How active are your puffers?

[emartin]

How active are everybody's puffers?

My new Fahaka puffer is very active and sociable (still won't eat out of hands just yet (he's only 2-2.5" so I am not worried about missing fingers just yet lol)).

He swims around the tank and in and out of both large pvc caves exploring his 30g tank (obviously not permanent housing) and comes over to watch us when we are in the room.

I particularly like that he isn't just sitting down on the bottom of the tank all day long until I feed. He does sit tight though after eating for a little bit.

SO how social and active are all your puffers?

~Ed

[emartin]

He also takes a keen interest in my dogs...LOL

[Nick]

Jilly rests in her slight indent in the sand part of the day and night, but swims about hunting 'pods a lot of the day/night as well, and always begs if I'm spotted.

Shakespeare patrols the tank 24/7, sometimes stopping to nibble sand and 'pods, but only sleeping a few hours a day.

Velvet has a similar schedule to Jilly, only with no 'pods to actually find when hunting. Ulrike rests in a cave most of the time, but begs like a puppy anytime I'm anywhere even in the same room.

Emma(my fiances DP) constantly hunts for tiny things in her heavily planted tank, and comes out to say hello whenever a human is present. She begs only if really hungry, but always says hello and observes the humans.

[emartin]

He's funny he doesn't want to be seen after eating. Probably from reduced mobility and stress (from digesting) it's just his instincts telling him to take cover but it is pretty funny.... He's the only fish I know that does that.

Cichlids NEVER stop begging unless they are sick. Clown Loaches after they gorge themselves just go down to the substrate and fall over to their side and lay there for a while and digest.

A fish not wanting to be seen after eating is a first for me...

(I went to Sandy Hook National Park today (about 15 mins from my house, nice place except in the summer when all the beach goers flood it and trash it up (there's trash cans and recycling bins at every beach, parking lot, and bay beach and people still litter... It's one thing to litter paper or glass since those break down (glass into sea glass or sand) but all the plastic and aluminum is disgusting...)) and at the marsh there I found a couple exposed (from the low tide) but live closed-up mussells and grabbed a couple tiny ones for the puffer. After rinsing it I put the tiniest one (about 1" long) in there and it was hilarious watching him try to eat it he couldn't get a grip on it and the mussell was flying across the tank because of how hard and smooth/slippery it was).

Love these fish...

Besides cichlids and clown loaches and Datnioides, puffers are probably my new favorite fish...

[jennybugs]

My DPs and Fig 8s are good and active. I watch them when they can't see me and they are always drifting about round their tanks on the snail hunt.
My new miurus is alot more active than I thought he would be but he does like to have plenty of rests in the sand. I love it when he unearths himself as he rises straight up like a hovercraft and then he's off all over the place It fascinates me about puffers and how they swim and their ability to swim backwards in a straight line

[Troender]

My lortetis are very active. They seem to be on the hunt all the time, and are very sociable with me too. So are my F8s.

I think my GSP is pretty active, but only when I'm not watching.

My irrubesco is absolutely not. She hides all the time, and it can be weeks between every time I see her.

My turgidus is a bit active at night (when I'm not watching), but never, never during the day. He hides absolutely all the time, only coming out if he sees food float by his hiding spot.

My Palembang is not very active either. She has her hiding place behinde the filter, and there she stays all the time. Well, most of the time at least. Usually she comes out only if she sees me drop food into her tank. If she doesn't see it, she doesn't eat it either. Food is supposed to float to be eatable. Food she finds on the bottom of the tank, she shows no interest in. So I have to make sure she sees the food at feeding time. Except that, the only time I see her is when she is hungry, and has not gotten any food. Yesterday when I went to bed, I suddenly saw her staring at me, really staring. Staying at the exact same spot in front of the glass and only staring, staring staring.

My suvattii is my most boring puffer. He only stays behind his wooden root all the time. He only comes out at feeding time (I have to make sure he sees me drop the food too). The only other thing he does, is when he is a bit grumpy with me. Then he can dig into the sand and stay there for some time, before he goes back to his spot behind his root.

Here it seems like the larger the puffer, the less active.

[mvbroadbill]

Ollie is hyper spot cruises around. They will spend a great amount of time moving about the tank and then hide in there little home. When I come into the room though they come out and up to the glass and flutter like crazy

[rachy]

my saps never stop...im sure the falla is feeding them duracell when im not looking lol. the dps are all pretty active aswell, very nosy + curious, the babies even more so! my girly irrubesco is always begging, but the boy has only just started being really active since i put more plants in there. not so much active as in looking for food etc, just exploring etc i think. he also spends a lot of time keeling at both the girly, and since i put a dark background on, his own reflection lol!

[L!$A]

My mbu swims constantly, only resting on the bottom when lights out!
My baby fahaka is very active as well, she's always exploring her new home!