Puffer mania

[astrid37]

So I've gone completely overboard and procured 5 T. schoutedeni for my 125g. They arrive on Friday. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!! Tankmates will be upside-down cats, a few chocolate A. australe, and a school of oneline tetra. I'm trying to do a semi-biotope tank, so lots of wood, river rock, bolbitis, anubias, and val. I may keep some non-native hygrophila in there, too, to fill things out. I'm planning to keep the one juvenile male and one adult female T. schoutedeni I already have in the 55g where they live currently unless the male continues to be as persistent as he has been lately in his amorous efforts. He's driving the lady crazy trying to latch onto her belly day and night, and it's stressing her the heck out. If he doesn't cool off, he may be going into the 125, too, so he can share the love. Thanks again to PP for the awesome contact!

[Pufferpunk]

I do hope they come in nice-n-fat! I think having a group of them will definitely dilute his aggression towards her.

[StinkyPete]

Pictures!
What store, and what was the group going price vs 1 each?

They are going to love your 6 foot 125gal.
I'm not sure which is the female vs. male yet, but I'm in the same boat as you so far having two, then adding five more.
The first two had either a fighting issue or what your experiencing with latching.
I'm too new, and didn't want to risk letting it be something bad.

I absolutely love opening the door to seeing the 5 puffs in a peninsula build racing over to the glass to greet me.

Your going to love it!

I was looking at my junk fish parts drawer for some clear pipe so I could put two pieces on the bottom with snails in it.
As the snails come out, they could pick them off.
Obviously, they can see the snails and possibly smell them as well.

I'm curious to see what the dual feelers are on their forehead area is for.

[astrid37]

Thanks, PP, I am hoping they held their weight through the fasting and shipping, too! They looked awesome in the video Wes sent! They were shipped today and are scheduled to arrive tomorrow, so almost here!!!

SP, how are yours doing after the scare? Seems like they're on the upswing? I got my first two from two different places about 7 months apart and these next five from a very nice contact of PP's. Going price was $125 from him. I don't want to speak for him if he discounts for volume. I paid way more than that for the first two and couldn't believe my luck!

I hope they do love the 125! I think I'm going to keep the female alone in the 55 and transfer the male to the 125 with the other 5 so will have 6 in the 125 and 1 in the 55. She is just really shy and seems to be more relaxed, happy, and confident when she's alone (I know I sound like I'm anthropomorphizing, but I've been paying very close attention to her when she was alone for 7 months and now with the upstart, and it really does seem that she is more relaxed alone). It doesn't help that he's constantly up in her business. I will definitely send photos this weekend! The only reason I can tell the m vs. f is the latching behavior. He's lucky she's so sweet, 'cause she's 4x bigger than he is right now, and he just keeps trying no matter how much she nips and chatters at him. If this group thinks I should just put them both in the 125 with the other 5, I may try it and keep the 55 up and cycled in case I run into problems.

That is an awesome visual of coming in the door. Hoping they all acclimate and do the same here! My girl used to zoom to the front and "dance" and fan her tail when I came home, but she just hides all of the time now that the male is always after her. It's very sad.

That's a neat idea about the pipe, giving them something to keep them focused and entertained, too. Do yours fight over snails or any other food?

I'm very curious about the purpose of those dual feelers, too. They're so interesting-looking!

[NJD]

Hi,

I've got two 130 gal tanks arriving next week. one for a fahaka and one that I haven't quite decided what to put in. I've thought on and off about schoutendeni's - please post pics when they arrive as that may well help persuade me

They are nearly impossible to get in the UK without spending £350+ per fish.

Good luck with them - I look forward to seeing pics.

[Pufferpunk]

Did he offer you a break on ordering 5 of them? Free shipping maybe?

[StinkyPete]

SP, how are yours doing after the scare? Seems like they're on the upswing? I got my first two from two different places about 7 months apart and these next five from a very nice contact of PP's. Going price was $125 from him. I don't want to speak for him if he discounts for volume. I paid way more than that for the first two and couldn't believe my luck!

That's a neat idea about the pipe, giving them something to keep them focused and entertained, too. Do yours fight over snails or any other food?

I'm very curious about the purpose of those dual feelers, too. They're so interesting-looking!

Those 5 new arrivals are doing well. Thanks. I backed off of the parasite stuff this late week and am in a watching period until next week.
As long as I feed in the morning, when I come home, and late before the lights go out, they seem happy and full.
They are really like having a dog in the house. A step up in work load for sure.

Please get pics! We are all curious to see what Wes had to offer to you. That was a generous price. WetSpot was $200 each and AquaticClarity wanted $175 each, but let them ship out near $150 each which was nice of him besides the skinny theme.

They will get feisty with the food if it is not on schedule. I think they are used to a routine.
The snails are the most entertaining for them. It really brings out their creativity and hunting skills.

Snails love zucchini!
Let them eat a slice each day and set up a breeder tank for whatever snails you can find, pest snails, Ramshorn and Trumpets. My local store has 10 trumpets for a dollar, Adult Ramshorn for a dollar, and pestsnails on the plants.
It does take time.
I'm really tying to be a good keeper and have plenty of snails for them....but I'm running low again.

Whatever clear tube or filterparts/junkdrawer fish parts you can find that will let the puffers watch the food at the same time as keeping them trained to not come to the top so much. A weighted hydosponge filter (without sponge) and a twisty tie keeps in on the bottom. Just use the spare parts and get creative.

Dumping snails in also seems to be a good and simple plan.
It makes them search everywhere for them.
-Easter egg hunt style basically.

