The Puffer Forum

I didn't mean they like bare tanks.. But they sure won't use all the fancy aquascaping you will put in there.. Mine spend most of their time in the upper 50% of the tank. Rarely patrolling on the bottom.

If they swim through thick plants that are tall, they feel safe.. That is what I mean. I've been trying to get some Crinum Natans to grow.. slow grower, but it will provide great overhead cover for them... along with jungle val, I think they will enjoy that more than anything else I put in there.


What my original post was about, is that you can't say that 4-5 puffers in a 30x18x15 won't work. It will, beautifully, you could probably put 6 giant danios in there and maybe a smaller BN pleco of some sort.. and the tank is set.

I am a bit of an overstocker, yes, perhaps, but I believe good filtration and 30-50% water changes weekly will keep your fish happy.

I have had my 3 SAPs for 5 months now.. I recently added 3 more to my 55g. I understand them quite well now. The tank has 10 giant danios, 6 SAPs, and a BN pleco...

I actually was adjusting my input/output tubes for my magnum 350 and my rena filstar xp3...And I didn't readjust my cuttable plastic part on the back of the glass tops... One of the poor SAPs jumped out on the floor in the middle of the night. Found him the next morning, poor guy.

Needless to say, I will never underestimate their jumping abilities through small holes.

My experiences are similar. SAPs + fast midwater fish + hardy catfish seems to work reliably. Corydoras, guppies, and gobies got nipped, but bleeding heart tetras, glassfish, Synodontis all seem fine. In fact, I think the activity at feeding time (they all steal food from one another) helps keep the SAPs stimulated.

They very clearly "explore" but that's limited to swimming across or up objects. I've never seen them go into anything except casually. In no way do they use caves or hiding places. I'm strongly reminded of marine puffers like Sphoeroides that behave in a similar way, scanning harbour walls, oyster reefs, and so on. It's very systematic, covering every inch of the terrain to find prey, but that's about all they're interested in. No sign that the SAPs are looking for territories, defining home ranges, looking for places to sleep or hide.

Mine definitely "curl up" together at bedtime. It's very sweet. But always in an open area with limited water flow (in fact, the corners usually where the water flow is weakest). Never seen them dig in (contra-Baensch vol. 2) or go into a cave.

Mine jump. Lost a specimen that way through bruising. Another went into the unpressurised filter, but was fine swimming about and was returned without harm.

My feeling is that these puffers are so different to other, territorial, species that we need to experiment and learn what it is they want. I find them very fascinating creatures not at all like other puffers in temperament or habits.

Cheers, Neale

Good response.

You are seeing that you can put quite a few fish with the SAP, but you have to understand them.. I tried some Corydoras, they were fine with my SAPs.. I had to move them out due to my ill Turgidus who was in the tank temporarily.

I am sure faster schooling Rainbows.. most likely tiger barbs as well.. would work in alot smaller tanks than you would believe.

My SAPs were getting bored with their diet of plankton, krill, shrimp, etc.. so I decided to give them a run for their money and put some giant danios in there... now as soon as the first flake hits the water and they see the danios going crazy, they know their food is next in line.. and the danios are always so hungry they will eat anything.. including the puffer's food.. So yeah, I've seen an SAP snatch a krill out of a giant danio's mouth... you think there's going to be a brawl but the puffer disregards the situation and keeps eating.

Now that I think of it, I think the SAPs enjoy company. Giant danios are really tough fish too. When I was temporarily housing my Turgidus in there, he took a chunk out of a danio's underneath.. to where he couldn't "poo" properly, he would have a 6 inch strand of it hanging off him... it healed right back up... very tough fish I was impressed.

I'd agree with you about SAPs learning to eat novel foods by watching other fish. When I put something new in the tank, like frozen peas or Spirulina flake, it is usually the bleeding heart tetras that 'take the bait'. But the SAPs sometimes eat these things if they see other fish eating them, and in the case of vegetable foods, I'm pleased to see my pufferfish eat them so they get some extra vitamins.

Pufferfish are intelligent, and I think they do best in an environment where there is lots to engage them. If that can be other fish, that's good, but I accept that in many cases that isn't viable. But with SAPs I think it can be, if you take things carefully and have somewhere to move fishes to if things go wrong.

Cheers, Neale

The other day the SAPs actually took a bite out of the African Cichlid flakes I feed the danios (and my cichlids).. it's real meaty, so they actually took the bait as you said.

The "I've never seen a puffer eat a pellet" saying may not hold true if you keep training them, lol.

