Getting a congo puffer 3", give me advice on getting ready

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Wed Sep 09, 2009 11:00 pm

I'm getting a wildcaught Congo Puffer Tetraodon miuris soon at 3".

I am going to start seeding a sponge filter for now and it is going in a 20g-high (24"x12"x16") until it is larger where it will go in a 40g likely.

What I need to know is if it would mind a normal fluorescent light or if minimal light is best, if I should use sand or gravel, should it be all open or should I have a couple caves (pvc pipes) or just one cave.

What pH do they prefer? My tap pH ranges from between in the high 6 to low- 7 (I haven't tested it in a while and it varies seasonally a little bit when there's more leaf litter in the reservoir but not by much. I'll test it with my digital meter if you guys need me to (if I have to I'll just use baking soda to raise the pH to neutral or above. I keep malawi cichlids so I know that 1tsp/10g of my tap water brings it up to about 8.2+/-).

Also, at its current size what would it eat? I have frozen Krill, Bloodworms, Plankton (pacific plankton aka pacific krill aka E. pacifica), black mosquito larvae (really small), Mysis relicta shrimp, brine shrimp, and frozen extra large de-shelled jumbo shrimp.

I have a spare 15g I can turn into a snail culture tank. Would weekly feedings of snails be enough to keep the beak trimmed or will the frozen food itself do that?

At what size should I expect to start feeding fiddler crabs or thin-shelled clams (like mussells for example), etc?

~Ed

pufferpuggirl · Post by **pufferpuggirl** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 5:30 am

Good for you, emartin, Congo puffers are a really nice puffer to keep.

I don't think it matters what lighting you use, but I would definitely say go with sand, not gravel, as Congos love to bury themselves in the sand. So I would keep some open spaces where it can bury itself, and maybe have one cave, but mine seems to prefer burying to hiding in a cave.

I've never bothered with pH and I would advise against messing with it, but that's just me. Puffers seem to adjust to pH, but yours sounds about right anyway, so I'd leave it. In my experience, Congo puffers seem mostly interested in mussels and shrimp, but that's not to say yours might like other foods, all you can do is try and see. I actually feed mine half a small mussel and then a chunk of shrimp.

Being a lurker puffer, I don't think your Congo is going to take much interest in snails, and I don't think that's something they seek out in the wild. As for crabs, well I had a red-claw crab in with mine and she only seemed interested in pulling it's legs off, but not really eating it. So you'd have to try yours and see if it's interested in crabs or not. Don't under-estimate that little puffer, their mouths appear small, but they can get quite alot into them, mine does anyway. My girl is about the same size as yours and she does pretty good with munching food into her mouth.

Hope this has been helpful to you. Enjoy your Congo when you get it.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 12:41 pm

Great advise!

Poor crab...

Dragon Puffer · Post by **Dragon Puffer** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 9:33 pm

Dont forget to thaw the food

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 5:02 pm

Well some bad news. The green congo puffer died at the retailers warehouse unexpectedly.

Oh well, I'll have to wait longer then. Some funny news though is that he fed the dead puffer to the local birds and didn't remember until this afternoon that puffers have toxins in them LOL...

~Ed

LilGreenPuffer · Post by **LilGreenPuffer** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:00 pm

That's not a good idea. Not only are they toxic, but they can also be carrying parasites that are foreign to the local ecosystems and could be extremely harmful to the local wildlife.

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:19 pm

LilGreenPuffer wrote:That's not a good idea. Not only are they toxic, but they can also be carrying parasites that are foreign to the local ecosystems and could be extremely harmful to the local wildlife.

I doubt the parasites is an issue. All of us aquarists dump our waste water onto our lawns, plants, drains, etc. I'd think it would be highly unlikely that a bird could pick up a tropical aquatic parasite anyway. In other words, even if it is possible I doubt it's an issue. We should be worrying more about avian flu, west nile virus (damn mosquitos!), etc.

Still it sucks about the puffer... I was really looking forward to having a green congo puffer...

doraemon · Post by **doraemon** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 11:38 pm

emartin wrote:Still it sucks about the puffer... I was really looking forward to having a green congo puffer...

Green Congo??? Wow i would have loved to see a green one, i didnt know you can get green congo's.

Did you take any pics emartin?

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:13 am

doraemon wrote:
emartin wrote:Still it sucks about the puffer... I was really looking forward to having a green congo puffer...
Green Congo??? Wow i would have loved to see a green one, i didnt know you can get green congo's.

Did you take any pics emartin?

I never got a hold of it, and the guy that bought it from the importer for me didn't realize I wanted a picture of it dead or alive lol...

Oh well. I'm currently looking into trying to get ahold of another one but it's just speculation... I do have Monotrete suvatii available very cheap locally but they aren't really anything special...

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:31 am

Some funny news though is that he fed the dead puffer to the local birds and didn't remember until this afternoon that puffers have toxins in them LOL...

That guy's an idiot! I bet those birds are dead.

dmond31 · Post by **dmond31** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:39 pm

I would love to have a congo puffer(red congo). I go to a couple fish every weekend hoping to see one. I can not find them in Houston

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:54 pm

dmond31 wrote:I would love to have a congo puffer(red congo). I go to a couple fish every weekend hoping to see one. I can not find them in Houston

Give Dave Schumacher a call. He could very likely get you some. http://www.davesfish.com

His store is in San Antonio, TX.

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:17 am

Looks like I may be able to get a hold of a couple fry-juvenile RED congo puffers German bred if I got my information right. If I am right and get to order them I'll keep you all updated... If I can't get ahold of a green congo puffer I'll definitely settle for a red one!

eieio · Post by **eieio** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 10:26 am

emartin wrote:Looks like I may be able to get a hold of a couple fry-juvenile RED congo puffers German bred if I got my information right. If I am right and get to order them I'll keep you all updated... If I can't get ahold of a green congo puffer I'll definitely settle for a red one!

Captive bred?
I wasn't aware that T. Miurus has ever been bred in captivity anywhere. Beware.
There's a little beauty for sale at the LFS near me.

emartin · Post by **emartin** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 4:14 pm

eieio wrote:
emartin wrote:Looks like I may be able to get a hold of a couple fry-juvenile RED congo puffers German bred if I got my information right. If I am right and get to order them I'll keep you all updated... If I can't get ahold of a green congo puffer I'll definitely settle for a red one!
Captive bred?
I wasn't aware that T. Miurus has ever been bred in captivity anywhere. Beware.
There's a little beauty for sale at the LFS near me.

The Europeans always find a way... My guess is if they haven't got them to breed them naturally they may hormone the puffers like some businesses do to Synodontis polli, S. petricola, S. decorus, etc.

There's a chance that they AREN'T captive bred (most stuff out of Europe is though) but they happen to have a large batch of wild fish... My guess is bred though...

I could care less though if the puffer is healthy and as advertised.

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