fahaka using only one gill

[Pufferpunk]

None of that really matters. The puffer will adjust to any of those parameters. What's important is ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.

Looks like he has a nice tank to grow into. It is very rare that a puffer allows tank mates to live for long.

[Fahakapuffer]

yeah, well the sicker and the catfish both have armor on them so as long as he doesnt get to their underside they should be fine, it is only a 55 gallon for now but i am working on finding an affodable 130-150 gallon tank for when he gets bigger. and i have a vaccume to clean my old, larger gravel will it still work for my fine sand or will i need an attachment? and will the lines on his body come back soon, when he is settled in his new surroundings?

[Nick]

99/100 fahaka puffers either can either 1) get around armor fast, as they're smart, or 2) bite directly through armor with their shell-crushing beaks. I'd keep them in the 55 when you get the bigger tank if they're alive.

[Fahakapuffer]

i try and keep him well fed so he does not get that hungry and eat them, sometimes i will feed him a big snail a day for like 3 days in a row, then not feed him one day and feed him a tetra or crab or lobster, i like to change what he eats so its not all the same, but he will not eat a regular cocktail shrimp, my gsp's used to love them, he will not eat pellets or even frozen brine shrimp, he is wild so i guess he likes the live food, and i have no problem with that i love watching him chase fish and crack shells open:)

[Nick]

Be very careful of where the tetras come from, predators of fish accumulate all parasites/disease from said fish. Breeding your own guppies or platties make for the only really safe feeders.

[Fahakapuffer]

alright, im thinking of getting a 20 gal tank and breeding snails lobsters and guppies and just feeding them very high nuitrient food, i do feed my snails zucchini

[Pufferpunk]

I have a friend who's 4" fahaka bit an 8" pleco in half--through the bag! It was well fed.

[Nick]

I honestly think that, for the most part, fahaka just like chasing and killing things... it seems to almost be the default for them, and it takes some kind of lucky accident to get past the "chase bite kill" screening.

[Fahakapuffer]

i totally agree, my fahaka will not eat anything he can not catch and kill, and that is pretty amazing he bit it through the bag, he has nipped my cat fish a few times, one time he was under the driftwood and taz(fahaka) pulled him right one from under his hiding spot and swung him around, it was quite funny but i was a little mad

[Fahakapuffer]

i would actually like to know what is the highest nutrient feeder fish, i refuse to buy goldfish or minnow feeders from the store, the keep to many in a tank together and they leave dead ones in there, and what would be a high nutrient food to feed them before i put them in his tank

[Fahakapuffer]

and what would i use in my feeder tank to make sure my feeders dont have disease

[Nick]

You have to breed your own from scratch - get healthy livebearers of some kind, preferably from someone you know who has kept them healthy for a long time. Then you breed them yourself, giving them a high quality diet and clean water conditions.

[Pufferpunk]

Better to feed him live crabs, worms & crayfish, than fish.

[Fahakapuffer]

alright, i will look for crabs and crayfish, i just tested my water and the gh is very hard and my ph is like 6.6, any ideas on how to lover hardness a bit and raise ph naturally, i refuse to use chemicals

[Pufferpunk]

How does your tap water test?