The Puffer Forum

I have a good amount of questions that were not answered in care sheets I have read, or recieved conflicting information on. I was hoping that some of very knowledgable folks on this website could help me out as the fish is coming in.

Originally, I had been informed that this fish reaches a length of four and a half inches. Instead, the consensus that I have seen since ordering it seems to be closer to six. I have a heavily planted twenty gallon freshwater tank that is uninhabited. I am beginning to grow concerned that a twenty gallon is too small for this fish as many other sources cite twenty-nine. Also, I have a gravel substrate instead of a sand substrate. Lastly, I was planning on finding a South American puffer instead, but they do not sell them in my state. I had figured that would be a better fit for the size of my tank and the vegetation. As such, I have bred quite a ridiculous number of trumpet snails for the past month as teeth trimmers.

My questions are as follows:

Is the size of the tank big enough to prevent my puffers growth from being stunted and causing further health problems?

Will the current substrate be harmful to my congo puffer?

Has anyone had to do dentistry on a congo puffer, and do they need to eat snails? Or are they equipped with different physiology because they are a "lurker?"

Lastly, if I have chosen a poor species of puffer for my tank, what would be a better choice? I have no experience with brackish settings or I would have considered a figure eight instead since they are sold in my state. However, if I switch to 1.005 salinity will it kill all of my plants?

I'd really appreciate answers to any of these questions as I am a novice in the realm of puffer keeping.

Right lets hope that you have the Miurus puffer, have you checked the pufferpedia to confirm? http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/ug. ... T_Miurius/

These are FW fish so no need for salt all. I'm prety sure that they don't need teeth trimming too. As for trumpet snials these aren't suitable for puffer as the shells are too tough for most puffers to deal with and the can crack their teeth which stops them feeding. Also I don't think that lurkers eat snails as readily as other puffer speceis. Prwnas, shrimp and mussels are your best sources of foods IMO.

As for the tank size I would say that 20G might be on the small size just ensure that the filter is up to the job for now and be prepared for frequent water changes., a tank og 30G is the recomended minimum. as long as the gravel isn't too course I don't see that you will need to change to sand. post some pics and this could help us offer more advice

Currently my congo eats live fish...small rosy reds. This is not recommended by alot of folks because of the possibility of internal parasites. This is the only thing my congo will eat atm. Also sand is a must, Gravel will not cut it with the miurus. Lastly depending on the dimensions of your 20 gallon you could be ok. If it is a short tank that is a little wider and longer than the usual 20g than it would be fine for a while till the congo is about 4 inches then maybe an upgrade would be suitable. Lets see some pics! Also what state do you live in?

Mine rarely moves at all, except to eat & is living in a 15g. She's about 4" now. I do 75% weekly WC on her tank. You must try to get them to eat dead, crustaceon-type foods or they will die of a fatty liver, eating only fish all the time.

Thanks a bunch for the replies. It is indeed T. Miurus instead of T. schoutedeni. I only have one picture of my tank and it was from about six months ago. The only differences are that it is empty of fish, has no hanging cover, isn't as heavily planted, and the "grasses" have spread throughout the tank. Hence my concern about the substrate. The gravel I am using is about the same size and shape as the gravel in pufferpunk's picture. How does that work for you, Pufferpunk?

I live in Washington state, and no one here seems to sell the Colomesus Asellus (which I thought might have been a better fit for my tank), so I had decided to go with the Miurus. Here is a picture of the tank:



I'm going north to Canada for a couple days and unable to respond, I'll be picking up my fish the day after I get back. Let me know what you think.