The Puffer Forum

I have them in a 30g tank 3/4 filled with eggcrate dividing the tank and pH equivalent to that of my malawi tanks (8-8.6). Temperature is at like 71F now but the heater (eheim ebo jager) is set at 79F.

I noticed when looking at them through the bag, one of them had what looked like super-thin black pen marks on one side. Could that be from damage when he was shipped overseas, or damage when it was in a tank with 19 others, or damage from being in a bag (in the dark I must stress) with another one?

Or is that something else?

Now...how fast do these really grow?

Do they grow Altolamprologus species fast... Synodontis eupterus fast.... CLown Loach fast... Aulonocara species fast... Albino Bristle Pleco fast...

Sites say they grow fast but I know that's just a general term applied to all tank buster fish to try and keep people who can't house them for life from buying them. So how fast do they REALLY grow? A quarter inch a month, half inch a month, inch a month, 2inches a month? Do they grow fast to a certain size (say 8" for example) and then like Clown Loaches slow down their growth dramatically? (clown loaches grow fast to about 3-4"... and then grow like 1-2" a year after wards)

Now, don't take what I wrote above as suggesting you guys don't know what I am talking about. I just wanted to elaborate what I was saying and trying to get an accurate idea from you guys on how fast these grow.

~Ed

OKAY...are fahakas flexible?

I just went down to check on them. Puffer #1 on the right hand side was in the dark in the corner all happy with his eyes moving around checking me and my flashlight out.

Puffer #2 on the left side NO SHOW...

I look around.

The eggcrate divider is 2-3" above the water line, and there are "Y" pvc pipes 4" diameter that are holding the divider up very tightly.

The second puffer somehow go on the RIGHT side, but in the tiny crevice underneath the curve of the pvc pipe and the eggcrate.

There are only TWO ways it got there... One, it squeeze through the 1cm hole in the eggcrate. Or, the other way, it jumped over the divider (the divider was fine it didn't move) and then shoved its way in the crawl space.

Can puffers be flexible? It's really messing with me because I can't figure it out LOL. Naturally I corrected the situation by netting it out and putting it back on the other side.

No ribs. ANYTHING their head can fit through, they can and likely will eventually squeeze through.

Nick wrote:No ribs. ANYTHING their head can fit through, they can and likely will eventually squeeze through.

Damn....just like octopus...sort of...lol.

Well, I'll have to keep a close eye on them until I can find mesh or something to reinforce the eggcrate divider...

That, or just pick which one to keep for myself (the best eater/most "lively" one I guess) and get rid of the other fast.


Are they big enough at the 2" mark to eat mysis shrimp (canadian mysis) or plankton (e. pacifica) or even small pieces of krill at that size? Or just stick with frozen brine shrimp and blood worms until they are larger?

They can grow an inch a month in thier first year..to a size of 18 inches +..they can probably get larger if they are in a generously large tank and feed well and taken care of well.

However, if you do not get them out of the small tank they will be stunted..especially in their first year.

Look through the pufferpedia for this puffer

They need hard food to keep their teeth in check..snails..mussels..

Brine is not really nutritious..blood worms are great..but these fish need a varied diet..

I have a GSP puffers at about 2 inches and they eat blood worms, panfish trout worms, scallops, shell on uncooked shrimp, mussels, ramshorn snails, Spirulina mysis shrimp, occasionally peas, and if they can catch them live ghost shrimp. When these guys get bigger they can tackle large live foods like crabs and such..

For these bigger foods, put them into smaller "chunks"..they like to bite into things and tear them apart..so do not make the chucks too small. For Mussels..I just open the shell for them and they eat the food inside and the chew on the shell..


Hope this helps!

At 2", they can eat anything on our list of foods in the Library. They have teeth that can tear into food/flesh.

I'll have to pick one fast then. I have a 40g-breeder size tank I can put one in until it gets too large for it (like 6+" I suppose?)

Any ideas on the marks on the one? Could it be body damage? I'm not sure about puffer "skin" since they obviously don't have (or don't seem to) have scales...

Well I put a cube of frozen bloodworms in there none of them touched it. They are a little skinny so I want them to at least eat something.

What is one food they can't resist that they can eat at that size?

I have no snails small enough to give them.

I have access to large feeder LIVE grass shrimp.

I have access to live adult brine shrimp.

I have frozen market shrimp I can cut up into thin slices.

I have freshwater frozen Mysis Shrimp, frozen plankton (E. pacifica), frozen krill, frozen bloodworms, frozen spirulina gut loaded brine shrimp, frozen black mosquito larvae, etc.

I have access to LIVE blood worms but that'd be a few days before my LFS can get them in.

I have access to cubed clams, mussells, squid, etc, as well as fresh seafood at local markets.

So what can I feed them that I KNOW they will eat (I'm assuming they are stressed since they were flown across the atlantic, in one crowded tank at a pH of 6, in a bag again for a few hours, and now in a tank at a pH of 8-8.6 and that's why they didn't touch the bloodworms).

Should I buy some live feeder grass shrimp to go in the tank with them, or tiny expensive ghost shrimp, or will one of the frozen foods do?

I also have access to freshwater-acclimated live fiddler crabs. Can a 2" puffer take one on to eat or too big? I was thinking of breaking the claws off a fiddler crab to give the puffer a better and safer chance (crab won't care they grow back, and they drop them anyway as defense (WTH am I doing defending hurting shellfish on a puffer forum LOL! )).

Oh and I have access to LIVE blackworms and LIVE tubifex besides that I can special order LIVE bloodworms (I never feed tubifex but if the puffer will eat them and not get parasites (which usually come with tubifex) why not?).

They stopped sneaking over to each other's side of the tank (or at least moved back by the time I checked on them).

After I get them to eat at least once and examine them I will likely sell one to my lfs for what I paid by the end of this week and the one will have the 30g to itself for a few weeks until they need a 40g breeder or 50g breeder.

Earth Worm.

Do they prefer Live or is rehydrated-freeze dried earthworm fine?

And regarding live, is nightcrawlers sold at tackle shops adequate? The ground is still frozen here to dig up earthworms and even if I did I bet the chickens would grab them before I even see them lol.

Only asking because I have freeze dried earthworms laying around somewhere, but I wouldn't want to waste my time on them if fresh live ones are preferred.

I think fahakas are very active hunters so anything alive is a plus.

I think a lot of people on here are against nightcrawlers...something to do with their nutritional content????

Here is a website that sells worms in bulk for decent prices..http://knutsonlivebait.com/jumbo_worms.html (i have not tried them yet)

You can also try ebay..in the hunting and fishing section

Also, many walmart stores sell a variety of worms for fishing..

If you do try the freeze dried one you have to pre-soak them to rehydrate them..

Nightcrawlers from a bait shop is an excellent form of live protein. Your puffers are used to eating living things. You're eventually going to have to get them on dead foods (at least the one you keep but both of them would be good, so the next guy who has one of them doesn't have to do this).

There's an article in our Library om this.

Pufferpunk wrote:Nightcrawlers from a bait shop is an excellent form of live protein. Your puffers are used to eating living things. You're eventually going to have to get them on dead foods (at least the one you keep but both of them would be good, so the next guy who has one of them doesn't have to do this).

There's an article in our Library om this.

Maybe it is meal worms I am thinking of???

Yup