Monster - the kind, gentle, friendly Fahaka.

[monsterpuffer]

First off, Monster (Fahaka in question) is in a 75g with optimal water parameters.

pH = 7.0
ammonia = 0
nitrite = 0
nitrate = ?

I dont have a nitrate test kit but with weekly 50% water changes and no food left in the tank I'm not truly worried.

We've had him (not actually sure about the sex but for ease of reference we assume Monster is male) for 6 months and he's not acted like a 'normal' Fahaka in all that time. From nose to the end of his tail he is about 8". For three months we had a Leporinus and a Blue Gourami in the tank with him and the most he ever did was take a few nips out of some fins - the fish were deemed unwanted and the truth is we were planning on sacrificing them to the great puffer gods. But Monster never went after them really. The Leporinus was actually the dominant fish in the tank - pushing Monster around at times if he wanted the prime spot in the cave. We recently removed the Leporinus to see if this would correct our cowardly puffer. But nothing changed.

Almost all of his meals come from crayfish and frozen shrimp. We recently added some giant danios to mix up the diet and Monster actually shies away from them. Tonight he was acting hungry and when the piece of shrimp I dropped in landed underneath the group of danios he would not leave the cave to go after the food. He will not even go near the danios. They are very quick but he's had a few in the past so I dont understand why they havent become puffer food.

My wife and I are always joking about Fahakas are suppose to be so ferocious but we ended up with the kind, gentle, friendly Fahaka. We've actually seen him run from some crayfish (all the ones we feed are around 3" in length) when the mood suits him. Alright - we did once put a giant crayfish (<6") in there just to see what would happen but Monster ignored it until the crayfish died from natural causes.

Is there something that could be wrong in my conditions that could lead to the 'strange' behavior? Or is it just the personality of the fish? I suppose if I could find a Fahaka of the opposite sex with the same temperment I might be able to actually breed them ..... assuming they would go near one another.

Any advice, suggestions, ideas????

Thanks

MP

[Pufferpunk]

My Filbert must come from the same waters as yours. His personality is identical (although doesn't shy from crays). He lives w/a tank full of fish & the larger chchlids & plecos kick him out of his cave. They do have a few bites out of their dorsal & caudal fins. He wouldn't ever bother with the giant danio I have in there. Mostly he just lays around either in his cave, or under a plant.

[nick h]

so, is it OK to leave a fahaka in a tank with a few other fish then? I currently have my fahaka- Umlaut in a tank with two firemouths. they dont seem to bother eachother but i was wondering if it could stress him out to have other fish in there? he just lays in his cave now.
nick

[RTR]

Fahakas, believe it or not, are not piscivores in the wild. They eat mollusks and crustaceans. They are however notoriously short-tempered, or can be. If they don't like something in their territory, a bite will take care of that. If it turns out tasty, well, that is a plus (for them at least). But not all of them act like my alpha male. My female was a wimp, even before she was exposed to either of the males. I doubt that it was gender-based, more likely just individual differences.

The piscivorous puffers do not have the dentation of the big nasties - check out your Congos, suvatiis, Palembang's - not even similar mouth shape. The hunter-predators are built for hard foods, not fish. Young Fahakas may hide and/or lurk, but they do outgrow it.

[lisalisa]

True RTR. My Congo has very flexible teeth comparatively

[monsterpuffer]

Its always going to be a gamble keeping other fish with a Fahaka. The only fish we have in with him are ones that can be replaced with under a dollar. Since my orginal post I have noticed an increase in aggression (still haven't lost anyone).

We had a Leporinus in there for a while but after half of his tail fin was removed for the second time we took him out. It's happened to the goldfish once too. If you have active fish who think they are the boss of the tank they will continually miss fins until the Fahaka kills it. If the other fish leave the Fahaka alone then they might have a chance, be prepared for the worst. Lately my Fahaka has been viewing the other fish in his tank as infidels invading the holy land. In my opinion its only a matter of time until he's only in there with plecos.

MP

[RTR]

Even the plecos are not immune. The big guys can bite through even the less than huge armored plecos.

[Pufferpunk]

There's a girl I know that had her 4" fahaka bite her 8" pleco in half!

[puffernuke]

My 4" T. Occelatus bit the head off of my 8" Pleco when he was in fw.

[nick h]

HOLY CRAP!!! that's one heck of a meal... poor pleco.

[Fahakafan]

Hello all. I used to post as yshurtleff, don't be fooled by the NICE AND SHY
acting of your Fahaka, Mine had tank mates for about 1 year being pushed around by tiger barbs. Spike is about 13 to 14 inches now by the way. For awhile he was the one getting nipped and even some of his dorsal fin, then I think he got tired of it and boom overnight 8 tank mates gone. We have since added more tiger barbs of course and its all back to normal but this time he is the big fish in the tank. I thought the same as everyone else is my puffer not acting normal I even posted here about it. They will sooner or later show their the big fish in the tanks.

[Pufferpunk]

Welcome back!

My 12" fahaka occasionally takes bites out of dorsal fins & tails of my large cichlids & my school of tiger barbs is getting smaller.