Too Early for Thought?

[hobbes]

Just started work at new job a few days ago. Going s'well. Finals are only a day away and pressures gotten to me. Somehow I've found a way to get my birthday money organized. Willing to spend a good 300 dollars on the next rebuilding of my 20 gallon. Most of my stuff is gone. Test kit, gave to cousin. 10 gallon, gave to cousin. Drift wood, extra gravel, thermometer, to cousin. Boy, aren't I nice?

Any who, I was deciding on starting my tank by the end of summer because of the recent depressing death of my Figure 8, Hercules. Still haven't gotten over the poor fellas death either. Been researching a little too early and somehow got interested in Irrubescos and Lorteti. Seen them around before, just never got to read enough about them. Well, one day I was forced to go to the LFS with my dad to buy some feeders for his 'new' piranha my brother gave him... Well, I decided to crawl over to the brackish section. Overcrowded puffers with knight gobies in a 10 gallon. Wish I could take them all home and find some suitable tanks for the fishes, but I couldn't.

Well I cruised through the aisles of tanks and found a puffer in a tank just out of the brackish section. Probably sick or stressed, stomach completely black. What I didn't notice until a good 3-4 seconds was his/her red eyes. I think the name written on the tank was "Bleeding Heart Puffer", but can't remember that well. So then, I'm off to research. Eventually finding Lorteti and Irrubesco quickly.

No salt? Up to 2 inches? Accepts Blood worms? Perfect, I guess. So now I'm hooked on these guys. Work keeps me from posting and asking questions. So... I got some questions, seeing as some of TPF fellow members have Irrubesco and Lorteti as well.

1) Will a 20 gallon keep 2 Irrubesco or 2 Lorteti fine?
Hoping to find a pair, if not I can just keep 1 of a species.
2) Are Lorteti truly more aggressive?
3) Are your Irrubesco more shy than aggressive?
4) What is the usual price range for Irrubesco or Lorteti?
5) Are either of these fish as interactive as Dwarf Puffers?

Hope those aren't too many. I still probably won't get fish till middle or end of summer, but I'm just so hooked on these puffers right now. But because of my busy-ness I might not be able to keep up with maintenance, MIGHT not. Dwarf Puffers are a choice too. The ones I had before were fun and interactive. I guess I didn't get enough of the DP experience.

Thanks for all the help. -Hobbes

[Jokerwild]

Your Irrubesco is the common redeye I oogled over. Redeyes. Just look for parasites. # of my leopard puffers died due to the dreaded nematodes. Help me out OK?! My Dwarfs are loners not too intimidatig as such. I thought after a week of owning them that they laid eggs. No success. After looking under my microscope they were indeed snail eggs. Nice to see they were getting somewhere in there own body. If counting the shell. I don't know how to handle the infants. Back to the refinement process for those snail eggs. Into the snail tank.

[Tihsho]

1) Will a 20 gallon keep 2 Irrubesco or 2 Lorteti fine?

I have a pair of each in a 30 long aswell as with a dwarf puff and some other fihs. Personally if you have had neither of the species before I would not look on a mixed puffer tank. Mixing puffers can be a risk. One of the reasons I tried mixing them was because the tank is heavily planted and I have plenty of spare tanks that I could have hopped the either pair.

Hoping to find a pair, if not I can just keep 1 of a species.

IF you buy a singleton, try to always keep them a singleton. IME adding another red eye to a existing tank of a single male or female red eye ends up in the demise of the new puff. If you buy a pair make sure to have tons od broken lines of sight and maybe some target fish to keep the puffs away from one another.

2) Are Lorteti truly more aggressive?

Yes they are much more aggressive. Mine seem to leave the other puffs alone due to them having established territories. The lortetis (on the rare occasion of them being our and not hiding in dark places in the driftwood) harass the endlers live bearers but not killing them.

3) Are your Irrubesco more shy than aggressive?

Mine are aggressive but seem to scare eachother more then attack eachother.

4) What is the usual price range for Irrubesco or Lorteti?

