOVE them! I have never come across a fish so curious and clever! :love:
Until I did some proper research on their care, requirements and lifestyles..... :o

I was not expecting to find out that I would probably have to separate my puffs once they hit adulthood, or that the minimum tank size requirements were actually ginormous!, the live food was also a shock, along with ensuring levels of weird scientific measurements were kept to and having the equipment to read these levels... OMFG!!

This was not what I expected (majority my own fault for not researching prior) especially being my very first aquatic tank!
I've loved puffers for years and always imagined a Porcupine Puffer floating around like a spiked beach ball in my tank... How very swiftly that daydream evaporated!!!

Thankfully I had my mum help me out with filters/heat/decos etc and some knowledge from working 5 tropical tanks for a few years!
I've managed to get the little fatty's all settled and happy as larry over the last couple of days. The Figure 8 is especially inquisitive and zooms up to me as soon as I go anywhere near the tank, follows fingers/pens/coffee/phones/whatever I'm holding at the time up and down the glass, side to side and even pops his little lips out of the water when I want to turn the thermo around for a level check! The cutest, fattest fish I've ever seen and I'm in love! :love: :love: :love: I've called him/her Puffster for now :D
The Green Spotted is quite different - spends most of his/her time at the bottom of the tank and inside the diver helmet decor. Is this normal behavior? He/she is very shy and does not check us out when we go to the tank like Puffster, but tends to hide away and keep to himself/herself. I've called him/her Little Puff for now as he/she is smaller than Puffster and not as roly poly looking. Any ideas as how to get Little Puff a bit more interactive? I'd love to play with both of them with some toys etc, but unsure how to get Little Puff to come out of their shell...
I have only just found out that these two are not the best match tank-mate-wise and will most likely need to be separated due to bullying from Little Puff once he/she is bigger. This is so hard to believe right now as Little Puff is alot smaller than Puffster, and is actually a little scared of the bigger puff I think :(
Any help/info/instructions on this would be awesome. I mainly want to know when they hit adulthood and how I can tell? I'm assuming Little Puff (GSP) will outgrow Puffster (F8) very soon and that is how I'll know it's time to make the transfer??? :stress:

I have only been feeding them bloodworms since I got them on Tuesday, but have snails coming from mums to start breeding my own for the Puffers to enjoy... VERY anxious about this live food stuff... I know it's a fact of life in the wild, but I am really struggling to imagine myself putting live crayfish/shrimp/krill etc into the tank and seeing the poor things be tortured to death :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:
But at the same time I want my puffs to have the best possible and know they love hunting and live food. Did any of you struggle with this?

I'll leave my intro here (turned into a small novel :lol: ) and continue my research and checking out the info here.

Thanks in advance to any readers/repliers and I look forward to hearing back from anyone!

Cheers guys! :metal: :catfish:
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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
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Re: Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

Post by Pufferpunk »

[welcome]
Sorry it's taken so long to respond but I was having computer issues. May I ask how you cycled your puffers' tank? Have you had the chance to poke around our Library here for info on them?
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!"
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Lilith_Quinzel_NZ
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Nov 02, 2017 11:14 am
Location (country): New Zealand

Re: Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

Post by Lilith_Quinzel_NZ »

Hi Pufferpunk!

I LOVE your name :)

I didn't cycle the tank properly - I know that now! - It would have been less than a full day! :O soooo horrible to think what could have happened!
I am VERY lucky my puffers survived in there :(, however (in my tiny defense) the fish keeper/shop did not tell me anything I actually needed to know. I only found out about the marine salt/brackish tank setup once I had bought the puffers. Very scary thoughts and thank whoever is watching down on my babies!

I have had them for 2weeks now and have done a 50% water change and clean and they are doing great!
They are the sweetest and PIGGY little guys (?) ever!

My F8 - Puffster - is really piggy and doesn't know when to stop eating, so have kept close eye and careful portions and all is well. Currently feeding bloodworms and snails (homebred) and will be getting them some shrimp soon. I had no idea they ate live food or required shells etc to keep their teeth filed :O

Thank god for your forum! I have been through the entire 'Library'and made sure I'm doing everything correctly, checking temp and salt level regularly. They love attention and come straight up to me when I talk to them :smitten:
Also play by following pens and the like outside the glass, it's so sweet!

I need some live plants and more toys etc as I have noticed my GSP - Little Puff - pacing the glass a bit, so will need to sort out his boredom ASAP.

I also didn't get told that the F8 and GSP cannot live together in adulthood and require different salt levels etc, so I have since begun setting up a larger aquarium for GSP to move into. Just awaiting a heater and filter piece for the AquaOne tank and good to go!
After at least a week of cycling beforehand - is this correct? I don't want to stuff that up again!

Otherwise all good with my puffs, can't wait to give them some live treats! <3
(A little scared tbh as I feel sorry for the live creatures - but am doing ok with the snails, so fingers crossed!)

Any other advice would be much appreciated, as I want to give them the best life I can :)

Thanks again and look forward to hearing from you and others soon :)
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: Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

Post by Pufferpunk »

Being in NZ, I'm not sure if you can get Tetra Safestart, can you? Check Amazon/Ebay for it. You can instantly cycle your tank by adding that directly to your filter, right before you add your GSP.
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!"
Kj’s Puffers
Puffer Fry
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:27 pm
Location (country): New Zealand

Re: Intro From New Zealand Newbie...

Post by Kj’s Puffers »

I’m from New Zealand to!! I don’t know if you have sorted it all out but trade me is a great place to find new tanks. Just make sure you pick up the tanks so you can check they are in good condition. You will want to divide up the puffers as soon as you can. You can also try adding TLC which is a tank cycling chemical, it’s good to have on hand in case your tank crashes as well.
Hope I helped and good luck.
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