The Puffer Forum

My recomendation is yes.

Pufferpunk wrote:My recomendation is yes.

ill take him out today.

I feel so bad because all the puffers at the petstore are soo skinny. mine is the same. He just started to eat snails right now,. I try to feed him mussells and shrimp but he doesnt look like he is intrested. Even when I mix the food in vitamin water.

Pufferpunk wrote:My recomendation is yes.

I must agree on this. I've tried it. Of course it's differences between species and between specimens, but puffers are puffers, and you can't trust them on this. I tried a pleco with my abei (not the best puffer species to test it on, I know that). Being aware of the danger for the pleco, I kept a close eye on the situation. I wouldn't think a puffer could do much harm to the pleco, as the pleco is almost have an armor as skin. But the puffer is a smart thing. It went for the only vulnerable part of the pleco: its belly. One day I found my pleco with a really bad wound on its belly, and I'm not in any doubt about who was the guilty one. I removed the pleco at once, and luckily the wound healed cleanly, without any trouble at all (except for the bad experience it must have been for the fish). It's in good shape now, enjoying life with my discuses instead (and eating itself half to death on discus food ) So I won't test keeping other fishes together with puffers again. I know I was rather stupid to try it in the first place. It was actually because of my own lazyness I did it. The puffer was to be put into the tank where there was several plecos, and I didn't care to mess too much around to catch the last one of them. So I found out I would test if a puffer really could take down a big pleco. It could...

The "target" and "red eye" group is so confusing.

Luckily the targets all pretty much are about the same, figure 20-30 gallons each, they mostly lurk around, and will sneak out to take a chomp of any other fish in the tank, eventually. Also all freshwater. So at least you know, no matter which specific species it is, the basic requirements. Freshwater, min 20 gallons and no tankmates.

My first thought on him was T. Cutcutia as well. I SHOULD be acquiring 3 of them in the next week or 2. I will def. post some shots for comparison. I found a pretty good Puffer connection at a farmers market near my house. No idea where he gets them, but they actually come in...

-UMB

I don't recommend keeping all 3 in the same tank.