lots of questions about keeping a congo puffer

[newtopuffers]

Hello.
I am a complete stranger when it comes to keeping a puffer.
I'm looking at a 35G-40G for a single, for life.
Do Congo Puffers suffer from dental problems such as the Fahaka puffer? - So, do I need to feed it a lot of shelled food?
Related to their dentistry, would they ever damage the tank and perhaps with their teeth if not trimmed down?
I've heard that their activity level varies, but am I going to be looking at a sunk potato at all times?

[newtopuffers]

One more question.

What filter is recommended?
Canister?
If you're using one and are happy with it, let me know the specifics please.

[Pufferpunk]

My Congo never touched snails--actually kept a large apple snail in with her for clean up. Never had teeth problems wither. An Aquaclear filter should do the trick in your tank.

My Hubby used to call her the "floating turd", because she only swam around when she was hungry. But if you see my avatar...

[pufferpuggirl]

The Congo is one of my favourite puffers. I have an orange one, and even though she doesn't do much, she's still got a lot of character and I love her to bits. For the most part, my girlie stays partially buried in the sand with only her eyes and mouth protruding. I put a terra cotta pot in there for her, but she hasn't gone in it once. And I agree with PufferPunk, my girl could care less if there are snails in the tank .... now guppies, that's a different matter altogether! I even had a crab in there for a while, but she tormented it and bit off the legs and it finally died (I think from losing too many limbs at once). But these are endearing puffers, even if their activity level isn't at all like some of the other puffers. They don't need a great deal of space either because they're not very active, I've got mine in a 35-gallon tank, but personally I think she'd be okay in a little less.

[newtopuffers]

Thanks for your help.

One more thing (ugh, I must have infinite questions but I'm allowed, right?)

I know they're ambushers and it's unlikely.. but do you know if it's possible to wean them off of live feeders?

[Pufferpunk]

Great article on that in our Library.

[pufferpuggirl]

Thanks for your help.

One more thing (ugh, I must have infinite questions but I'm allowed, right?)

I know they're ambushers and it's unlikely.. but do you know if it's possible to wean them off of live feeders?

Yes, of course. In fact, my girlie eats mussels for the most part, sometimes some pieces of shrimp too. I also raise Endlers and always have a few in there with her. She does eventually eat them, but she will still take other food if she's not up to catching one. She used to eat them quickly, but now she takes them every few days to a week. Sometimes they last for a while, and other times they don't. But if yours has been used to live food only, start with mussels, they sort of float and look like they're alive, and if you want to really give them that "alive" look, then dangle them on a string. Just be patient, and remember that lurkers don't eat all the time, sometimes they choose not to eat and that can last several days. As long as they aren't looking thin, there's no reason to worry.

And you may ask as many questions as you like, there's no limit here.

[kinny78]

Everyone, I have just trained my Congo to eat dried Hikari pellets. If you want to learn the process, let me know. It's quite simple...and fun!

[marksrush]

Oh I hate you all. I want one BAD, but you just don't see them in this area.

[eieio]

Everyone, I have just trained my Congo to eat dried Hikari pellets. If you want to learn the process, let me know. It's quite simple...and fun!

i'm interested!

[kinny78]

Alright, if you want your Congo Puffer to eat dried pellets, you will have to be dedicated and assertive. Do not let the Puffer beat you, instead, you will have to take charge. Here are the steps.

Here is a list of things you will need in order to do this.
1. Tweezers or A Tong, or A pair of Chopsticks (anything you can get a grip on the minnows without escaping (i won't suggest your fingers))
2. Rosy red minnows
3. Freezer
4. Razor blade
5. Hikari pellets or any dried food you want to feed your Congo with, but you must stay consistent.

Now, here are the steps.
If you are now feeding your Congo live food, I suggest you feed him/her rosy red minnows.
First, you feed him/her minnows for 3 days just by dropping it into the tank and let the Congo catch it.
Then the 2nd step is to feed the Congo live minnows by holding it with your tweezers, tong or chopsticks. Stick the live minnows into the tank just below the surface and wait for the Congo to swim up and bite it off the tweezers (you can wiggle it a little to make it more stimulating). This might sound/look cruel, but it was the best way for me. Also, stay consistent with the tweezers, tong, chopsticks you used, because you want the Congo to recognize the tool that you used so he/she will think that anything you are holding it with is food. Do this for about 3 days.
Next, put 3 minnows on a plate and put it in the freezer. Take it out the next day and thaw one minnow. After you have thawed it, take the razor and slice open the minnow's belly and take out it's internal organs. Then, crush some pellets into smaller pieces and stuff some into the minnow's emptied belly. You won’t be able to stuff all the crushed pellets because the minnow is too small. Just stuff a little. You just want the Congo to taste the pellet. Feed it to the Congo using the same tweezers/tong/chopsticks (wiggle it a little to make it look alive). Do this for another 2 days with the rest of the frozen minnows. Next and the final step, break a pellet in half (one whole pellet is too big for my congo's mouth) and feed it to the Congo using the same tweezers/tong/chopsticks (wiggle it a little to make it look alive). Your Congo should swim up and take a bite out of it thinking it's a live minnow, but instead, you have just tricked he/she into eating a piece of bacteria-parasite free, nutritional Hikari Pellet! This worked very well for me. Contact me if you have any questions. Good Luck!

[eieio]

"and fun"?
thanks, but NO thanks.........
by the way, step #2 IS cruel!
and, by the way, pellet food may not be compatible with a T. Miurus' digestive system

[pufferpuggirl]

My Congo has been, and is, doing just fine and appears very healthy to me. I think I will stick with the diet I've got her on now and not bother with trying to get her to eat pellets. There's no dental issues, so I don't see the reason for feeding pellets personally.
I think it's better for my puffer to eat the Endler's live, like she's been doing, seems to be an easy and quick way to for the puffer to get her ilve food and I don't think the Endler suffers too much either (it hasn't got time to suffer, it's over too quickly!).

And something about messing with disembowling a fish that really turns me off!

[Pufferpunk]

Prepared foods are ok on occasion but they still need a varied diet of crustaceans to keep them healthy.

[kinny78]

Look, I did not state Step 2 was fun. Actually, Step 2 was extremely miserable for me. I could not stand watching the Congo Puffer taking a bite off the innocent minnow, but if I don't sacrifice these minnows and train the Congo to eat dried food, then I will have to keep feeding him live minnows. Yes, Step 2 does seem cruel, but do you have any idea how many other minnows are probably very thankful because I have finally trained my Congo to eat dried Hikari food? You ever seen Saving Private Ryan? Remember when the captain (played by Tom Hanks) was telling one of the guys how he coped with sacrificing his men? He said that in his mind, he tried to understand that for every man that gets killed in combat under his command, he is saving 10 or 100 or 1000 lives somewhere else. Well, that's exactly how it is. You can't train a Congo to eat dried food overnight. You will have to sacrifice a few live food to get there. Well, I try to see it that way. For every minnow that I have sacrificed in the past to get my Congo to eat dried food, I am saving 10s or 100s of not just minnows, but other live foods as well. Now, I won't have to buy anymore live food. I just feed him Hikari. By the way, Hikari pellets are very nutritional. My brother has fed the same Fahaka puffer Hikari pellets for more than 7 years. That Fahaka puffer got HUGE! Anyhow, good luck.