Advice on Nile Puffer

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:07 pm

I have just aquired a Nile Puffer, well when i say aquired, i really mean saved it from certain death i think.
He is approx 10inches long (not including the tail) and is in a hexagonal tank 18inches tall, now before all you fish experts out there start screaming at me about the size of the tank and how cruel i'm being, i am in the process of trying to obtain a new tank, i've been reading up on this type of puffer and believe that i need a tank between 100 and 150 gallons (is this correct).
I would really like some advice on changing the tank, tank setup, feeding etc. the previous owner has told me that the fish will only eat frozen bloodworm, which is what i have been feeding him, but again after eading up on the fish have realised that he needs a varied diet to include some kind of shell fish, i have tried feeding him some cockles but as yet with no success, he just picks the cockles up and spits them back out again i am a complete novice at this, and have never kept any fish before in my life, but when i seen this fish couldn't help but bring him home with me.
Again i would really love some good advice and not criticism as i want to do the best by the fish.
Cheers Folks
Chopper01uk

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 1:37 pm

Congrats on your new puffer! That is a huge bioload to add to a tank at once. How are you gonna handle that? In a tank that small, I'd keep a very close eye on ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes & pH. Do 50% water changes, as soon as any of those are off.

You will definately need to get your puffer on hard-shelled foods. Try not feeding for a few days & introduce some live fellas at 1st, like crayfish or crab. Then you can try bouncing a shrimp off a thread & see if he eats that. You can offer anything you find in the fish dept of a grocery store (except fish). Cockles need to be cracked open, so he can get at the meat.

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:07 pm

Thanks for your advice pufferpunk,like i've already said, over the last couple of weeks i've been reading up on this little(or should i say large)fella, and have noticed that people have said that if they are not happy or something is wrong with them, that sometimes they will get cloudy eyes, having looked carefully at the eyes on my puffer he has got a bluey haze on the centre of his eyes, can you offer any advice on this and where can i get information on ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes & pH, again, like i said before, this is completetly alien to me.
I went to my local apuarium shop(LFS i think you lot call em in the fishy world lol) just after i got the fish, as the water was filthy, he gave me approx 40 litres of water out of his tanks and told me to do a complete water change and clean the tank and sand and stones which i did, he also tod me to buy some Tetra Aquasafe, and to treat any tap water that i needed to top up the tank with with this, which i have also done, i acclimatized the fish also before returning to the tank, like i said before i really want to do the best by the fish and give him a happy home and really appreciate any advice given.
Cheers

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 2:52 pm

I'm a little confused: So the tank you are using did not have any fish in there immediately before this, or was the water filthy from previous inhabitants? I'm afraid if there were no fish in there previously, your fish is living in a too small uncycled tank & will poison itself in it's own waste.
Read: http://www.piranha-fury.com/information ... id=cycling
You must noy cycle a tank with your puffer!

If you meant that your tank was filthy from previous fish, then the shop was right & I just hope you didn't use any soap or other detergets to clean the tank & gravel, etc, or over clean it. You could have just stirred the gravel up really well & done the complete water change. Adding some old water, will keep the fish from being shocked by completely fresh water. If you did overclean the tank, then again, I'm afraid the tank is uncycled.

You need test kits for the abovememtioned water parameters. Ammonia & nitrItes must be 0 at all times, nitrates <20 & pH around 7-7.5.

That is the normal color of a fahaka's eyes.

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:08 pm

Sorry mate, the puffer fish came in the tank that it is in now, the water was filthy from its own mess, and the filter in the tank was completely clogged up, so that is the reason why i changed the waterit was rinsed with clean cold water only and i just put the stones and sand in a tied up pair of the missus tights(thank you sweetheart lol) and rinsed with clean water , nothing else, even though the guy i got it from told me i must never change the water, not even partially, so god knows how long he had been in that original water, what a berk.
When returning the fish to the tank, i took him and some of his original water out of the container i had him in whilst cleaning the tank, put them in a clear plastic bag and placed them hanging in the tank, i left him in the bag for about half to three quarters of an hour, adding some of the tank water to the bag every ten minutes to get him used to the new water, hope i done the right bloody thing lol.
Could you explain what you mean by cycled and uncycled tanks please
Cheers

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 3:10 pm

its ok mate, i just clicked on ur link about cycling ur tank tyvm

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 6:36 pm

Just one other thing, there seems to be a lot of conflicting opinions on how often to feed puffers, the previous owner of this puffer told me to feed him twice a day, morning and evening, so i feed him a block of frozen bloodworm(unfrozen) twice daily , is this correct, and when i change over to larger meatier foodstuff, should i still feed him as often.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Mon Oct 17, 2005 7:04 pm

A 10" puffer should be eating a big meal every 5-7 days.

Feathers&Fins · Post by **Feathers&Fins** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 12:44 am

Chopper01uk wrote:the guy i got it from told me i must never change the water, not even partially, so god knows how long he had been in that original water, what a berkâ€¦

That is a very old, outdated, poor husbandry practice.

Did he tell you how long he had owned the Puffer? Good luck with the big guy!

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 4:25 am

When You say a 10" puffer should be eating a big meal every 5 - 7 days, can you please explain what you mean by a big meal, at the minute i'm soaking some cockles in garlic to see if that'll get him off the bloodworm, and i'm sorry to sound so bloody stupid by asking what you mean by a big meal, but i don't want to underfeed or overfeed the poor thing cause i know both'll be bad for him.
Cheers again for all your help mate.

Post by **Pufferpunk** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:49 am

As much as he feels like eating. A puffer that size, might eat 3 cockles.

Rocker · Post by **Rocker** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:20 pm

Yep, mine will take 3- 4 cockles and 2 mussells in one meal. I feed twicw a week.Next feed I might give him a king prawn and a mussel.He's a bit bigger ar 13".

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 5:35 am

Could someone please tell me if it is normal for a puffer to puff for no apparent reason, at long last i have got my puffer eating some cockles which he did last night, dunno wether it was the garlic scented cockles or just that he's happy and content in his new clean home but anyways he wolfed down 3 cockles that i'd chopped up and soaked in garlic so thanks for the tip.
So going back to puffing themselves up, i was sitting here this morning , about half an hour ago actually, i turned round and looked in the tank and there he was like a big rubber ball, he has gone back to normal size but was just wondering if i should be keeping a closer eye on him and if so what should i be looking for.
He also seems to want feeding everytime i go anywhere near the tank is that normal as well, more like a blummin puppy lol

Post by **RTR** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:32 am

Puffers "practice" inflating, to me it seems most common in immature fish, rare in adults. As this is done in the water, with water, it is harmless and normal.

Chopper01uk · Post by **Chopper01uk** » Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:38 am

thanks RTR, been keeping an eye on him since and he ain't done it again, actually sayin that, the guy who owned it before me said he never ever seen it puff up, so now i'm thinking that, he's probably happier now than he's ever been in his new clean home, maybe more content and relaxed, or maybe i'm just wafflin on lol, thanks again mate.

The Puffer Forum

The Puffer Store

Advice on Nile Puffer

Advice on Nile Puffer