The Puffer Forum

Hi everyone,
I'm planning on getting a Palembang puffer soon. I've got a 63 USgal (240 litre) tank up and running for it. But i've heard some people about keeping more than one in a tank together. I would like to have more if possible, but can't really find much information about it. Can anyone tell me if Palembang puffers can be kept together, and if yes, how many in a 63USgal tank, and females or males or both? Thanks in advance!

Naomi

Absolutely not, unless you want 2 dead puffers.

I'm pretty sure that it's only been done temporarily in display tanks in stores. If it were to work longterm you would likely need a larger tank. If you wanted you could have one Palembangensis with like 20 small tetras, and they would get occasionally picked off but probably last a while.

I wouldn't suggest that either, as lurkers are piscivores.

Pufferpunk wrote: ↑Mon Mar 04, 2019 11:05 pm I wouldn't suggest that either, as lurkers are piscivores.

They're pretty inactive though, I would suspect that if you keep the puffer fed then it would eat at most like 2 tetras a week. The New England aquarium has a tank with a Palembang and a group of small FW archers and that's how they prevent the archers from being eaten

I now have a group of palembangensis. Last time i kept this species was over 25 years ago. I had no idea what they were, bought two, and put them in a 100g community brackish aquarium. Both settled to opposite sides and ignored each other. They never moved except to swim up to take krill and goldfish. They both got really fat and tame. I did not know what they were at the tine, and they looked different because they were so round (fat). I kept my eye out, but only now found some.
So far there are five in a tank together. They ignore one another but are happy to grab a goldfish if it swims by. Once out of quarantine, I plan to keep a group of three, and try the other two in community tanks with other fish. I have the nspace to split everyone up if necessary. The fish were all in a small tank together at the store, and there were none of the telltale semicircular bite wounds. There's a youtube video of one of these puffers with cichlids and big pleco.
Does anyone else have experience keeping these with other fish or each other ?

Really bad idea IMO--I mean they are piscivores! What's to say they wouldn't go after each other eventually?
Also: library/feeding/feeders/

Guess we'll see. I don't think so, at least not so far. I've moved them into a 40 gal tank full of sand and they've all settled into a spot. The ones I had long ago never moved from their territories and ignored anything that didn't fit in their mouths. Not to encourage people to be irresponsible, but I think a lot of puffer species are more compatible with each other and other fish than people think. My schoutedeni are showing no aggression. Nor are my pea puffers. My turgidus immediately tried to kill each other, and I also failed trying to combine my suvatti. Each species is different, but not all are aggressive to conspecifics. I am still not sure about the palembangensis, but I have quarantine tanks and dividers if I see damage. I'd like to try and get at least one of these species to spawn, mostly just to see the behavior.

Just quick update and some pics. The 5 palembangensis are in a tank together and there is no aggression or damage to fins at all. They are very inactive and will only eat small fish. I have a small sucking loach in the tank and they have left it alone as well. They also all look very different.

One last update unless these guys decide to spawn.
I have 7 living together (about 3” individuals) and they all stay together, some literally stacked one on top of the other in a corner near one sponge filter. They are all eating and have fat bellies and there is no aggression, nor are there wounds. They are also the most sedentary puffer I’ve ever kept. Definitively a bunch of pet rocks. They remind me of my suvatti as far as activity level, but without the attitude.