Oh Oh Oh! Congo Puffer!

[Anna Moore]

I want one soooo bad! Unfortunately I think I might be divorced if I bring any more fish tanks homes. O.O It might be worth it...

Tell me stories about your congo puffer so I can get a vibe for them. I want to know everything about them! I checked the pufferpedia, but want more information.

[Smashtoad]

This fish and Butis butis are my favorite fish, due to ultra coolness, for lack of a better term. I saw my first Congo in 1987 in a LFS and never forgot it...and it was just swimming around. I later learned (when I went to work in a pet shop) about their stealthy habits. Then I started looking for one. It took me five years to find one, and for two of those years, I was doing the ordering for the shop...the Congo river area was just too dangerous for fish collecting or something. Once I found him, I had him only a few months before my brother's buddies dumped a bunch of fish food in the tank, caused an ammonia spike, and killed him.

Anyway...I had him on small round gravel, and he spent most of his time buried. One time I got to see him inhale a fish from below the gravel, and he didn't even move very many rocks it seemed...just an amazing fish. As the pufferpedia states however...they are very sensitive to nitrites, and my tank is cycling now for round 2, as I just lost my second one due to impatience. The tank was cycled, but not established enough for a Congo. Color changes can be dramatic due to several factors...they're just cool. This time around I am going to keep him on sand.

My tank should be ready in a couple of weeks. They are being imported now, so this is a good time to be looking. My buddy at my LFS says that Seagrest Farms has them these days fairly regularly, so if you have an empty and established tank...now is a good time to be looking.

[Dadof4]

I've been looking for one for about 6 months. I did see one on a pet shop that was over 9 hours away from home and I didn't want to risk traveling with him. Since then I haven't seen one and my NSLFS said they are kind of hard to get right now, he wasn't sure why....I am also looking for a Suvatti but having no luck. They have the same habits and care but get a tad bigger. Full of awesomeness too!

[Smashtoad]

Yeah...availability is REAL hit and miss with these guys due to the political turmoil that always seems to be present in the Congo region. A shop's wholesaler may or may not carry them or even know specifically what they are. Target puffers, suvatti, the congo, fahakas, etc...to some distributors there is no real difference in these fishes. The only thing they know is that they are expensive, and don't sell real well because they know in a LFS they will occupy a whole tank to themselves, something a LFS in usually not crazy about. A shop here in Indy had two suvattis a couple years ago, and they were in a tank by themselves for 3 months and they couldn't sell them. Forty dollar fish that don't move around much aren't a real hot item...that is, unless you have lots of freaks like us for customers!

Good luck.

[marksrush]

I've been looking for one for about 6 months. I did see one on a pet shop that was over 9 hours away from home and I didn't want to risk traveling with him. Since then I haven't seen one and my NSLFS said they are kind of hard to get right now, he wasn't sure why....I am also looking for a Suvatti but having no luck. They have the same habits and care but get a tad bigger. Full of awesomeness too!

I believe most LFSs have oxygen tanks for those who buy fish that need to travel far. Transport him in a small styrofoam container to keep the temperature constant, and this coupled with the oxygen should make getting one from that far away from you less risky.