new avocado puffers

colin_elcolbol · Post by **colin_elcolbol** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:20 pm

hi there everyone, this is my 1st post, and i picked up 2 baby avocado puffers last night, seeing them eat that cricket had me sold.....so last night i dropped them into a 10gal. tank with 4 other goldfish, they're doing great together except for the 2 nips one took at the goldfish, but there doing awesome.....i have them eating goldfish flakes right now and their eating lots of it.....i was wondering a way to maintain them so they can grow and stay alive, i don't really have a good filtration system in my tank, as well as i don't have a heater....any tips you could give me so i can keep them happy?

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 7:55 pm

Do they look like the puffer pictured in this link? : http://www.pufferlist.com/puffer/freshpuff.php?puffid=0

There is also a lot of basic info on the species contained in that link.

Your little 10g is very overstocked at the moment. It's recommended to have at least 15g for each of these puffers. I worry that your tank will experience a cycle since it has poor filtration, very high bio load, and very low water volume. 50% or more water changes every day or two are in order.

Also, puffers are very aggresive fish and those nips will only get worse. The quicker you can seperate them the better, because they will kill their tank mates.

As you'll see from that link, they need a varied diet of live and/or frozen foods. Flakes will not do for long. They also need crunchy foods like snails, etc to keep their teeth from overgrowing. Puffers are a bit like rodents in this regard, because their teeth don't stop growing and must be worn down otherwise they will not be able to eat.

Puffers are also very messy fish and therefore require very good filtration. This is something you will have to consider.

They also like fairly warm temps, up to 80f. Unless your room temp stays consistently high, a heater is in order. Unfortunately, goldfish prefer cooler temps (I do believe, but may be wrong there) so that leads to another incompatibility.

Ideally, you'd need to get a 30g tank with lots of decore (to keep the puffers busy and to keep them from fighting all the time) and over filtration.

Puffers do require a rather large amount of special care, which is probably not what you want to dear, but it is necessary for their long term health and happiness. Especially for a pet that could potentially live for 10 years or more under good conditions.

colin_elcolbol · Post by **colin_elcolbol** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 8:30 pm

it looks like those puffers u showed, but its an avocado not a bronze, yeah tomorrow (Friday) i will be getting heater and filter, what would you recommend for my tank, ill grab a couple more plants, here are some links to my guy eating some shrimp, and my tank....
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n206 ... C01527.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n206 ... t/tank.jpg

Boxermom · Post by **Boxermom** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 8:45 pm

Avocado is just another name for the bronze or modestus puffer. There's also a similar looking yet different puffer called the silus. Does yours have very shiny or a dulled metallic looking skin? Is there a sort of blue stripe going down the spine under the skin?

colin_elcolbol · Post by **colin_elcolbol** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 8:54 pm

there like a bass looking greenish, with a dark stripe following their upper fin type deal

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:42 pm

Would it be possible to get a different tank for them? Mine is happy in a 20L right now. They grow to 4" & do a whole lot of swimming. I'd say at least a 40g for 2 of them. They also generally have tooth growing problems & need their teeth trimmed regularly. (See the Puffer Dentistry article in the Hospital Forum.)

I am concerned that you have them in w/GF. GF are extremely messy fish (high waste/ammonia) & will foul their water quickly. Puffers need cleaner, more pristine conditions to live long, healthy lives.

colin_elcolbol · Post by **colin_elcolbol** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 10:58 pm

alright, they've been living w/o a heater for over a day and they're loving it so far, i got recommended a 50w heater, and like a fluvol 20 (i think) for my 10g tank, i got no choice but to keep them in their with my other fish until i can afford another tank, it just sucks that my other fish were all happy until these little guys came in and started nipping at them, oh well what can i do, id rather keep the old fish happy then the new, but the weird thing is they only go after my black goldfish and no the white ones, its just tiny nips here and there only a couple times a day, i know it seems harsh and i do agree, but not much i can do, i guess i should have read up on it before i bought

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:42 pm

Might I suggest returning the puffers until you can house them properly? I guarantee you, they will not stop nipping, then the GF will get secondary infections, the tank will foul w/that many fish in there & all will be gone. I have one of these fish & it nipped a 7" Jack dempsey to death!

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:46 pm

If you just got the modestus puffers last night, you shouldn't have any trouble returning it to the store. I would definitely recomment returning them until you can afford a new tank setup. Your puffers will be very unhappy in the 10g and your other fish will definitely end up dead very soon.

I recently purchased 2 modestus puffers (pictures coming soon

) and have them in a heavily planted (fake) 29 gallon tank with 2 identical tree roots for each to call his own on opposite sides. It's over-filtered and cleaned constantly by myself, and the fish are doing fine for now...but I don't plan to keep them in this tank for more than 2 months, when I will be purchasing at least a 55 gallon tank for them. They are already territorial (more so when it's bed time

) and they are only going to get more territorial (and messier) as they mature. They are predators who require pristine water and tank conditions.

Please take this into consideration and return the puffers for now.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Thu Aug 10, 2006 11:47 pm

dang...you beat me to it...took too long to post

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:01 am

Phaedrus · Post by **Phaedrus** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:16 am

Don't feel bad. It happens all the time... People see the adorable puffer and just have to have it, but once they get home they see what little monsters they can be and how much is involved in caring for them. Just do the best you can with what time and money you have. Taking them back and having them put on hold for you is probably the best option.

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