Rates of growth

[billysgirl4e]

I just read in another post that A. Manilensis normally only grows up to 6" in captivity. Is this true?

Also, I have had a lovely GSP in my tank for > 6 months. He has no health problems, and chubby as a clam (could he be grazing on my pineapple sponges?!). He's been about 3" ever since I got him (at wal-mart - poor thing). He's STILL real shy (why there's no cute pics of him!). Will he get any bigger?

[DRRT]

i don't think so, they get to about a foot in the wild. the 6" is probably due to stunting. they might not get to the max size, but they will get close.

there seem to be a couple different types of GSP that are all categorized together, some of which get bigger than others. someone else who has a better knowlegde of them can help you with that.

[marksrush]

According to the PufferPedia, A. manilensis grows to about 12". GSPs are 6" when fully grown; they're very very slow growers, so don't get in a hurry with him.

[billysgirl4e]

Thanks, guys!

[Pufferpunk]

There is absolutely no reason a captive fish shouldn't grow as large as it's wild couterparts (or larger), with the proper food & housing.

[billysgirl4e]

Pufferpunk -
Is there anything I could be doing wrong that's keeping Ryuu at his initial size? He might have grown a bit (certainly his tummy has!), but he's still right about three inches. And it's been nine months. There's nothing awry in the typical paramaters (other than an excess of phosphates due to my well water - fixed with a phosphate pad). I feed him once every two days (with an occasional snail snack in between). He seems quite healthy and active (when nobody is watching). How long did it take your GSP to make it to 6"?

Love you guys!
Jess

[busybones]

My new GSP is so tiny, about a half an inch if that. Wonder how long it will take him to get 3". anyway was also noticing that soon after feeding him his tummy is really flat again. Since he's so young i feed him once a day until his belly is nice and round. Should i do more? I'm currently feeding him a mix of bloodworms, brine shrimp, and small snails. He is in a 30 gallon with no tankmates...oh yeah one fiddler crab but he mostly chills on top of a large plant that sticks out of the water.

[marksrush]

My new GSP is so tiny, about a half an inch if that. Wonder how long it will take him to get 3". anyway was also noticing that soon after feeding him his tummy is really flat again. Since he's so young i feed him once a day until his belly is nice and round. Should i do more? I'm currently feeding him a mix of bloodworms, brine shrimp, and small snails. He is in a 30 gallon with no tankmates...oh yeah one fiddler crab but he mostly chills on top of a large plant that sticks out of the water.

Aww, only a half inch? That would be so cute, I don't think I've ever seen such a tiny one. As far as how long it's going to take him to reach 3", from what I've read it's going to take a while - more than a year even.

Tummy going flat again really soon after feeding is not what you want to see. You might want to consider a pre-emptive strike against internal parasites just to eliminate that as something you have to worry about.

Bloodworms are good, and small snails are super good, but brine shrimp are good only as a rare treat. Most people say they're basically the fish equivalent of potato chips. Find a store where you can buy fresh seafood and get him a live oyster and clam, and then maybe a raw scallop or two, a few raw shrimp, or even some fresh crab if you can find it (and afford it!). Take them home, crack open the live things, and then cut everything up into meal-sized portions. Freeze them in a flat, airtight container for a couple of weeks to kill any nasties, and there you go. With the oysters and clams, keep the shells with some of the meat on it, because your puff will love to bite it off, plus he'll scrape his teeth on the shell and bite it, which keeps his teeth worn down.

Watch that fiddler crab: sometimes they can get into a fight with the GSP and actually win. You don't want a GSP with only one eye, or worse.

[branemaniac]

I can contribute to this discussion. I have had my Green spotted for about a year and some change. One is about 3.5-4 inches long and the other is a little younger and about 3 inches long as well. They grow slowly, but are very hardy. Mine are super friendly and will stare you down so that you will feed them. I have had them in a tank with a few fiddler crabs...and the winner is not the crab. My guys have learned to attack at the same time, distracting the large claw, and going in bit by bit for the kill. I have spent more money than I would like to admit on things that have been killed by my little green puffers.