The Puffer Forum

I use the same ones RTR uses. The stick on ones work, but they might not be accurate.. that doesn't really matter though if you are just checking to see if the tank is the same temp it always is or if its gone up or down for some reason (failed heater, etc).

No floating thermometers around here though.. heard way too many stories of just this very thing happening.

I wouldn't worry too much.. snail shells can be just as hard and sharp as glass and they crunch and pass those all the time.

oh geez

better get my glass one out...


My porc bit the hydrometer in the tank once.. stupid lazy me used to just leave it there? hahah

and he used to play with it.. he will bite and pull down and it would bang on the tank lid.. and he just kept on doing it

hahaha..

I was going to suggest that one (I have it on my reef tank) but wouldn't the puffer bite that too?

i really like the idea of the didgital one and its not too expensive... but just one question about it... since, CLEARLY, Kukah likes to bite things, like thermometors, fingers, plants (live and plastic)... is there a way to get him to not eat the cord? like how far does it have to go in the water? all the way to the bottom or just at the surface? if it has to go to the bottom, i may just go the stainless steel route cause the stick on ones dont seem very accurate to me since they have to be outside the tank, and it seems like the outside temperature could affect it

EDIT: whoops, i didnt see there was a seccond page to this post, everyone said pretty much what i said

Yup,biters do bite. For toy-hounds as some puffers are,the thermometer probe is either in the sump or overflow box, or just dangling outside the tank other than when in use - theyr respond fairly quiclky for a coated probe.

On the porc - have you tried ping-pong balls floating? They tend to float too well, but if you have any access to an insulin-type needle/syringe, you can inject some water to reduce the buoyancy. A selection of toys of varying buoyancy is relatively easy. If/when they crumple one, replace it. Once semi-crushed it might be eaten. You too can play ball with your fish... They toss it out, you recover and return it. Both of you get exrecise. Don't do this on fine floors.

RTR, could i put the didgital thermometor in the impeller side of my HOB? (aquaclear 70 in a 55gal) would that be accurate enough since its a smaller body of water tends to cool off faster than a larger body? never thought of putting it there until you said in the sump

also, to the porc owner... i use a cat toy, its a ball that had a jingle bell in it, i just took the jingle bell out, and it floats, but when played with or dropped in the tank, it will sink almost halfway down and float back up, just the perfect ammount of bouyancy. may want to look into one like that... i cant find a pic, but theyre usually like a dollar. and come in bright colors... its like the most typical cat toy... almost everyone has had one at one point... oh, heres a pic... lol i almost forgot i had a pic of my fahaka playing with it... he likes it

The flow through the HOB should keep the temp pretty much at the tank level - give HOBs credit for that, they do have high turnover. You could check it in both areas - while you are around to distract the puff.

hope he is OK ...you gotta think soem shells are probably a s sharp as glass when they break them so I wouldnt worry to much...also a good under the sump wet/dry would cure all youre problems even that heater you got in there looks like glass with a chord...you risk the heater shorting and zapping the fahaka...doenst happen very much but does happen as well as hhim bashing or biting it...all these things and youre meters /temp/ and all can be kept in a sump under the tank with no issues to worry about...dr foster sells a digitial one for about 20 buxs you should get both because the digitials arent very acurate...BTW LOVE THE BALL PIC ....PRICELESS....I saw one guy on youre tube petting his for a long time and the fahaka would roll on either side to get his belley rubbed....

Yep, the sensor in the filter should work just fine.

Very good point jib, big fish and glass heaters are also a disaster waiting to happen. Its not even the teeth, they might just bang it. Shoot, now that I think about it Paris has a glass heater in her tank (it used to be in the sump but the sump isn't hooked up). I need to dig out one of the other heaters!

I like either the Stealth heaters or the titanium ones.. the Stealths are my favorite because I use black backgrounds and they blend right in

Generally what attracts a biting puffer is movement.. something bobbing around. A cord holding still shouldnt' attract attention, but if it starts waving in teh current or the fish just gets bored or angry, you just never know.

Now I know why they make unbreakable heaters, never thought about it before. I figured it was to keep them safe from the humans, little did I know...

thanks guys ts not just the fish messing with the heater its they have an internal t-stat that has been known to stick on ...I know a gut who lost his reef because it stuck on...i always run my heaters off of a controller i.e. t stat se on heater and also controler enabeling power like a double back up ...you can get a good controller for around a 100 us

My puff bites at the glass of the tank quite often he even chewed through a wire that went to an underwater volcano the wire that went to the red l.e.d light. Is he bored? should i add more plants to the tank. He has been chewing through those as well?? I don't know what to do i buy him something and he eats it. I feed him twice a day should i feed him more?

LOL, if you need to ask if your puffer's tank needs more decor, it probably does.

Here's my fahaka's tank:

I've found that the stick-on heaters may not be accurate, but they are fairly precise. So I figure out how much lower or higher than an in-tank thermometer they are for a particular tank in a particular location, then remove the in-tank. Then I try to remember to offset.

Why don't you to avoid this in the future get a stick-on "lcd-style" thermometer for the tank?

My guess is if the puffer did eat it, and it doesn't immediately kill or cut internally and cause internal bleeding or infection, it will eventually get broken down by the digestive system until it can pass.

Birds eat tiny sharp rocks ("grit") to help with digestion. They keep eating these rocks for life. What happens it the rocks get eroded and smoothed and broken down until they pass through the birds body. My guess is something similar would happen with a fish eating a rock (glass IS a rock...just reshaped)