Breeding C. irrubesco...

[mlawson]

I know this sort of question has been asked many times before, but I'm relatively new to puffers and have never bred them, I'm only keeping one C. tavancoricus at the moment.

Recently I've been getting into puffers and am setting up a brackish tank for one of the brackish speciea (which I have yet decided which species). I was wondering what size tank is sufficient for a pair, really I would like to put them in my 24" by 12" 15" tank, but I think this is probably too small. The setup could include lots of hiding places and dense plant growth as I also keep many planted aquariums, this would not be a problem. I can also provide good water quality and if frequent water changes are needed I can easily cope. I also have quite a few tanks which could raise the fry in. And all the necessary live food required will be available as I already culture live foods for my other tropical species.

I guess it would be quite hard for someone with no experience on breeding puffers to succesful raise the fry, but you have to start somewhere. I have bred a few tropical species in the past including Livebearers, cichlids, corydoras and such. I really want more of a challenge as the breeding projects I have embarked on previously are not really difficult.

My LFS are fanatical about puffers, (Wyevale, Chartham, Kent) and there are always plenty about, next time I go I'll talk about them some more. So getting the puffers is no problem and I can quite easily sex them.

I have heard some specimins can be aggressive while others can be quite timid, is this aggressive behaviour exaggerated in spawning, is there anyway to determine which will be a timid/aggresive specimin?

Do they easily form pairs or is it a lot harder than that? What triggers spawning? How hard is it to raise the fry? Once spawning has occured do they become aggressive?

Basically I want as much advice as possible, I will be doing some research straight away.

Cheers,
Mike

[mlawson]

Just realised, do they have to be in a pair? Or are they meant to be with a male and 2/3 females?

Thanks again,
Mike

[Nick]

Red eyes are FW, and most brackish puffers breed in FW. Red eyes are also usually very aggressive, with the male usually killing the female unless there are at least 2 or 3 and the tank is both large and heavily decorated. Occasionally the females are mild mannered and can be kept with DPs, but others kill hunt destroy any tank mate.

[mlawson]

Thanks Nick,

I phrased that sentence strangely, the brackish tank is seperate with a different brackish species on it's own that I wont breed, and the Red eye puffers will be in a different freshwater tank. With this aggresive behaviour would it be wise to have a tank divider or just move them to seperate setups? With a larger tank, say 30 gallons would it be easier for the puffers to retreat from and not be attacked by the othesr?

Cheers,
Mike

[Nick]

My understanding is that you'll need around 60 gallons to breed them, 1m 2f but I suppose a 55 would squeeze alright as it has a better footprint than a 60. Very densely planted is really important, if there is a divider, they won't breed, but if the male is too rough on the females you may have to do one anyway.

[Corvus]

C. lorteti, a close relative of C. irrubesco has been bred successfully. If you want to breed C. irrubesco it could be a good idea to study the reports on C. lorteti (see e.g. the Aqualog puffer book for references).

So far it seems unknown what exactly triggers courtship and spawning activity.

[mlawson]

C. lorteti, a close relative of C. irrubesco has been bred successfully. If you want to breed C. irrubesco it could be a good idea to study the reports on C. lorteti (see e.g. the Aqualog puffer book for references).

So far it seems unknown what exactly triggers courtship and spawning activity.

I will do, I hear C. lorteti was more aggresive than C. irrubesco, so I pushed the idea aside of breeding C. lorteti for that reason. i figure C. irrubesco would be easier. I might buy the puffer aqualog book on Ebay to add to my Aqualog collection.

Thanks,
Mike

[manutius]

Hi try here for that book. Its where I got mine form and they offer a great service

http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/books.asp?cat=15