The Puffer Forum

hey everyone, been a while since ive posted on here.

small update for you.

i have a hairy puffer who (as i knew this would more than likely happen) become too aggressive for the tank. 2 too many accidents occured which ended in the death of one fish. dont worry about telling me how they dont need tank mates because i knew, and i realize now it was a mistake.


SO. i would like to replace him with another puffer. my favorites are the mbu and fahaka, however the have similar aggression? is this 100% true? if not i need to know what kind of puffers would work in my tank. i have a big tank with big aggressive fish, but they arent too bad they have good attitudes, as opposed to the hairy puffer who attacks what comes near him....usually.


i have an arowana, peacock bass, 2 oscars (as of now, will change though), 2 plecos, a turtle....yes a turtle


sorry for being a little long winded, but i just need to know who would work...thanks guys.

Fahaka are know as even more aggressive than hairy puffers. And they get large enough to kill everything, even the turtle. Mbu usually have much more gentile personalities, but will need at tank with a 3 foot depth to be able to turn right at adulthood, gallon requirements excluded, and I don't remember what your tank measures.

My fahaka is only a couple months old and he is SUPER aggressive. I have to be careful about him even biting me!!

awww man, ha thats kind of a bummer, fahaka look awesome and easily have THE BEST personality. i read the pufferpedia deal on the mbu and it said 1000 gallon? sounds to me like a typo, but then again ive heard wierder things.


any other types aside from those two?

im not dead set on the mbu or fahaka, they are just favorites.

side note, forgot to mention....


switching the oscars with jack dempseys. more than likely

Mbus being so large put off so much bio-load that an 1000 gallon is a perfect tank. Manutius had a Mbu, he may be able to share stories with you on it's care.

thats a good point. good to know.


know anything about cross river puffers? i just saw them and i am astonished. but i hear they are super rare??

Generally impossible to distinguish from Fahaka until you have a fahaka about a year in a bigass tank, and he's only 5" or so. We suspect BossHogg has one. They're AWESOME. Mbu may be able to do well in under 1000 gallons, we're not really sure, but even 300 seems to be too little.

What size is your tank and how are you filtering it currently?

You've got a lot of large fish in there already and to add another, especially if you are considering a Tetraodon mbu is going to create SERIOUS bioload.

Hey, man, I've never actually had one of these guys, or even seen one for that matter. But, from what I've heard on MFK and TPF, they are notorious for busting tanks. NOT FROM EXPERIENCE, I'd suggest against a larger puffer, even though I've been dying to see one in a large community tank, I'd say it's a bad idea. But, it's your choice. It would help if we knew your tank size and exact stocking list planned with the puffer.






Mods: Should this be moved to "Giant Puffer Species" since everybody's giving advice about Mbus and Fahakas? Just a thought....

heres the real specifics.
all nits. 0 if at any time it spikes, its under 50. hasnt happened in months though.
am. 0
ph. 7.2-7.4
chlorine. 00000000000000000
salinity- .0

i do water changes as much as possible for anything the filters dont pick up, obviously ive got messy eaters. im putting through about say 500 gallons with the filtration. and the water changes.

ank is huge...sorry guys not real sure on that one. take my word for it though i know what im getting into hahaha



im kind of attached to this little guy the more i think about it.

is it possible the less fish i have, the less aggressive he will become?
for instance if i just have my peacock, aro, turtle and puffer?

should i just say eff it and get some dwarfs? gotta admit theres some cool ones...but..i dont think my peacock would tolerate his fins being nipped. in fact i know he wont hahahaha.
just some suggestions...

full stock list now-
peacock<333 arowana<333 2 oscars (leaving soon) a royal pleco, a common pleco, my turtle, and the hairy puffer.
keep in mind everyone is a juvenile, only a few months old and under 8" at the moment. forgot to mention that vital peice of info.

so yea any cuts i make to the fish...will this cut down on aggression? what cuts would you each make?


thanks for the help guys its greatly appreciated.

i should have scared you all and said im only using an undergravel filter and im feeding them 3 times a day.

I can't imagine anything reducing fahaka aggression - R.T. Rickets tried to breed them once, with two in a 220, and they smashed the very sturdy barrier separating them so they could get to know each other and commited injuries so bad both ultimately died.

i have a turtle in with my oscar! Do you have UV lights, heat lamps and docks? What type of turtle is it....?

You have some super big fish, a peacock bass?! Awowana?! What size tank would you need for those alone when they are full grown....

let alone adding another fish...

maybe set your aggressive hairy friend up in a tank on his own, or create a sump for your big tank and have him in there?

You can always get a separate tank and plumb the 2 in together. I have that with my 2 largest SW tanks and it's very convenient. Not too much work to do either.