Strange Fahaka behaviour

[Phark]

Hi all. I picked up a 2cm long Fahaka puffer today. It's in a 30g tank at the moment - any larger and it would not be able to find food to eat. What's strange is, it's buried in the gravel. Each time I get it out of hiding, it promptly returns to an underground hideout. I've read that Fahakas are supposed to be active. I'm sure mine's not a Congo or some other burrowing puffer. Also, it hasn't eaten yet and doesn't show any response whatsoever to its tankmates (a couple of Kribs that are 3 times its size). Uh, also, do Fahakas benefit from some salt in the tank? Gimme some help guys; this is my first ever puffer. Thanks in advance.

[puff_love]

well just like the congo the fahaka does bury in sand and loose gravel. I just got my congo yesterday and right out of the box she started eating my goldfish i had in there so i cant help with the eating thing. sorry

[t1gerbee]

i'm sure digging it up isn't helpful whether it's supposed to be doing that or not...

i'm sure someone can help who keeps these, but all puffers take time to settle, get used to the tank etc...

they often take a few days to start eating, and like to hide until they are more certain of where they are.


)

[Woland]

Hi all. I picked up a 2cm long Fahaka puffer today. It's in a 30g tank at the moment - any larger and it would not be able to find food to eat. What's strange is, it's buried in the gravel. Each time I get it out of hiding, it promptly returns to an underground hideout. I've read that Fahakas are supposed to be active. I'm sure mine's not a Congo or some other burrowing puffer.

Some Fahakas burrow themselves, especially young ones.
Your fish probably needs to do this.
Let it be.

Also, it hasn't eaten yet and doesn't show any response whatsoever to its tankmates (a couple of Kribs that are 3 times its size).

Not to worry.
It needs to get comfortable with its surroundings.
Remember; the fish was caught in the wild and have had a more than stressful journey before it ended up in your tank.
If it still hasnt eaten in a weeks time action may be needed.
Btw; how do the Kribs treat the Fahaka?

Uh, also, do Fahakas benefit from some salt in the tank? Gimme some help guys; this is my first ever puffer. Thanks in advance.

Freshwater fish have no need for salt in the water.
They are freshwater fishies...

Good luck!

[Phark]

I don't think my fish "needs" to burrow. It wasn't burrowing in the LFS tank. In fact it was constantly swimming, begging for food. The Kribs ignore the puffer and the puffer does the same. No aggression issues (at the moment at least). I've always thought puffers were very hardy fish and would eat right out of the bag. Are you sure Fahakas are wild-caught? This guy cost me a mere S$12 and came in a batch with other Fahakas and they're all exactly the same size. This leads me to think they're farm-bred. Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

[noname]

you might want to look at pufferpedia to make sure what u got. and yes fahakas are wild caught 12 is a good price ive seen them from 15 - 120 so the price verys alot... not all puffers will eat straight out the bag my arrowhead puffer didnt eat for 2 weeks and he was very active and attacked whatever entered his tank at the store. took him along time to feel safe now he is pretty active for a arrowhead and eats alot.

[Troender]

I know it's not usual, but I've found my active puffers more difficult to take dead food than my lurkers. Give him/her some time to settle in. They've been through very much stress, with being caught and transported over and over again. It takes time to settle into a new place, and to get used to the new situation. Then try with a shrimp in a thread. My puffers hasn't wanted to take a nip while I've been watching (and trying to make the shrimp look alive), but I've put the shrimp (still in a thread) in the water flow from the filter, so the shrimp looks alive. Then I've left the tank for a while. If the puffer hasn't touched it, I've removed it and tried again the day after, not offering anything else. In the end the shrimp is just too tempting for a hungry puffer. Some puffers are easier than others, and some need more work to get to eat. You never know. My first puffer even managed to fool me: she pretended not to be interested, but was quick to take a bite as soon as I turned away (even though I was close to the tank - or at least she did after a few days - and after days of me worrying terribly much. It was my first puffer, and I didn't have any experience with it).

[Woland]

I don't think my fish "needs" to burrow. It wasn't burrowing in the LFS tank. In fact it was constantly swimming, begging for food.

Ahhh...
Yet; the fish burrows, doesnt it?

Reasons could be many.
Difference in substrate, water chemistry, sense of security, strange beings insisting on poking it out from where it has burrowed itself etc.
Let the fish be...

The Kribs ignore the puffer and the puffer does the same. No aggression issues (at the moment at least).

Good. Keep an eye out for aggression.

I've always thought puffers were very hardy fish and would eat right out of the bag.

Nope.
In fact rather sensitive fish who can go on sulking for days after small changes in their enviroment.

Are you sure Fahakas are wild-caught? This guy cost me a mere S$12 and came in a batch with other Fahakas and they're all exactly the same size. This leads me to think they're farm-bred. Thanks for the quick replies everyone.

All Fahakas are wildcaught.

[Troender]

Nope.
In fact rather sensitive fish who can go on sulking for days after small changes in their enviroment.

I think most puffer owners can agree on this. Both that they are sensitive, and that they can go on sulking. While some of my puffers love changes, because it's something new to investigate (though none of them loved the stress before they came here - they all needed time to settle in), not all do. My suvatti don't handle changes at all. That fish always looks grumpy, and barely never moves (at least not when I'm looking, except at feeding time), but when there's some change in the environmet, he stops eating too. I saw it when I bought him (and he'd been in the shop for ages - in a shop that actually knows how to handle puffers, not many do). He's been the puffer that's taken the longest to start eating after I got him. Not that he didn't want to take dead food, he was used to that already, but just because he didn't want to eat at all. Right before Christmas, I moved his tank into a rack, and then he stopped eating again for a short while. Hufflepuff, my cochinchinensis/turgidus/whatever-he-is, is the puffer who is the "best" at sulking. He doesn't stop eating (he is the most hungry puffer I have too ), but he stops "talking" to me. I've seen it when I've been away for a while, and I've seen it when I have given him food he doesn't like (I've seen him sulking in a corner for up to two hours because of food he didn't like, and for a day or two if I've been away for a long time). Usually he is up and down at the front glass of the tank, every time I pass it. He is always there to greet me - or really: to beg for food (don't tell him I know that), but not when he is angry with me. Then he just stays in a corner of the tank, and doesn't want to look at me at all. He changes his color too. When he is angry, he gets more dark, and almost look like he is ill. But it's just because he is angry with me.

So give your puffer time to settle in. He's had a hard time so far. A few months ago he was swimming happily out in the wild, having all the space he wanted. Now he is trapped in a tank, after the worst time of his life. Anyone would be stressed after such a change of life.

[Fella]

Hi all. I picked up a 2cm long Fahaka puffer today. It's in a 30g tank at the moment - any larger and it would not be able to find food to eat.

When i bought my tank for my fahaka (150g 5x2x2) before i put the fahaka in it, I had a pair of rams in there. They could find a single bloodworm at the opposite end of the tank in a matter of seconds. In a tank, the smallest of fish can find the smallest of foods in the biggest of tanks.