question about substrate

[sumfingwong]

My basement is nearly complete, and I have a custom tank builder coming in to fit a 120+ gallon tank under my stairs.

Quick question. If I used Black Tahitian moon sand, will it make my fahaka turn black? I know they sometimes turn into the color of the substrate. At home in my 65g tank, I have dark river gravel. At night he turns really dark, but when I turn on the light, within an hour hes in his normal color.

Would you guys suggest the black moon sand?

thanks

[DarkStorm]

im using it and the fahaka likes it. an she blends in real good.

[SenOr PuffPuff]

i wanna say yes, since i used to have the Black Tahitian moon sand in my 75 gallon tank when i first got my fahaka puffer and his colors where alot darker than they are now. im using pool silica sand now and as soon i i switch over i did notice my fahaka is alot lighter in color. and to be honest i did like his color better with the Black Tahitian moon sand because it had more contrast and vivid color on him....but the reason i switched was for the fact that stuff gets in your mag float and scratches the heck outta a tank glass....plus it even hard to remove the sand from the velcro once it attaches itself. but in all honesty now that i think about it i prob could have just flipped the mag float so the velvet side was in the water.
lol i think i mind go back to the Black Tahitian moon sand soon or not dont know yet .

[mrgreen]

Your tank sounds really nice! Congrats! And pics when its up and running, please?

[sumfingwong]

so I made some measurements, it looks like it will be 150g. 48x25x29 haha

I wonder what tankmates I can fit in with my fahaka. If you look at my previous posts, I had my fahaka housed with comet goldfish he never ate, they grew as big as the fahaka. Actually the fahaka was stressed with the 2 goldfish in the tank. It was weird seeing the fahaka sharing its food with the goldfish.

i am hoping to grow out a common pleco and chance it with the fahaka, or some fast bottom feeders to pick up left over food.

With a 150g, im sure I can add some tankmates and have enough room for them to book it if the fahaka is cranky

[Black Widow]

MY Fahaka lives alone hes too aggressive for any tanks mates. I have tried tropical fish before but he eats them, dont matter which type he will hunt them all down. Adding other fish to your tank is also a bad idea as Goldfish are quite retarded and get sick all the time. Trust me I kept tropical fish for a while before getting fahaka, and those fish got every kinda sickness you can think of Dropsy, Ick, Fungial / Bacterial Infections! If you have sick goldfish with, fahaka then he will get sick too and whats the point risking the life of a most beautiful puffer fish for the sake of pretty goldfish in your tank? There is no point!!! SO NO TANK MATES if you want fahaka to live a longtime.

The fun with a fahaka tank is decorating it, you can make your tank loook beautiful with lots of Plants / Caves to give that Amazon Jungle effect, that would be my advice

Here are some examples:

[Pufferpunk]

Goldfish are quite retarded and get sick all the time

HUH??? I think GF are quite intelligent for a fish & if kept properly are one of the longest-lived fish on earth, sometimes up to 30 years.

[LilGreenPuffer]

They often come with health problems, so they probably need intensive quarantine and treatment before adding them to any tank.

Another big reason not to keep them with a fahaka, even one that tolerates tankmates, is that they're coldwater fish that need much lower temps than tropicals.

[Lil' Swimz$]

Are those your tanks? Wow they're beautiful! See, that's what I wanted my planted tank to look something like..

[Jivenjune]

MY Fahaka lives alone hes too aggressive for any tanks mates. I have tried tropical fish before but he eats them, dont matter which type he will hunt them all down. Adding other fish to your tank is also a bad idea as Goldfish are quite retarded and get sick all the time. Trust me I kept tropical fish for a while before getting fahaka, and those fish got every kinda sickness you can think of Dropsy, Ick, Fungial / Bacterial Infections! If you have sick goldfish with, fahaka then he will get sick too and whats the point risking the life of a most beautiful puffer fish for the sake of pretty goldfish in your tank? There is no point!!! SO NO TANK MATES if you want fahaka to live a longtime.

The fun with a fahaka tank is decorating it, you can make your tank loook beautiful with lots of Plants / Caves to give that Amazon Jungle effect, that would be my advice

I have fancy goldfish--they're coldwater. Isn't a fahaka a warmwater fish? If you throw a coldwater fish into a warm tank, its immune system is immediately compromised. Your goldfishes getting sick and dying is your own fault

[Pufferpunk]

I can't believe your fahaka leaves all those plants alone. Great job in decorating!

[DarkStorm]

im jealous of that landscape. ive got bout 10 species of plants and every day there missing pieces./uprooted as far as tank mates everyone gonna tell you no tank mates but if you dont care in the end id suggest some african cichlids. its really cool watching mine push the fahaka around like bumper cars when she gets in there space.(they never bite) she just turns to her side and they bump her about. if they end up food so be it imo/.

[Myaj]

I don't think I would plant a Fahaka tank that heavily.. unless you like sticking your hands in there and risking losing your fingers when you prune every few days! ROFL

Lots of slow growing, don't need any pruning plants

[sPuffalopagus]

In my opinion, I do not think that the Fahakas are kept in those planted tanks.
Firstly they look too pristine.
Secondly, they are too small to sustain a Fahaka.

MY own experience with live plants with my Beetroot is a disaster. He would methodically bite off the big leaves on my nana plants and continue to strip them off until I am left with roots. Sigh...

As for substrate, I am actually using Aquaclay.

[CarmenH]

Have you considered using 3M colorquartz black sand as a substitute for Tahitian Moon? It's supposed to be waaaay cheaper than aquarium-specific sand and 100% aquarium-friendly.

Carmen