Vacation and Puffers!

[MatthewLaw]

Greetings All- My 60g FW tank is done cycling and there are some puffers that i would like to put in the tank. I will be going on vacation in 2 weeks. I have been reading that puffers usually feed on ghost shrimp but need snails for their teeth.

THerefore my issue is what does everyone do when they go on vacation? Leave 50 ghost shrimp in the tank and hope that the puffer stops eating when it is full?

Thanks for the help!!

[Pufferpunk]

What kind of puffer are you getting? Can't you just wait until you get back to get it?

[Agnate]

If you're gone for 2 weeks, you're going to want someone to come over and feed them. Your best bet is to find someone you know who will take care of things (and I don't just mean dumping food into the tank), show them some things to look out for (huge amounts of algae, dead things, leftover food piled on the ground, temperature low, etc.), and have them call you if things aren't doing well. Trust me when I say that you want this person to be willing to help, because I've seen it where someone just agrees to do stuff for you, but does a terrible job.

Some things to do are:
- Make up one-day portions to feed your fish.
- Give SPECIFIC instructions on what to check on a daily basis (ie. #1 Account for the fish, #2 Check for left over food at bottom, #3 Thaw food in TANK water, #4 Serve delicious meals to fish, #5 Check temperature, #6 Take not of any green stuff on glass).

My gf's mom had her neighbour feed her fish for a week, which ended with them being so stuffed that they almost died from being overfed (the goldfish actually did), and it fouled the water up something fierce. I've also seen someone who didn't notice that the lights weren't working, and didn't think twice when ALL of the walls were covered in 1/4 inch of green algae.

[MatthewLaw]

WOW that is quite a story. I could wait to get the puffers but wasnt sure if I could get them now and then put extra food in the tank before I am on vacation. I am planning on purchasing striped puffers.

Also how often do you give the puffers snails for their teeth? THe people at my LFS suggested ghost shrimp as a standard diet and then snails once a week.

Thanks for the help!

[Pufferpunk]

South American puffers? I'd really wait until after vacation. It is common for them to suffer from internal & external parasites (especially ich & velvet) after being moved into a new tank. You need to be there for that.

[apachepufferman]

If they are saps I would keep them on a very steady stream of snails due to there tooth growth rate. The longer you can go without having to trim there teeth the better you will feel.

[MatthewLaw]

Thanks a million for the information!!

I am planning on putting the SA PUffer into my quarantine tank for a week to 10 days before transferring to the 60g.

So basically snails and ghost shrimp every night? Since these puffers do not get to the size of the Fahaka, then should they be fed twice a day or once?? I know that I have to watch how much they eat very carefully b/c they cant get themselves to death...

Finally, do SAPs usually play well together (say 2 or 3)? At the LFS, there were about a dozen SAPs in the tank but i wasnt sure if there is a 'rule' of either 1 SAP per tank or a dozen?

Thanks for all the help!!!

[CtHM]

SAP's are actually known as a schooling puffer, so if you have the room for more than one, I don't see why you wouldn't get them. :]

[MatthewLaw]

I have 6 Tiger Barb and 5 Rainbow sharks in there.

I assume I should follow the same, '1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water' for puffers too?

Since SAPs are schooling fish, is it a bad idea to buy 2? Either 1 or a school?

[Nick]

The inch rule only goes for thin bodied fish, like neons, danios, raspboras. Assume about 3-5 gallons per inch for puffers, depending on aggression level and build. Tiger barbs may torment them as well, so keep your eye out. It's much safer overstocking SAPs than any other puffer, but you still have to carefully watch bioload.

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the info.

regarding SAP interaction, is it safe to 'start' with 2 SAP and then get a few more once i have a hang of everything? or will one SAP harass the other and make its life miserable?

Thanks!!

[Nick]

They have never been reported to harass each other no matter when they're added.

[MatthewLaw]

interesting. thanks for all the info..

I know this may sound stupid, does ich look the same on puffers as it does on other fish (say black molly?)

i will wait to retrun from vacation before picking these fish up!

[Agnate]

Yes, it does. White dots on the skin and fins (as well as gills, but we can't see inside those).

[Pufferpunk]

Rule of thumb on these puffers is: 15g for 1st one & 10g for every one added to that. You also have to add in the water requirememts for the other fish you have too.