Irrubescos I have gotten from between 5 bucks each up to 10 bucks each.
Lortetis are about the same.

5) Are either of these fish as interactive as Dwarf Puffers?

Both of the species are very interactive with you in your tank, justm ake sure to give them stuff to check out.

[hobbes]

[quote=Tihsho]Mixing puffers can be a risk. One of the reasons I tried mixing them was because the tank is heavily planted and I have plenty of spare tanks that I could have hopped the either pair. [/quote]

I plan on only keeping 1 species, thanks for the heads up though. Thanks for the information Tihsho and Jokerwild.

1) I have a 20 gallon high, will that fit 1 Lorteti/Irrubesco good?
2) Will Lorteti or Irrubesco eat Ghost Shrimp?
I believe they just kill them but I'm still unsure.
3) How well do these puffers do with acidic waters?
I have a small piece of Mopani wood and large piece of Bogwood I am going to put in the tank.

Thanks for the help. I'm still unable to choose Lorteti or Irrubesco. I guess it will just depend on what my LFS will give me.

[hobbes]

Bump?

Also, anyone think a Lorteti or Irrubesco will live with Bristlenose Plecos?

[Tihsho]

Bushynose plecos are hit and miss with puffs. Some puffs eat them, some don't pay a second thought to them. Both species of those puffs eat ghost shrimp (in a 20 high I would go with a pair, 1m : 1f.) Acidic water is ok with them as long as its not less then 6.5 though neutral water is preferable.

[Adventim]

Hey, i've had the same debate and questions on the irrubesco and Loriteti, I personally found that the Irrubesco puffer is calm but can be somewhat territorial once it gets used to the aquarium (which could take long). Myself, I have suprisingly had the same idea...the 20g tall, because of the space + affordability and all that. Good luck with your possible new puffer!

[hobbes]

Thanks a lot Tihsho. You've been a lot of help.

Thanks as well Adventim, your thread was helpful to me too. I hope my LFS can just stock up on Irrubesco/Lorteti some time again.

[Tihsho]

Very low demanding puff. All that it asks for is for other fish to stay out its tank unless they are lunch

[Adventim]

I'm not sure what your LFS is like but a local owner can be reliable so if yours is as well maybe ordering the specific species, and once they come in, you won't have to pay once you see them. Plus, some LFS's aren't good with getting the right type of puffer... EX: green spotted puffer and congo spotted puffer (even though the CSP is not imported to the U.S). I will post a document showing the differences sometime tonight. Look for it .

[Tihsho]

Easiest way to get a puff is to bring the scientific name aswell as a picture to a LFS to see if they can compare it to the species they got in before. I have done that at a few LFS before and it seems they either have no clue, or they get another puff under the species name you showed them. One of the times I did that an employee walked me down to a tank I had missed and thats where I found my irrubescos.

[hobbes]

Alright so here's what I am going to do. Since I just have a filter, broken heater, hood, and air pump I am deciding to sell the 20 gallon high. My first fish tank. I really didn't like the dimensions I was working with when I was stocking and etc. Its only been used.. twice? About 8 months old? How much is that going to get me? Probably just going to sell it to my LFS.

And what am I going to buy with the money? A 20 gallon long, yay!

Are 20 gallon longs more expensive than 20 gallon highs? How much does it usually cost for a 20 gallon long(new)? Boy! 20 gallon longs are awesome. Maybe I'll buy a stand as well. Long > High

[Tihsho]

20 longs I find reaaly cheap at petsmart about $27.99.

IMO look for a 30 long or a 40 breeder. Not much more in price and you have more room to work with. Its always good to go larger

[hobbes]

30 gallon long. I think I have a desk that might just fit it perfectly. Hey on my LFS' website it says after some of the tanks 'FB' and 'BR'. I'm thinking BR means breeder but I'm unsure what FB stands for. Also, what is a breeder tank? Is it just meant for breeding... or something? Bigger is better!

[Tihsho]

Breeder tanks are shorter in height, a wee bit longer and have more width. Basically its the best type of tank for planted tanks cause you have more 'floor space' for planting. Another reason why breeders love them!