Celon puffers - can more than one be kept together?

[soggydrysuit]

Hi there,

My lfs has three species of puffs in at the mo: dwarfs, hairy and what they call 'Topaz' puffers. My wife thinks the Topaz puffs are pretty wonderful and I don't need an excuse to keep puffers again!

I think the Topaz puffs are T. fluvialatus or Celon puffers and they need high end brackish to full marine when they get to their 6-8 inch full size (this info found here, checked Topaz=Celon). The shop says they are freshwater and peaceful!

These are a good size about 12cm and chunky but do seem quite dark, if there's any left next weekend I'd like to get at least one or will order. Just wondering if more than one can be kept together at this size onwards?

I've a 30g and a 20g empty at the moment due to decorating another room and moving fish about. I've also got a couple of spare mature fluval 3 size internals and two powerheads that could be used.

I presume I start with freshwater of the shops parameters and get them settled with the filters, then increase salinity by a small ammount each weekly water change. They could either stay in brackish or maybe eventually cohabit with my at the moment docile pinktail trigger in an at least 65g tank, just an idea!

Any ideas would be appreciated

[Pufferpunk]

Sure can but they require 40g ea. See the article in our Library on keeping GSPs. Care & feeding is identical.

[soggydrysuit]

Hi Pufferpunk,

Many thanks for that, appreciated.

Could anyone advise me on the growth rate for these? They are three to four inches now - how long to full size give the 40g of space and good water?

I was just over the LFS and the owner very kindly let me reserve two which is enough to start, given the requirements. There are five of them in quite a small but well maintained 20g ish tank at mo in the shop. They won't be there long, I suspect!

The shop owner is taking one home himself and was unaware of the brackish/marine aspect - I hope he didn't mind too much me telling him his business because he is very knowledgable in most areas including marines. Has had a 'sea apple' alive in one of the stock tanks for two years so far; that takes some doing... I just told him where I got the info from!

So, I'll take the approach of matching his freshwater parameters which they are probably fine in for a while (the shop water hardness is higher than mine, pH buffered to 7.0). But with mine, I will ramp the salininty up slowly, week by week. I have a refreactometer BTW, for my own marines.

As for tank sizes. Once I have redecorated the lounge, I can put my six by four by two foot shop vat in. This is to give a rescued foot long red belly pacu some space. This will happen in the next two months. I have the vat, pumps and main filter for that proj. It just needs an enclosure to keep cats out/pacu in!

And the room decorating

The puffs can then have his old tank which is 65g, not enough but again a start. This tank has a fluval 4 external filter plus it's own set of internals to cope with the pacu. If I can get them to full marine, they can share with my pinktail trig and a few others in a larger tank. I can get a 4 by 2 by 2 or maybe a 5 by 18 by 2 into that space.

I've a 30g and 20g tank spare immediately and could put one puff in each until the larger 65g is available. There are the two fluval 3 equivalent filters available mature, now, along with six or eight smaller ones (I never waste bacteria if I can help it!).

I know these are as messy as my triggerfish, if not more, but soooo cuute!

Thanks for your help so far, if you can make head or tail of this ramble...

[marksrush]

Congratulations on finding one! I've had my Ceylon for almost a year now, and he's a super fish. I've had damsels in with him for about 6 months, and so far everyone is still alive. However he's beaten up or killed any other fish I've tried to put in with him, so be careful.

[soggydrysuit]

BTW, I'm talking in UK gallons - 240l is my 65g. 120l is my 30g and 100l is my 20g.

[bigfatfish]

Now you've confused me! 65UK gallons is nearly 296 lits.

[soggydrysuit]

Hi bigfatfish,

My tank must be less in g. Its a 48 by 15 by 21 inch. That's 55g!

Sorry!

[soggydrysuit]

Thanks, Marksrush.

I'd not seen these for sale this large before. I've a humbug damsel in with the trigger - the two seem to actually enjoy hanging out together. No aggro from either side. I do know that if I want to add the Celon puffs, I'm going to need a six by two by two foot tank.

That's sort of ok - I'm running eleven tanks at the moment and that's with out the vat. My wife has in the past asked me to cut down a bit to a few larger tanks. Ok then, I'll go for the vat and an eight foot FOWLR! Plus two other 'normal' sized tanks for seahorses.

Evil, aren't I

[pufferpuggirl]

Hi soggydrysuit, I just wanted to add that I have 2 Ceylons together in one tank and they really are lovely puffers. They've got quite a bit of character too. One is very light coloured and rarely goes dark (I think that one is a male), on the other hand, the other one is mostly dark (I think this one is the female), but does have times when it goes lighter. I used to think the dark ones were not well, but after having my dark one for several months now, I just think that some are darker than others. I've seen photos of them being very dark, and just recently seen a photo of one that looked brown instead of the black colour that mine have.

I don't think they grow very quickly in my opinion. The one I got first is smaller than the other, and the smaller one is definitely the dominate one. He's not grown very much in the time I've had him, but that's okay by me. I was glad that they got on well together when I added the 2nd and bigger one, as I know that marksrush has said that he doesn't think his would accept a partner.

If you have any questions, I'm in the UK too, so feel free to ask anytime you need to.

Good luck with your Ceylons when you get them!

[Pufferpunk]

Have you actually experienced a soggy drysuit???

[soggydrysuit]

Lol!

Oh, yes. Many many times!

My drysuit was 'made to measure' by a grumpy old bloke down in Portsmouth, UK. The water goes down my neckseal if I turn my head too far and up my wrist seals if I grip something like a torch too hard. This is often the case with neoprene seals - others find latex seals better. But that's another story!

Many thanks for your help schismy007 - appreciated. I was worried about getting just the two thinking either one or five would be safer. I'd love five of the beasties eventually but who knows. Maybe I'd be better with a couple in with the trig, damsel and maybe add a Queen Angel as a last fish. Queen angels can be pretty nasty, I hear. That's big tank territory...

They'll need to spend the next few months acclimatising slowly so I don't kill the filter bacteria. And about a swimming pool worth of water changes. If I can't take a joke then I shouldn't have joined

[soggydrysuit]

Just contemplating that I should go for one Celon puff. That way I know I have a tank large enough for life right now...

I also presume that you wouldn't try drip from pure fw to full marine in one day. The nearly six month acclimatisation is better at 0.001 per week?

Assuming full marine is best for them at this 4" stage?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Pufferpunk]

I'l just stay out of the cold water diving sport all together, thank you very much!

[soggydrysuit]

Just for me, warm and cold water diving are two different sports, almost.

I would only add one thing to the great debate on warm vs cold: I've been delighted in the warm and suprised but fascinated in the cold! BTW I was trained in cold water, the BSAC way...

Mind you, I'm just as happy with a snorkel in 1m of water in the med as I have not really been at 30m on a sloping mud bank in zero vis in the Sound of Mull... Then I saw a hagfish or the nest of an annelid worm, squat lobsters claws or a million brittle stars. Birds flapping around at 20m (Guillemotts)! Did tickle a green moray once at Ras Mohamed, though - that's the other side of the coin.

One puff, maybe...

Tetraodon fluvilatus...

[Flutter]

At a LFS they have giant green puffers. Those are tetraodon fluvilatus right?