A few questions about Congo Puffers

[Fish Food]

Hi everyone,

I have a few questions regarding Congo Puffers that I couldn't find the answer to.

First, according to Pufferpedia, they'll eat frozen bloodworms and live blackworms, would the best way to feed them these worms be to just dump a few in at a time?

Also, do Congos need (or like) caves?

Finally, I currently have a moderately dense planted tank with EcoComplete as the substrate. If I were to get a Congo, would it be ok to just remove some of the EcoComplete and add Tahitian Moon Sand to 1/4-1/3 of the tank? Will I need to make a rock terrace or would it be ok just to have part of the tank with EcoComplete and the other with the sand with no real border?

Thanks!

Tim

[premo]

Hi

They may take the worms when "cruisin" at night, but a congo really wants a proper dinner !!!

He's gonna want prawn, shrimp, shredded fish ..... dangled on a thread at least, otherwise your thoughts
are bang on, a nice shelter, my friend has a great congo, it "lives" in an upturned half coconut shell under
wood and loves a gravel / sand mix !!


good luck
chris

[Fish Food]

otherwise your thoughts
are bang on, a nice shelter, my friend has a great congo, it "lives" in an upturned half coconut shell under
wood and loves a gravel / sand mix !!

Thanks for the response! Does that mean you should mix up the sand and the gravel? or would "splitting" the tank be ok?

Tim

[Fish Food]

Another question:

Would it be ok to keep some fancy guppies and RCS in the tank with the Congo Puffer if I didn't mind if s/he ate a few? I guess what I mean is that would it be unhealthy for the puffer to keep the tank somewhat stocked?

Thanks!

Tim

[Pufferpunk]

Check the Arrowhead article in our Library--same behaviour. It's under Miscellanious, for some reason.

[Fish Food]

Hm, sounds like he'd take an occasional bite from the fish/shrimp then... Based on your experiences PufferPunk, would you recommend not keeping them together? (Would he fill himself up on the fish and shrimp in the tank and not on something more healthy like mussels and other shrimp?)

Thanks,

Tim

[Pufferpunk]

I wouldn't feed it fish at all. The live shrimp need to be gut-loaded with food or they have no nutrition (basicly, 98% water). I feed mine shrimp tails, krill & night crawlers mostly. She also gets treats of mussel, scallop, opyster & squid.

[Fish Food]

The shrimp in my tank are already feeding off algae, detritus, and algae wafers so hopefully they're already "gut loaded." If I feed the fish algae wafers and such, would they be any healthier?

Thanks again!

Tim

[Nick]

The trouble with the fish is they're too fatty for long term puffer health.

[Pufferpunk]

Read the article in our Library about feeding fish to your puffers.

[Fish Food]

Yea, I read that article (very helpful). I just wasn't sure if it all of it applied to all puffers (since it seemed that some puffers actually do eat fish in the wild). Also, do you have any pictures of your Congo Puffer's tank PufferPunk?

Thanks everyone!

Tim

[Pufferpunk]

Her tank is pretty boring--just a mangrove root in one corner & a big rock in the other corner. I wanted to leave the center open for her to burrow & figured she't uproot any plants when doing that.

[Fish Food]

Ok. Would they like a moderately planted aquarium? Also, are you using the substrate that's in your avatar?

Thanks!

Tim

[Pufferpunk]

Nah, that substrate was in a critter keeper I used to take pics in. She lives on 3/4 black sand & 1/2 red gravel (to keep her colored bright red--they're very good at camouflage). I have no plants because she burrows everywhere.

[Fish Food]

Do you think it would be ok to keep at least half the tank 100% EcoComplete? Would it still try to bury itself? Would it possibly hurt itself if it tried?

Thanks!

Tim