still glass surfing.

[360º]

i have 3 SAP in a 30 gallon long tank.

custom 3d background, lots of fake plants and a large piece of drift wood, that i just rotated today.

they've been in there for about 2 weeks and they've been going up and down the corners of the tank since day one. sometimes i see them swim around but mostly in the corners

[Myaj]

Well, they are SAP's. Very active fish that swim constantly and are very nervous.. which is why we suggest they be kept in larger groups and 15 gallons per puffer.

The thing that helped mine the most was strong current running the length of the tank. That way they could swim hard against the current to burn off some of their energy, zoom back around to the other end, and start to swim "upstream" over again. Still a repetitive, neurotic type behavior, but looks better and is probably mentally more healthy for the fish than trying to swim through the glass.

[RTR]

I strongly second what Myaj suggested above. Most of my tanks have decent current, but the tanks for schoolers have the strongest current running freely along parallel to the front glass. with all plants above carpet height restricted to the rear half of the tank. This does allow these fish -including SAPs - to get more exercise swimming against the current, without the current flattening the plants.

The SAPs are Amazon main channel fish outside the breeding season, and allows them at least some strongish current to provide the most natural environment for them.

[Flutter]

I had 3 SAPs in a 50gal with the setup that RTR mentioned and the current was so strong many of the plants couldn't survive it and they never stopped pacing. I believe I mentioned that to you and that that behaviour was why I passed them on to another. From what I remember they still do that in their 210gal tank. Neurotic behaviour like that is what leads me to believe that these fish do not belong in captivity.

Most of my tanks have decent current, but the tanks for schoolers have the strongest current running freely along parallel to the front glass. with all plants above carpet height restricted to the rear half of the tank. This does allow these fish -including SAPs - to get more exercise swimming against the current, without the current flattening the plants.

[brandy_s.a.p]

Yea, I bought a sap puffer about 4 months ago and the little thing so scared all the time. I've looked for others sap puffers, but haven't found any. He was the only one left in store when I found him. I've add dwarf puffers to the tank, hoping they would help him out, but they didn't. I thought maybe he would grow out of this but reading this post about the larger tanks and the lengths u you guys have went though to keep them entertained, I'm starting to think it will be scared forever..

[360º]

i added a powerhead to push water across the front glass and they're all bunched up on the opposite side just swimming up and down in the corner

[Flutter]

I guess just see if they get used to it. They're very strong swimmers.

[J-P]

mine do strange stuff when I am not home and when I return and turn on the lights they freak out... they are in locations that they are not normally in.

I wish I could get normal day light patterns in there because what you see and what you don't see are 2 very different things.

[By_a_coo]

Well, I think puffers have great personalities... my 2 F8 pace up and down the glass all the time, they only stop it when I feed them. My GSP is in a tank by itself and he only paces in the morning and after I feed him at night.

My SAP acts differently from others, he is in a 20G by himself, and he rarely paces since I put him there eight months ago. I didn't plan to have a single SAP, I tried to buy at least 3 of them twice, the first time I failed and the 3 SAPs died, the second time just one survived. That's why I ended with a single SAP. He also must be hand fed (snails must have their shells smashed up and shrimps have to be offered in tiny pieces held by a forceps), otherwise he doens't eat, in other words, I can't spend too much time out of home!
He also doens't try to eat the apple snail that shares the same tank. He is a very unusual SAP.

I made a short video to show you I'm not lying about my SAP swimming alone but not lonely, it is a very poor quality video because I used a cel phone, sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ni0LBTlRaA

[lobowind]

As my SAPs have gotten older, only recently has their behavior changed. They used to all run the glass and act hyper, but as they've gotten older, I've seen definite "cycles." I'll try to describe what I've observed.

I have 11 now. I first had only a singleton because 2 others did not survive (didn't know about TPF then). I couldn't find any others, so "Squiggy" was the lone SAP in a 240 g community tank. She swam all around and schooled with the cories. She was always busy. I've had her about 4 years now. Well, in the last 2 years, I've been able to add 10 more SAPs. I found that Squiggy was no different as a singleton as she is in a group. They are all busy. However, things changed early this year. I observed that from March through May, as the other puffers grew, things became interesting in their tank. Squiggy and the largest of the other SAPs, named Mango (who I assume was captured at an older age than the others with her because she was so very much bigger), were being "herded" by a couple others. The group had never acted like this before. It was intense behavior, definite following and then cutting off the forward progress of Squiggy and Mango. We formed an opinion that Squiggy and Mango are probably mature females. The herders are males. Again, this is speculation. Then we would see them circling each other. It would go in cycles. You'd see it for a day or two, and then it wouldn't happen until weeks later. Well, one day as the herding behavior was occurring, one of the "herders" grabbed Mango's fin, and they spun and spun. We definitely think they were spawning. It was not fighting.....Squiggy and Mango never chase back and never try to grab the herders. And Squiggy and Mango are the only ones ever "herded" and we think that they are older than the others. We witnessed several different twirling episodes. Never found fry, but it would be a miracle for any to survive among the fish in the aquarium.

Since the end of May, their behavior has changed again. For the past 2 months, all the SAPs have been much more relaxed. No glass pacing, no herding. In fact, they've been doing a lot of hovering in the middle of the tank with the filter water flowing down on them. Nothing has been changed in the tank, nothing moved. I tease my husband that they are doing fish yoga. So, I don't know if it's a matter of maturation, but they definitely are not as hyper as they used to be.

Anyone else experience these behaviors?

[360º]

i noticed my SAP stopped swimming up and down the glass.... they love the power head and constantly swim into the current.

all 3 of them also started eating freeze dried blood worms as well as the frozen ones and ofcourse snails

[By_a_coo]

@ lobowind - I'd sell all TVs I have if I'd have 11 SAPs at home.

@ 360° - Freeze dried bloodworms was the only food my SAP accept in the very beginning. When I introduced him to shrimps and snails, he stopped to eat the freeze dried bloodworms.

[brandy_s.a.p]

I have really good water current in the tank already, but all of it is from the back to front. Pehaps if a powerhead was added going parallel to the front of the tank he would get more exercise thus not being so scared and hyper???

[lobowind]

[quote="By_a_coo"]@ lobowind - I'd sell all TVs I have if I'd have 11 SAPs at home.quote]


With 11 SAPs around, you definitely don't watch much tv. They are much more entertaining!!!

[brandy_s.a.p]

@ lobowind - I'd sell all TVs I have if I'd have 11 SAPs at home.quote]


With 11 SAPs around, you definitely don't watch much tv. They are much more entertaining!!!

Lol yea, lobowind u r blessed. I give any thing to have something that entertaining and amazing