Finally gonna get a puffer

[losertastictoaster]

Today my boyfriend is going out to pick up a new 55 gallon tank so after we move the fish around we'll have a free 20 gallon which I'm turning into a puffer home. Only question is which kind of puff?

I love the look of the Congo and Abei but know they need more space then a 20 gallon but my question is, if I do larger water changes and with heavy filtration would 20 gallons be enough? If not do you know of any active puffs that could be kept in a 20?

[PolishPuff]

in your 20gal you can house 1 F8(brackish), 1 red eye, 5 DP's and some other Puffs. OK so you have some options here buy choose weaselly.

[riggers]

You can keep a congo in a 20, PP had her punkster in a 15 gal and she did fine

[eieio]

"ollie" does fine in a 20
i change water 50% weekly

[losertastictoaster]

Yay. After looking at the congo's I have fallen in love with the colors and would love to have one. Now I just have to convince people that a lurker isn't a bad puffer. I'd be buying it with my money anyway so I guess it doesn't really matter. Thank you all for your help.

Congo's like to burry themselves so sand would be better then gravel correct? And how much decoration would one need? I know most puffs need a fair amount but I'd like to be able to see the little guy.

[eieio]

Yay. After looking at the congo's I have fallen in love with the colors and would love to have one. Now I just have to convince people that a lurker isn't a bad puffer. I'd be buying it with my money anyway so I guess it doesn't really matter. Thank you all for your help.

Congo's like to burry themselves so sand would be better then gravel correct? And how much decoration would one need? I know most puffs need a fair amount but I'd like to be able to see the little guy.

Hi losertastictoaster!
Congo puffers are great!
sand is good, most people use it
i use a fine-grained gravel (coarse sand) that has epoxy-coated non abrasive grains
i like the color & texture of it, it's very easy to maintain, and "ollie" has absolutely no trouble getting in or out of it
here are some pictures :



the third picture shows "ollie" buried, in the center foreground

[losertastictoaster]

Beautiful puffer, very pretty colors. Fine gravel works out great, that what's in the 20 right now anyway. I take it these guys don't need as much decoration as some of the other puffs since they hide out in the sand, I'm super excited now and can't wait for the holidays to be over so I can get started. Thanks again for all your help.

[PolishPuff]

We should change the info in the PufferPedia then, cuz it's 30 gal min. for congo on there

[eieio]

Beautiful puffer, very pretty colors. Fine gravel works out great, that what's in the 20 right now anyway. I take it these guys don't need as much decoration as some of the other puffs since they hide out in the sand, I'm super excited now and can't wait for the holidays to be over so I can get started. Thanks again for all your help.

A pleasure!

[eieio]

We should change the info in the PufferPedia then, cuz it's 30 gal min. for congo on there

maybe........
though 30 gallons is probably a safe number, under the circumstances, i think 20 is very sufficient considering:
1) we're not dealing with a very active fish here, as they don't spend a lot of time swimming
2) they're not very big eaters, and since there are no tankmates, the bio-load isn't huge
3) no uneaten food is ever left in the tank - feeding is very closely monitored
4) chemistry is tested & recorded weekly, and rarely, if ever, varies
5) water changes of 50% (sometimes more) are done on a weekly basis
6) the substrate that i use is easily stirred, & poops syphoned out daily, as necessary
7) the Fluval 205 filter does a great job!
the key to this is cleanliness
a smaller tank is really, in a sense, easier to maintain, with less area & water volume to maintain
i wouldn't necessarily recommend a 20 gallon tank, however, as much as i dote over this little fish, in our case, 20 does the trick just fine!

[Pufferpunk]

Not everyone does 75% weekly WC on their FW tanks. Although, I think a 20L would be great for one.

[pufferpuggirl]

They spend most of their time hiding in the sand ... so I don't see where they require a big tank. Most of the lurkers don't need huge tanks because their activity level is very low. So I think we need to keep that in mind here.
Congos really are very interesting puffers. I definitely have the Congo as one of my Top 5 favourite puffers, just something about them. Maybe it's the different colours they come in and the fact that they can change their colouration to blend with their surroundings. And if you're not squeamish, it's very cool watching a Congo stalking a fish, they swim very slowly turning as the fish turns, and when it comes to eating the fish, it's like a vacuum, the fish is sucked into the mouth and voom, it's all over! I think I'd have more Congos if I didn't have some of my other puffers.

[Pufferpunk]

They still produce a large bioload, just like any other puffer, so even though they don't really need much swimming room, extra large WC are necessary in a smaller tank.

[PolishPuff]

So, we are not sure if it's 30 gal or 20 gal. Let say 25 gal T would be perfect

[pufferpuggirl]

Yes, I agree, even though they don't need a big tank, you are right PP, they do still need large water changes, and I forgot to mention that. I always do large water changes on all of my smaller tanks.