The Puffer Forum

alright well i should be getting a new sixty gallon soon and have no idea on what to put in it.

my first idea was an ornate polypterus and maybe an oscar. well i saw this in the pufferpedia and fell in love with it. now first off do they really come that red and vibrant as the pic shows them?
i mean im not saying i only want a pretty fish but is that like a one in a million fish or is it kinda common

is feeding same as any other puffer, snails, and maybe shell on shrip?

can there be any other tank mates? another puffer?
any special water conditions?
and how much do they run to buy?
finnally anything else i should know about theese puffers before i consider buying one f them for my new tank? (and yes i would let it cycle, didnt want to sound like an idiot)

thanks
cobra1713

You'd be wasting a 60g with this fish (it's Tetraodon, BTW). They spend most of their life burried up to their eyeballs in the sand & only come out to eqat. I keep one in a 15g. 20L would be best. It took me 4 years to find an affordable, bright red one, like in my avatar.

PP -- does their color depend on their substrate at all -- or, for example, would yours lose color if it were on say brown or black sand ?

I'm pretty sure that they are a certain colour regardless of gravel colour to start with. genrally they are brown but you can get yellow-brown-orange-red or colours in between. For the more vibrant colours expect to pay more money

thanks manutius -- yeah, i have only seen the brown and orange colors in person -- the orange was aweseome, but not as striking as yours, PP

Miurus are one of the best species for camoflauge. Mine would darken or lighten some, to match her substrate. That's why I have mine on the red gravel. But if she came in as a brick brown, brown or grey, no color of substrate would make her red.

gottcha , makes sense -- thanks

Glad you've changed your mind of your original idea of an Ornate and an Oscar in a 60g as it's unfortunately too small to work. 55g is recommended for an Oscar on its own. In a 90g I have to a 80% weekly change to keep the nitrates in check. A samller tank for the miurus and then use the bigger tank for something else would make far more use of your tanks. A lone Oscar in a 60g will fill that tank.