Having a group of schoutedeni getting along is one of the neatest things I've been involved in so far besides the freshwater pipefish.
We have a wonderful pipefish that is a dwarf that rivals the puffers in personality.

We are from Northern Ohio.
Where in the US are you?

Enjoy your puffs!
I believe today was your delivery date if I read that correctly.

[astrid37]

Glad to hear yours are on the upswing still! That's great news! I have a 15g ramshorn tank and a 5g blackworm tank so am all set on those two. I buy all of their other food. Growing two different varieties is my max, lol. That's a good idea about the zucchini. I've been feeding blanched kale and hikari vegetable wafers to the ramhorns, and thankfully they've been breeding well for months now. The blackworms have been trickier because the water gets fouled so easily, but I think the tank is pretty stable and the worms are flourishing.

I'm beside myself. My 5 got delayed due to a storm last night and are now projected to be here tomorrow morning instead of this past morning. I'm so worried but Wes has been truly great throughout the ordeal and has been on the phone with FedEx, as have I, for most of today, so I am hoping and praying that they really do come tomorrow morning. I'm really disappointed with FedEx. They've been terrible to work with, every representative having a different story every time I called and their complete malaise about the situation no matter how many times I told them that the shipment was live animals. At one point they were trying to get me to agree to their being delivered on Monday, and I about lost it. One of the reps even laughed when I told him what was in the box, and then he said "oh they're be fine until Monday." So, long story short, I still don't have them.

Yes, Wes has prices that can't be beat and the customer service to match. I'd order again from him in a heartbeat.

I did get a kick out of the Easter egg hunt image. Really hoping mine come healthy and lively so I get to see all of these neat behaviors in multiple.

When it rains, it pours. I noticed some kind of parasite on my schoutedeni girl in the 55g last night, so now it's going to be Prazipro for eeeeeveryone. Would you mind outlining your parasite protocol you mentioned in a previous post? I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to approach both the situation in the 55 and then also doing a series of treatments on the inhabitants of the 125 (oneline congo tetras, chocolate australe killis, upside-down cats, and the 5 schoutedeni if they make it .

[Bleedingheartmommy]

Astrid37- oh no, I am so, so sorry. Our prayers are with you and the puffs. Wes is wonderful and will break his hump to make the customer happy... wish the same could be said for FedEx. I can’t believe they tried to push you off until Monday, we’re they trying that bc it’s a weekday delivery that was paid for? Where is the package held up at? Any chance it’s within a few hours of driving from you? Has Wes mentioned if hot or cold packs were included in the shipment? I have seen the puffs he had this time, and they are nearly full grown, so that is a plus as adults take the trip better than juvis. Also, Wes is very very experienced at this, so undoubtably he fasted them for a couple days prior to shipping to keep the waste levels down. After having them in transit for 2 days I HIGHLY recommend using Methylene Blue to drip acclimate into a bath (issuing a bucket of tank water and adding double in tank strength of MB to it. Then use that water to drip acclimate then with. After 30 mins in the blue tank water then put them into their new tank). MB is a wonder, the reason I recommend it here is bc it essentially delivers extra oxygen to the blood and is a great first defense for new fish, it also for poisoning from: ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

When you say parasite on your female, would you mind elaborating?!?

[astrid37]

I have good news! The puffs came in this morning and look surprisingly healthy given their ordeal! Wes really is wonderful stuff! Thanks for your advice about the MB, Bleedingheartmommy, I didn't realize it could be used that way, too!

I'll take a photo of the parasite. I was attached to her belly, and then it detached itself and float to the surface, where I snagged it with tongs and put it on some cardboard to dry so I could get a good picture. The parasite is tiny, maybe 1/4in long.

I'll also post a few photos of the puffs! Three of them are eating well and exploring the tank and the other two are still scared and not eating, but hopefully they just need a few days to adjust. They already have me wrapped around their little fins and have only been here about 2 hours.

[StinkyPete]

Glad to hear yours are on the upswing still!

..., so now it's going to be Prazipro for eeeeeveryone. Would you mind outlining your parasite protocol you mentioned in a previous post? I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to approach both the situation in the 55 and then also doing a series of treatments on the inhabitants of the 125 (oneline congo tetras, chocolate australe killis, upside-down cats, and the 5 schoutedeni if they make it .

I'm the wrong guy to ask about Prazipro parties.
I'm a noob! It has just been a test and watch trial for me.

The other forums did say...
- "The normal course of treatment is to run PraziPro for 5 days, perform a water change, let the tank set for 2-3 days, and then run another 5 day treatment and do another water change. As ###### says, the water changes are to remove dead flukes so that you don't have decaying organic matter in the tank.

Hey, that sounds fair to me.
Remember, I'm just a noob.


A+++ to BLEEDINGHEARTMOMMY.
I never knew about the Methylene Blue product.
Thanks for adding that.

[Pufferpunk]

I'm sooooo relieved!

[astrid37]

Me, too! I was waiting in the driveway when the FedEx person drove up and he just handed me the box out of the window. He'd been keeping it on the front seat, which was at least nice of them. They probably think I'm crazy, but I don't care. Now, on to photos of the puffs! I'll take a picture of the whole tank once the rest of my plants etc... come in. I don't like doing it backward this way (fish then plants etc...) but had to this time in order to get the puffs. My tank was already cycled, the wood and stuff is just taking longer to get here than anticipated.

When they swam to the bottom and started "cuddling", I almost started crying.


Thank you so much!!

[astrid37]

Ok looks like I have to do the photos one at a time. Sorry-

[astrid37]

Photo 2