The Puffer Forum

Hi there,
My mum has just bought a house with an indoor swimming pool, which she is thinking of changing into an indoor pond. My first thought was to rescue a Mbu to put in there, so that it can live a potentially happy life. I don't actually know the dimensions of the pool but it is large and obviously things would need to be changed, but it is already heated, so that should work and then all I need to add is a proper filtration system.
My questions is, can you keep more than one Mbu in a huge swimming pool sized tank? If not what other fish would you attempt to put in with it?
Thankyou

Lucy

That'd be amazing. I don't think anyone has ever tried 2 mbu's together (At least not here anyways) Mbu's seem rather mild for puffers so I suppose it could work. Some mbu keepers here kept there puffers with a ton of different tankmates.

Lucy, Converting a swimming pool to a fish pond can be done but it is not simple. Swimming pool heaters release toxic metals into the water and will kill fish! A pool heater with a stainless steel heat exchanger must be used.Bottom drains are very important for proper maintanance, does it have any?Swimming pools use chemicals to help maintain water clairity and often do not have adequate plumbing for the turnover needed for a "living"system.Swimming pool filters are not designed for the larger load of a living system.A system like those used in large koi ponds is needed.The list of changes goes on and on.If you want to convert your pool you should perhaps contact the koi club in your area and get some advice.

sounds like a fantastic idea, although I don't think I'd be able to resist going for a swim with my not so little buddy if it were me though, I think it would surely knock swimming with crappy dolphins off the number one spot of things to do before you die, give me swimming with a Mbu any day haha

hmmm....

with a beak the size of a mbu's i'm so not sure i'd jump in...

what if he thought you were a giant prawn...!

obviously you'd have to get him used to you first over a period of time hehe

lie on the side of the pool and stroke his head etc then put one part of you in at a time, slowly taming him

skinny dipping would be out of the question though, for obvious reasons LOL

wow some interesting pictures ging through my head here lol

back on topic it is an amazing idea! but im sure it would take alot of work. my question would be substrate? how does that work, do you make a giant UGF? i think she was right you need to go to a KOI club and tell them what a MBU requires and then tell ask them about a pond with super filtration.

if your really adventageous lets see an attempt at MBU breeding! lol idk if they can even be kept together but i think you ahve the first tank large enough for an attempt at sexing or keeping them together and breeding if possible to house conspesific.

Thanks for all the replies.
At the moment it is very much an idea. I still have to convince my mum, but I reckon tempting her with the idea of being the first to breed an mbu would help.
I think going to the local koi club would be an excellent idea.
I'll carry on doing some research and see where it gets me. She keeps saying that she wants me to do a fishtank for her, so maybe this can be it!
I'll keep you all posted

I have seen a video of Mbu in the wild. They seemed to rest together peacefully in groups of several fish.

You also couldn't use pool filtration, it does not work biologically. Giant veggie filters are the way to go for a MBU.

Nick wrote:I have seen a video of Mbu in the wild. They seemed to rest together peacefully in groups of several fish.

That vid of the otter attacking a puffer was Mbu right? I think there were at least three nestling together.

Yep thats an mbu.

aside from the reasons already quoted here I have an issue with ponds in that you can only see the fish from above and with the Mbu's ability to disappear in front of you I would worry that you would never see them. I used to loose sight of Clooney in a 5ft tank when he was 15 inches+ Having said that the prospect of baby Mbu is rather appealing.

You must also consider the need for lots of decor and planting cover as well as huge bits of bogwood and rockwork to create a natural Mbu haven. I wish I could show you the picture in my head, it looks awesome The logistics of this tank make it a very costly exercise IMO. You would also need very strong lighting for the whole area. You could of course not go to the trouble of making it look natural but I don't think the fish would be happy in a clinical environment. Ideally it would be better to be able to view them from the side but the structural strengthening needed for the glass would be immense. I still think that the best way to view these fish is to approach it like a huge glass fronted structure much like a public display, there are very few public aqauria that you view form the top.

In your situation, if budget allowed, I would wall off part of the pool with a steel and glass structure and set up the aquascape one side and create a really nice chill out area in the other part. This way you could create an original feature room and an amazing home for the Mbu(s)
If you go for it I will offer myself as design consultant or even maker of tea as live in Essex and would love to help

manutius wrote: In your situation, if budget allowed, I would wall off part of the pool with a steel and glass structure and set up the aquascape one side and create a really nice chill out area in the other part. This way you could create an original feature room and an amazing home for the Mbu(s)
If you go for it I will offer myself as design consultant or even maker of tea as live in Essex and would love to help

That is pretty much the coolest idea I've ever heard. I want a swimming pool now >.>

Nick - is the video you mention on the internet anywhere? Can you provide the link as I'd be intereted to watch it.

EDIT > Found it! > http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea ... D=27678438