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Puffers on the move!

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2019 7:02 pm
by Pennellapuffer
Hello all!! :)

I recently bought a 30 gallon tank to move my 3 Amazon puffers in to, which are currently situated in a 20 gallon. It may still not be ideal/as big as the puffers would really enjoy, but for now I’m excited to give them an upgrade. I have a few questions, however, regarding the new setup..

For their new tank, I want to give them a pretty heavily planted tank. I have several taller plants I want to put along the backs and sides of the tank and I was also hoping to give them a carpet plant that would cover the whole floor of the tank. I have a few concerns with that working though.. Their main diet is Vibra Bites with a side of snails (I’m working on getting snails to be more of their main diet) and I’m worried that once any Vibra Bites reach the bottom (very slow sinking pellets) they will never be found or noticed by the puffers and may build up. Anyone with any experience with carpet plants and feeding fish, do you have any advice on this?
I’m also concerned that if the whole bottom of the tank is covered in a carpet plant, the Puffers may not be able to find snails as easily, however I’ve thought that maybe this could help with allowing more snails to reproduce and live alongside the puffers?

I also bought Espona Organic potting Mix instead of specially designed fish soil, so I’m not sure if it will work okay or not. Does anyone have any experience using potting soil/organic potting soil with planted fish tanks, especially ones with puffers? Any help/advice would be appreciated.
Thanks! - Elizabeth

Re: Puffers on the move!

Posted: Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:56 am
by pufferjw
I have carpet plants with my DP and redeye and they have no issue at all finding food. Puffers have incredible vision and are able to distinguish prey much better than other fish. Also, if some pellets do happen to go unnoticed then the snails will take care of them. Just be sure to use snail species that don't eat live plants, such as ramshorns and mysteries. In terms of using the potting mix, I would NOT recommend it. I cannot say for certain that it is harmful, but I looked at the ingredients on their website and there are a lot of ingredients that will alter the water chemistry. I use Seachem Flourite and would suggest that.