Fahaka develpoment/colors

[kingFUGU]

Just trying to find out from a pro please, I have a Fahaka puffer (CHONGO) in a tank. When I got him he was small I suppose you would say and did not have much color to him. Now as he is getting bigger/older about 4 months he has started developing his adult colors and stripes. Just wondering on average how long it usually takes these guys to get their full adult colors. I am aware that the tank lighting and surrounds do have something to do with the brightness and such. But I was wondering how much longer I will be waiting to see him in all his glory.

[The Bruce]

i thinks it's grubbster's fahaka that is 6 inches and it's beautiful, perfect lines, feed it varied foods with vitamins and healthy fats(Selcon, Zoe) and you'll have a beautiful fahaka in no time

[Pufferpunk]

Mine never did. Love him all the same. He makes up for it by letting cool fish live in his tank.

[grubbster]

I count myself quite lucky with Clarkson, when I got him at the beginning of this year he was a dull greeny/black and less than 2" long. Now he is beautfully coloured (look in pix and flix) but I don't think I have done anything particularly special to achieve this. His water quality is absolutely top notch and always has been, the substrate is ordinary aquarium gravel temp at about 80. His main food is frozen mussel defrosted in vitamin formula but sometimes he'll have some live river shrimp or bloodworms. He also has snails but my breeding program is a little slow at providing them! He lost interest in daphnia and brine shrimp - I guess they are too small for him to bother with now. He isn't growing that quickly at the moment, not sure why, he is also eating a bit less than he did but he seems perfectly OK.

[kingFUGU]

i thinks it's grubbster's fahaka that is 6 inches and it's beautiful, perfect lines, feed it varied foods with vitamins and healthy fats(Selcon, Zoe) and you'll have a beautiful fahaka in no time

Thanksd for the help, I have been feeding him crayfish, shrimp, snails, live clams, and occassionally he snacks on a an small barbs, over the past month I have noticed that his colors/stripes are starting to come in nice but he still has that camo look to the top of his body. This this could do with diet or surroundings? I'll try and get a pic of him on here sometime this weekend so you can give me an idea. He is about 6in or so now and has a nice shape to the body.

[The Bruce]

the "camo" on the top usually stays,at least i've never seen one without it, and i've seen plenty of variety when it comes to fahakas color wise, so yes grubbster should consider himself lucky, anyways, others as well as myself use sand substrate so 1: they can bury in the sand, 2: encourage them to show their light coloring, right now my 3 incher is over dark gravel so that mixed with his size makes for a very dark mottled individual

Yes lets see some pics