I have one comment about their daily activities.. They spend about 60% of the day flying up and down the side walls of the tank.. Their independently moving eyes screw them up.. So I see them, mouth open, flying up and down the side of the tank... This is their daily activity for the most part. I thought they could see my community tank.. so I tried covering it off with cardboard, but they still did it.

They do it in the night and in the day.. I hear splashing sometimes when I walk by at night.. They are viciously flailing up and down.. Even in the quarantine tank when they were being treated for Ich.. Up and down they go.

I thought the danios would maybe cure the boredom (perhaps the reason they do this?).. but they will still do it. The only way I've got them to straight up come to me is by waving a nightcrawler behind them.. lol.

Do they ever do this for you?

My tank is next to the table where I work all day, so when not swimming up and down the tank wildly, they are hovering at the front of the glass staring at me. (They are doing so right now!)

The rest of the time they dive down to the bottom and explore the wood and rocks arranged there, looking for food. Sometimes they eat the odd Malayan snail they find in the sand, but only if really hungry!

At night they rest rather quietly, though it takes about 20 minutes for them to unwind.

I'm not sure the swimming is boredom. I think they are open river fish that swim significant distances each day. The exact parallel in behaviour I think are Colombian shark catfish which are, incidentally, migratory. The paper on Colomesus asellus reproduction indicated that they move from smaller rivers and lakes into the main river channels to breed, because the babies needed very specific conditions for their planktonic phase. Until we really understand what they do in the wild, I suspect much of what they do in aquaria will be mysterious.

Only one puffer eats flake and peas.

Cheers, Neale

Hmm... any idea why they only eat odd MTS and not regular ones?

Yeah they do not have a dull moment of just sitting there like say.. a gourami.. who are perfectly content with just staying in one place looking pretty.

While I was home for lunch, they were swimming wildly flying up and down on the side of the tank. I am wondering, if yours does that too, I thought it was maybe the reflection of my background wallpaper on the back of the tank reflecting to the side? I dont think so though.. they spend most of their time on the side where the most current resides.. They love my new outlet pipe of the Magnum 350.. it's their favorite hangout spot now.

As regards tank mates do you think a pair of L204 [flash pleco] or possibly a group of corydoras would fit in ok, originally i was worried about them being nibbled what do you think ?

I had 6 emerald green corys for awhile in there.. Now in the community tank. Puffer tank is heavily planted, the SAPs never even looked at them hardly. I have a BN pleco in there.. He was second in the tank after my first 3 SAPs.. He was very scared when the SAP took a nibble at him the first 30 minutes. After that, the SAPs don't even look at the pleco. I would be more worried about Corys than Plecos... A pair of 3-4" plecos will have no issues whatsoever in my opinion.. Perhaps consult with others but the SAPs won't touch a catfish bigger than them.

In my experience, SAPs leave plecs alone. The only ones I'd worry about are ones with "streamers" on their fins, like whiptail cats. I've not seen any problems with Otocinclus, Ancistrus, or Panaque. Synodontis also works well if you want another option... but I think Synodontis are *very* tough and belligerent for their size, and even cichlids handle them with care. Their squeaking may also be a deterrent. I've seen S. nigriventris chasing male C. irrubesco out of caves without any problems.

It is entirely possible SAPs do have a "nibble" of catfish fins once or twice, but catfish (apart from Corydoras) tend to return such harassment ten-fold and the puffer learns to back off. There may also be distasteful or mildly toxic mucous. Some catfish (Doradidae) are known to have irritants in the mucous that can make wounds feel worse. Perhaps most catfish have something along these lines, too?

Cheers, Neale

Hello!
So, i am considering getting a SAP, and even if you feed snails and other crunchies, you have to trim their teeth??

I believe so.. my first of 5 SAPs is approaching teeth trimming time. For some reason, his 2 other friends he came with aren't even close to needing them.

I'm not really scared of trimming the fish as long as he is knocked out. should be quick and painless.

Go figure, the one who is always at the front of the tank, anxiously looking for food, his teeth look perfect... My first fish I have ever given a name........Tubby.

My camera really sucks, but I was going to make a little video to see if you guys have the same SAP activity as mine.. generally 75% of the time they are either a) climbing the walls of the tank, at times, very furiously! Their teeth knawing away at the evil glass.. I have busted out laughing at them when they REALLY get going.. Bonking their heads on the glass tops, digging into the bottom substrate. b) Fluttering across the water stream I have created running across the tank

They never just sit around like a cichlid and look pretty

I"ve heard they like to burn off energy swimming anyway they can and if you give them a fairly powerful wide current they can't overpower they will usually swim into it instead of the glass.